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‘I was retired by the time I married Jed’s mum, and I gave them what they most needed, time and attention.

I taught Jed to ride and helped him with his homework.

We did science experiments in the shed together.

I attended every parents’ meeting, picked him up and dropped him from and to boarding school every weekend.

I drove, because being in a car with a kid, someplace where they can’t run away, gave us a chance to talk.

’ He shrugged, a small smile on his face.

‘It seemed to work, and after his mum died, he asked whether he could come live with me.

‘I did the same for Mick, then Kael,’ he continued, seemingly caught up in his memories. Right, she remembered there was another brother out there somewhere. ‘Somehow, I managed to keep being their dad after I divorced their mums.’

She liked Troyden more than she expected to, and hearing about his life was fascinating. ‘Why did you marry their mothers?’

Troyden linked his hands around his knee. ‘Ah, probably because I had to chase them harder than I did all the others. They made me work for their affection.’

‘And after you got it, you didn’t value it anymore?’

‘You’re not wrong,’ Troyden winced. ‘They fell in love, and I fell out of it.’ He stared off into the distance.

‘I’m not proud of my actions, Eden; I don’t want you thinking that.

I played with their affections, and that was wrong.

But I love love— No, that’s wrong, I love falling in love.

When the heady feeling dissipates, I find myself looking around for the next high. ’

He was so very honest, and she appreciated his openness.

Her mum was a closed vault, and she was never allowed to peek inside her mind and had no idea how it worked.

She was so private that Eden hadn’t understood how important religion was to her until she’d joined a convent as a novice nun.

Her switch from the secular to the sacred a few months after Eden had turned eighteen upended her life.

Up until then, her life had been a second-hand, but still complete, puzzle, a little ragged, a little faded, but the picture was clear.

Her mum joining the convent flipped the table, scattering pieces in every direction.

Lin taking a vow of silence was the equivalent of taking those puzzle pieces, dousing them with petrol and setting them alight.

‘I’m a terrible partner, but I’m a reasonably good dad.’ Troyden commented. ‘I’m grateful to all my wives for the gift of their children.’

Eden rubbed her fingertips across her forehead. ‘Your family is pretty complicated.’

‘Are you still deciding whether you want to be a part of it?’ Troyden gently asked. ‘Because taking me on means taking them on, I’m afraid.’

She couldn’t help her little wince. ‘I don’t have any experience of families, Troyden.’

‘So? I didn’t have any experience with kids, but I married four women who had them,’ he countered.

She tipped her head. ‘Were the kids an added incentive?’

Troyden’s eyebrows shot up, and his surprise made her wonder if he’d ever been asked that question before.

‘I’venever thought about it that way before,’ he replied, slowly parsing his words.

‘I was never interested in babies, so maybe marrying women with kids was my way to be some kind of father. I don’t know.

I’m going to have to think about that some more. ’

Eden played with the hem of her t-shirt and lifted her eyes, taking in the ivy-covered walls above her and the edges of the tiled roof.

Elmsleigh House was different from anything she’d experienced before, and this family was so very different from hers, if she and her mum even qualified as a family.

There was love here, tinged with frustration, protectiveness and a small measure of crazy.

Did she want to be part of it, or would she feel more comfortable going back to her independent, emotionally insulated life?

It was safer and easy to navigate, and her actions wouldn’t affect anyone else.

But it was, she admitted, lonely. Isolating.

‘You need to decide whether you are going to tell the rest of the family that you are my niece or not, Eden.’

Her gaze landed back on Troyden’s face. ‘I assumed Jed would tell them the minute he got a chance.’

‘That’s not who Jed is. It’s your story; he won’t tell it for you.’

Ah, okay. ‘Do you want me to?’ she asked.

‘I don’t like keeping secrets from them,’ Troyden admitted. ‘We’ve always had an open and honest relationship. And that’s why they feel they can butt into my love life.’

After a beat, he added, ‘But ultimately, the decision is yours.’

She nodded and thanked him, surprised by how tempted she was to walk into the kitchen and make the announcement. But she wasn’t an impulsive person. She needed to give it more thought, and work out the consequences. ‘I’m going to think about it,’ she told him.

Troyden surprised her when he stood up, placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her temple. ‘You do that, Eden. Whatever you decide, I’m very glad you’re here.’

Eden felt the lump grow in her throat, the prickle of tears, the heat in her skin. It was both weird and wonderful to feel wanted, to be welcomed. To feel like your presence was necessary and needed. It was strange and lovely…

And so very, very confusing.