Page 15

His mouth went dry, and a red mist appeared in front of his eyes.

‘What the fuck does he want?’ he demanded, keeping his eyes on Diana.

Diana shrugged, not in the least intimidated by his muted roar.

‘He said he wanted to see you, that it was important. He wouldn’t leave until you spoke,’ Diana replied, her words laced with asperity. ‘ He is also your neighbour, the new Duke of Bythesea, and his father died recently.’

Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit.

Jed pushed a hand through his hair and looked at Eden, her eyes filled with curiosity.

As were Di’s. They were both wondering why he was making a big deal out of a neighbour’s visit, and why he was acting like a jerk.

And that was precisely why Henry had rocked up at Elmsleigh and not at his cottage.

At his cottage, he would’ve told him to fuck off and slammed the door in his face.

He glanced at Troyden, who sent him a sympathetic look. But then lifted his head in a gesture suggesting he find out what his unacknowledged half-brother wanted. As Troyden always said, knowledge was power.

But…

Fuck.

He’d failed at finding anything on Eden, had his yoga session interrupted, broken a one-of-a-kind pot, sparred with Eden, then was caught off guard because Eden was Troyden’s niece and not his lover.

Now his half-brother was here wanting to speak to him for some unimaginable reason.

His day was already a shitstorm and he’d yet to eat breakfast. But, as his mother once told him, when you were walking through hell, your only choice was to keep walking.

Or running. Standing still and allowing the flames to consume you was never a reasonable option.

Eden surprised him by stepping forward and holding her hand out to Henry. ‘Hi, I’m Eden Ennis, a friend of the family.’

So she still wanted to keep her and Troyden’s connection a secret.

Henry’s appreciative eyes slid over Eden, and he held on to her hand for a few seconds too long. He was a guy and Jed knew Henry found Eden as attractive as he did. Closing his eyes, Jed imagined his fist connecting with Henry’s aristocratic nose.

Seeing him on his arse would make his day. Year.

‘Henry Raynott.’ Huh, he’d expected him to add his title and that he owned half of Gloucestershire, but Henry did neither.

He and Eden exchanged a flirty smile, and Jed ground his teeth so hard he was sure he tasted enamel.

He bunched his fists, fighting the urge to stand in front of Eden, to be the barrier Henry had to break through to get to her.

There were a couple of things Jed knew for sure: his biological father was a prick, the earth was round, and Henry was not going to get Eden.

‘It’s nice to meet you, Eden. How long are you staying in Bythesea?’

The dude had a freakin’ village named after his family, for the love of God. How ridiculous was that? Jed ignored the rogue thought that, had the Duke acknowledged him, he would be part of that fucked-up family. Thank God he wasn’t.

Eden smiled at Henry, and Jed was in imminent danger of cracking a tooth. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘Well, maybe we could go for a drink or a cup of coffee? I could show you around,’ Henry offered. Jed looked at Troyden, who lifted his eyebrows. He was hitting on Troyden’s guest on Troyden’s property. He had to admit the guy had balls. Balls he wanted to ram up his throat, but still…

Right, he was done. As Eden opened her mouth to respond, he stepped in front of her, met Henry’s eyes and scowled at him. ‘Let’s walk.’

Henry nodded and sidestepped him to smile at Eden. Prick. ‘I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Eden.’

Not if he could help it. ‘If you want to talk to me, you’d better get moving,’ Jed called over his shoulder, stalking away.

Henry’s footsteps behind him assured him he was following, and Jed released the air he was holding.

He’d walk him back to his fancy-arse car so that Henry could get back into his vehicle and leave.

There was nothing to say. Never would be.

He’d had no contact with their father, and he could live without having any interactions with the Baby Duke. Blood wasn’t, as far as he was concerned, thicker than water.

* * *

Eden watched Jed walk away, his broad back and shoulders stiff with tension.

Man, he could rock a pair of Levi’s. The way the denim highlighted his spectacular arse should be declared dangerous.

But great looks and shitty attitude aside, beneath the tough guy exterior, he was flustered.

His face was also a few shades lighter than it had been earlier.

Under the anger, he’d looked blindsided and a little scared.

So, who was the GQ model who’d managed to rattle the normally unflappable Jed?

