Page 7

Chapter Three

I hope you slept well and are hive-free. There’s a spare toothbrush in the bathroom, feel free to use the toiletries. Breakfast in the salon, down the stairs, turn left, and follow the noise. M.

PS. ARMY forever!

E den picked up her bag, wishing she could take that huge double bed with her.

It was the nicest mattress she’d ever slept on and would marry it if she could.

Before opening the bedroom door, she looked down at her hand, then inspected her arm and was relieved to see she was rash-free.

Still anxious, she lifted the hem of her dress to check her thighs. She looked normal: pale, but normal.

Rubbing her temple with the tips of her fingers, Eden was conscious of her still heavy limbs and the headache pulsing behind her eyes.

Note to self: avoid horses at all costs. Apart from being carried by Number Three and chatting with Mick, yesterday hadn’t been a fun experience.

Eden walked down the passage, idly taking in the stern faces of the portraits on the walls.

Everyone looked so bloody miserable, like they were chronically constipated.

When she caught her reflection in the mirror above a hall table and checked her face, she was relieved to see no swelling, rash or watery eyes.

No make-up either, apart from a swipe of gloss from the tube she always carried in her purse, and while her dress was creased, trainers a little dirty, she looked okay-ish. Tired but presentable.

Checking Mick’s note in her hand, Eden needed to decide whether to accept the invite to breakfast or not. This was her uncle’s house and there was an excellent chance he’d sit down to breakfast in the dining room of the house he owned. Did she want to open the ‘we-share-DNA’ door?

Did she want to meet him? Sort of.

What did she want from him? No idea.

Was she ready to tell him who she was? Not sure.

Was it right to sit down at his table under false pretences? Definitely not.

Eden sat on the top stair and tipped her head back to look up at the glass oculus a long way above her head.

The last couple of months had been eventful to say the least; it felt like she was living life from behind the wheel of a high-performance sports car she didn’t know how to drive.

While her mum had been distant this past decade (situation, sadly, normal), she’d never considered she’d permanently drop out of her life.

When her mum had made her big announcement, it’d shocked and rocked Eden’s world.

Ithad been a mini-death. It was so damn final, so… irrevocable.

Shaking her head she tried to focus on the issue at hand, meeting Troyden Castle, and whether she wanted to meet him or melt away.

If she walked away from Elmsleigh House without explanation, that was it.

She’d never get any information about her dad and his family. She would be eternally family-less.

Having a proper family, being part of one, was a childhood dream she’d carried into adulthood.

A partner, kids of her own… that was the Disney-version.

But, since she rarely dated and when she did, it always led to disappoint, she knew she had to make her expectations about having a family more realistic and settle for less. Much less.

Someone to send her a Christmas card, to call on her birthday. An occasional lunch. Having a connection to someone who shared her DNA.

At this point Troyden Castle was her only hope of a family. But could she trust their tenuous DNA connection? Could she trust him ?

Should she delay her explanations and lie?

Or rather, not tell the whole truth? If she told Troyden one truth, that she worked as an event coordinator (true-ish) but kept her connection to the Bancrofts a secret, she could, at least initially, avoid being judged for what she did and not for who she was.

Keeping her professional life private was also a way of giving herself space to simply be.

She could keep her options open as she navigated the complexities of her new, Mum-free reality and its accompanying emotions– sadness, grief and resentment.

But she needed to decide. Right here and right now.

Honestly, being a sensible adult every day seemed a bit excessive.

* * *

Jed half-expected her to slip down the stairs and hightail it out of the house, but there she was, pushing open the door to the dining room, unsure whether to enter. Before he could push back his chair, Diana, Troyden’s long-term housekeeper, stood up and walked over to her.

‘Eden, come on in.’ Diana’s tone was, as always, kind but brusque. ‘You didn’t eat much last night, so I’m sure you’re starving.’

Eden’s eyes bounced from Diana to the table, her eyes lingering on Troyden, before smiling at Mick.

Then their eyes connected, and he felt electricity skim his skin.

For some ridiculous reason, he couldn’t pull his eyes off her lovely– hive-free– face and sea-green eyes.

Her face was make-up free and she’d pulled her wavy hair into a loose knot at the back of her neck.

Her dress was crumpled, her trainers grubby, but she looked…

right . It was the only world he could think of.

She looked as right as Lana, sitting next to Troyden, didn’t.

‘I’m Diana, Troyden’s housekeeper.’ Diana steered her into the room. Her eyes widened as she took in the long dining table, carved chairs and scary-looking portraits on the wall.

