Page 19 of Riding High

‘Okay, sorry to have wasted your time.’

Surprise jumped into his eyes and settled on his face.He followed her to her feet and stepped forward, stopping her by laying a hand on her arm.‘Eden, hold on.Did you think I was being serious?’

Of course, she did.It made sense, after all.He was horse mad– his whole family seemed to be– and her being allergic to horses was a good reason not to have her around.Why would he want the hassle of worrying about her?

‘Good grief, Eden, you’re going to have to learn to recognise sarcasm and dry humour if you’re going to survive in this family,’ he muttered.He pushed his hand through his hair, his lips thinning.‘Of course, you being allergic to horses isn’t a problem.I was just being facetious.’

‘So my allergy isn’t a problem?’she clarified, confusion making her head pound.

‘No, of course not.You’ll avoid the stables and horses, and if you want to see an allergy specialist, I’ll pay for it.In the meantime, we’ll all just shower when we come in from the stables, so you don’t have to be exposed to more dander than necessary.’

How easy he made it sound!‘You’d do that for me?’

‘It’s not that big an ask, Eden,’ Troyden told her, squeezing her arm before letting his hand drop.

‘Now, my dear, I think you need to be on your way.’Before she could respond, he lifted his hand.‘I’m not kicking you out, but I think you need a little time to think about what I said.If you want to have nothing more to do with me, I’ll be disappointed but I’ll understand.If you want us to meet over lunch in London, we can do that too.Spend a few weeks here, every weekend, or move in for the summer, whatever works for you.’

Eden appreciated him understanding that she felt overwhelmed, that she needed time and space.‘Thank you.I’ll let you know.I can message you through the DNA site.’

Troyden picked up a simple white card from a silver card holder on his desk and handed it over.On it, plainly printed, was his mobile phone number and email address.She took it and sent him an uncertain look.‘Shall I give you a missed call, so you can have my number on your phone?’

‘Yes, please,’ Troyden calmly replied.A few seconds later, his phone buzzed.‘That’s me,’ she stated.Lame.She was out of processing power, and he was right: she needed time and space.To not only decide what she wanted from Troyden, but also figure out– if she did decide to embark on a relationship with her uncle– how she was going to handle her red-hot, skin-blistering attraction to his stepson.

Arrgh!Why did her life always have to be so bloody messy?

Troyden walked over to her, dropped a quick kiss on her cheek and squeezed her hand.‘Don’t look so worried, Eden.Our meeting is a good thing.Trust me on this.’

She tried to nod, conscious that she hadn’t told him everything.The secrets she was keeping– her career, and her connection to the Bancrofts, their investigation– hovered in the air for a split second before she shoved them down again.Troyden didn’t need to know, not right now.If and when she decided on whether to have a relationship with him or not, she’d broach the subject.

Until then there was no point in adding fuel to an already raging fire.