Dressed in navy chinos and an untucked, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and wearing trendy trainers without socks, Henry looked ready for brunch at a bistro in Notting Hill.

But she was more curious about Jed’s reaction to him than about the man himself.

Why did a man who’d just called her a gold-digger, who implied that she was using Troyden, intrigue her? Eden rubbed the back of her neck as she watched the two men disappear around the side of the house.

While she didn’t like the assumptions he’d made and the conclusions Jed had reached about her, she did like the fact that he was loyal and protective of those he loved. She’d experienced so little of that in her life, and even though he’d insulted her, family loyalty was a deeply attractive trait.

What would it feel like to have a man like that, hard and strong, mentally and physically, to choose you? To have him standing in your corner, prepared to put himself between you and a threat?

Sighing, she turned to face Troyden. ‘Who’s the Henry Cavill lookalike?’

‘That’s another Henry, the new Duke of Bythesea. His estate is to the west, and his father died about ten days ago.’

‘I recall a discussion about his funeral at breakfast.’

Troyden rocked on his heels. ‘I attended the church service; Jed did not.’

A note of exasperation in his voice caught her attention. ‘Was he expected to?’

Troyden’s eyes skittered off her face. ‘I believe that funeral services are deeply personal events. If you want to go, you go. If not, don’t. The occasion is for the living, not the dead.’

It was an answer, but it had nothing to do with what she’d asked.

It didn’t matter what Jed did or didn’t do; it was none of her business.

What was her business was how people saw her and Troyden’s relationship.

Her hands landed on her hips again. ‘I cannot believe that he thought we were lovers, and that I was after your money!’

Troyden pulled a face.

Eden narrowed her eyes. ‘This is the part where you tell me he erroneously misjudged the situation.’

Troyden sat down on the arm of the nearest chair and stretched out his legs.

In the sunlight, his hair was more grey than blond, and the deep grooves bracketing his mouth and the fine lines radiating from his eyes looked deeper than before.

‘To be fair, I’ve been dating much younger women for a while now.

Quite a few of them like the fact that I am rich more than they liked me. ’

Ah. Eden dragged the toe of her trainer along the edge of a slate tile. ‘You know what Einstein said, right?’

‘Remind me?’

‘The definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.’ She closed her eyes as she turned and stretched her arms into the air, enjoying the warm sun on her arms and back. ‘Maybe you should start looking for companionship somewhere else.’

Troyden’s faded blue eyes met hers, amused. ‘My kids have been telling me that for years, but it’s yet to sink in.’ His expression turned serious. ‘I’m sorry for what he said.’

‘I don’t care what he thinks,’ she said, ending her sharp statement with a huff.

‘No, of course, you don’t, that’s why you stomped into the kitchen and dragged me out here, steam coming out of your ears.’

Ack. She couldn’t argue the point. ‘I dislike being labelled a gold-digger,’ she told him in a cold voice.

‘Naturally. A few women I dated had the same reaction, and two dumped me because Jed had “ the chat ” with them.’

‘The one where he tells them the best they can hope for is a Gucci bag, Jimmy Choo shoes or a diamond tennis bracelet?’

‘Ah, you got it too.’ Troyden pulled a face. ‘I’ve asked him not to interfere, but Jed is a protector. He says that if a woman is scared off by him, then she’s not worth keeping anyway.’

Eden reluctantly admitted Jed had a point.

She hoped that if she was into a guy and believed in him, nothing anyone else said or did would make her leave him.

Not that she had any experience in sticking and staying– she was too much of an emotional coward to date, never mind forge a relationship with a man.

‘You seem to have very good relationships with your stepkids,’ she commented.

‘I was a terrible husband to their mums– I tend to get bored too easily– but I was a damn good stepfather.’

‘Did you bribe them with horses and overseas holidays? The latest iPhones and Xboxes?’

Troyden tipped his head to the side. ‘Actually, I never spoiled them with money. I married Alistair’s mother before I made any.

Both Jed and Mick initially approved of me marrying their mothers because, well, because, manipulative cretins that they both were, they thought I’d buy their approval with worthless crap. I refused to do that.’

‘Then how did you win them over?’ Eden asked, intrigued.