Mick jumped up, rushed over to Eden and placed a hand on her arm. ‘Don’t take another step.’ Her eyes flicked from Jed to Troyden, then to their oldest stepsib, Alistair, and his husband, Justin. ‘Who’s been to the stables this morning or out on an early morning ride?’ Mick demanded.

Jed had spent hours on various horses yesterday and slept late, before showering and ambling up to the big house for breakfast. He shook his head, as did Alistair and Justin. Diana hated horses and stayed away from the stables, so Mick ignored her. ‘Troyden?’ she asked again, hands on her hips.

Embarrassment passed over Eden’s face and she shifted from foot to foot. Jed watched her lock eyes on Troyden’s stubbled face, as if she was trying to commit his face to memory, to look inside his brain. Jed remembered her out-of-the-blue question from yesterday…

Why was she here and what did she want?

‘Hello, welcome to Elmsleigh House. I’m Troyden Castle, the owner,’ Troyden said, standing up and laying his serviette beside his plate. ‘I am so sorry you had such a horrid time.’

Eden managed a smile of light surprise. ‘You’re the man I spoke to yesterday, the one who gave me some pointers on polo.’ She had an interesting voice, a little deeper than normal, with a slight rasp, as if she’d swallowed some smoke. It was sexy. She was sexy.

Dammit.

Mick snapped her fingers impatiently. ‘Troyden, stables? Yes or no?’

He pulled his faded blue eyes off Eden’s to look at Mick. ‘You know I always go down to the stables before breakfast, Michaela.’

Mick pointed to the chair furthest away from Troyden. ‘Sit there, Eden, so that the dander on him has less chance of reaching you.’ She placed her hands on her hips. ‘Anyone else?’ she demanded.

Jed saw Eden’s embarrassment. ‘Chill, Mick, nobody has Ebola,’ he told her and waved at the empty seat opposite him. ‘Sit down, Eden. Mick is being dramatic.’

‘I’m a doctor. I am never dramatic,’ Mick shot back. ‘Eden is allergic to horses, and until we find out how allergic, and how much exposure she can tolerate, I will protect her from another allergic reaction.’ She frowned at Eden. ‘Did you take the antihistamine pill this morning?’

Eden nodded.

‘You should be fine,’ Mick said, sliding back into her seat. ‘But keep your distance from Troyden.’

Interestingly Jed noticed a flicker of disappointment cross Eden’s far too expressive face. Why?

Diana slid a full breakfast plate in front of Eden, and her eyes widened at the mountain of food.

‘Meet Alistair and Justin.’ Troyden said, before pointing at Mick’s kids. ‘And those are my monsters, my grandkids, Gemma and Liam.’

Liam pushed out his bottom lip. ‘I’m not a monster, Troypops.’

Troyden smiled at him, then laid a fatherly hand on Jed’s shoulder. ‘Jed is another stepson, and Michaela is my stepdaughter, but I consider them my children.’

Jed didn’t explain that they’d already met, that he’d held her in his arms. She’d been asleep, but…

Shit . Why was he remembering how she smelled of sunshine and sweet lemons, how he loved the dense freckles on her nose and cheekbones, how he’d noticed the lighter ones dusting the rest of her face and chest?

How he’d wished he could taste her plump lips, lift her dress up and over her head in the stables…

He squirmed in his chair, conscious of the semi behind the buttons of his fly.

No . She’d been asleep, covered in welts; she’d been hot and drug-hazy…

but all he could think about was getting her naked.

Troyden didn’t bother to introduce Lana, the only other person at the table, who was absorbed in pushing mushrooms around her plate.

Jed quietly snorted, so much for being The One.

Troyden was being exceptionally polite, but his failure to introduce Lana meant either they’d had a massive fight or that she was on her way out. Jed prayed for the latter.

Unsurprisingly, Lana didn’t notice Troyden’s subtle insult.

Introductions done, everyone looked at Eden and she squirmed in her chair. ‘Thank you for allowing me to spend the night, Mr Castle, I appreciate it.’

Troyden reached for the coffee carafe. When Lana lifted hers to be refilled, Troyden’s mouth tightened, but he poured her coffee before topping off his. Yep, there was trouble in paradise.

Jed, who’d finished a second helping of breakfast, pushed his chair back and rested his ankle on his knee. He watched Eden as she picked up the heavy silver cutlery and prodded the black pudding with her fork, her brow furrowing. Cute.