‘Oh Dad, you’re nothing like Jesse.’ Eden’s heart ached for her father, but she was glad that he’d seen Drew for the person he was. It was hard to explain just how special Drew was, people had to see it for themselves. He could seem closed down and standoffish unless you got to know him but, once you did, there was so much below the surface. Drew was a clever, articulate and incredibly kind man, and Eden had never met anyone like him.
‘I hope I’m not, but I’m still incredibly sorry for all the times I wasn’t there for you the way I should have been.’
‘You were there for me today.’ Eden wished she could hug her father, but that would have to wait. Talking to Drew was something else that would have to wait too, but she was still desperate to know whether there was any chance he might have forgiven her. ‘Did Drew say anything, before he went with Jesse?’
‘He said he’d come to the house, as soon as he could be certain Jesse was going to be given the help he needs. I’m still not sure there’s any helping a man like Jesse, but I’ll take his word for it.’ Her father sighed. ‘Just come home, sweetheart, it’ll all be okay. You’ll see.’
‘I’m coming home, Dad.’ She nodded, despite the fact her father couldn’t see her. She needed to get to Teddie, to hold him tight and promise him that whatever happened with his father she’d always keep him safe. Except she wanted to give Teddie more than just safety, she wanted to give him the kind of family she’d pictured on the day they’d gone to the theme park with Drew. But that was out of her control, because she knew if Drew couldn’t forgive her, the family she’d pictured would never look the way she wanted it to, and she’d have taken something from Teddie she could never get back.
* * *
Eden had no idea how many times she’d looked at her watch during the course of the afternoon, but it must have been hundreds. She knew as well as anyone how stretched mental health services were and how long it might take for Jesse to be seen, let alone for any arrangements to be made for him to get the help he finally seemed to have accepted he needed.
She wanted to call Drew, but she knew his focus would be on Jesse, and although it was unbearable not knowing how things stood between them, that made her love him even more. She’d almost given up hope of him turning up at all, when someone knocked on the door, just after nine o’clock. Teddie was in bed, Felix had gone to the gym in Port Tremellien, and her parents were at a golf club dinner. For a moment she wondered if something had gone wrong and it might be Jesse, but then she saw Drew through the pane of glass and her heart seemed to double its pace. She’d been desperate to see him, and to hear what he had to say, but now she wasn’t so sure she wanted to open the door. If he told her that nothing had changed since he’d sent the text, this would be the end of the line. As scared as Eden was that she’d ruined things between them, she had to know for sure. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she opened the door.
‘I love you.’ The words escaped before she even had the chance to try and stop them and, for what felt like an eternity, Drew didn’t say anything in response. Then a broad smile spread across his face.
‘I love you too.’
‘In that case you’d better come in.’ Eden’s eyes filled with tears, but she was laughing too. This was not how she’d planned it, but then nothing between them had ever gone according to plan.
‘I thought you’d never ask.’ Drew followed her into the house and she turned to him as soon as they reached the kitchen. There was so much to say and this time she promised herself she was going to be completely honest.
‘I’m so sorry for not telling you about Sadie and Jesse, I just didn’t want you to think—’ He took hold of her hand, stopping her mid-flow.
‘You don’t have to apologise. I’m the one who should say sorry. As soon as I met Jesse, I understood, but I should have got it even before then. You told me how he twisted everything, until even you weren’t sure if you were the one who was lying. It’s no wonder you didn’t want to tell me and have me questioning your motives. I should have trusted you and I’m sorry.’
‘You’ve been through a lot too and I promised you I’d never lie. Even when I was doing it, I knew it was stupid, but I was scared of anything that might come between us. Then Sadie called me and she was so worried about Jesse, I should have said no to going down there, but I kept thinking what would happen if this was the one time he followed through on his threat to hurt himself. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.’
‘How much you care about others is just one of the things I love about you.’ Drew widened his eyes, as if hearing the word love was a surprise to him. ‘I’m still getting used to admitting that’s how I feel, but I do. I’ve never met anyone like you.’
‘I could say the same about you.’ She moved closer to him. ‘We might both be a bit messed up by the stuff we’ve been through, but that kind of makes us a matching pair, don’t you think?’
Drew shook his head, a serious expression on his face, and for a moment her heart felt as though it had sunk through the floor, but then he smiled again. ‘I think a trio sounds better than a pair. Have you ever heard of the rule of three?’
Eden shook her head. ‘If it’s got anything to do with trigonometry, I’m warning you now that my brain will just shut down. There’s a reason it took me three attempts to pass GCSE maths.’
‘It’s got nothing to do with trigonometry, I promise.’ Drew laughed. ‘The rule states that three is the smallest odd number able to create a sense of completeness and balance. That’s exactly how I feel when I’m with you and Teddie.’
‘Me too.’ Eden couldn’t wait another second to show him how she felt. Reaching up, she put her hands on either side of Drew’s face, pulling him down to kiss her. Balance and completeness were exactly what she’d been searching for, without even knowing it. Three might be odd, but it really was the perfect number. She wouldn’t rule out the prospect of there eventually being four, or maybe even more than that. But for now she was going to enjoy every moment of being a party of three, and for the first time in forever she had a feeling that the future would take care of itself.
EPILOGUE
Eden hadn’t looked forward to Christmas so much in years. She wouldn’t have bet on Drew being a huge fan of the season, but it turned out he had enough festive spirit to rival Santa Claus himself.
‘So are you going to tell me where we’re going, or do I have to guess?’ Eden smiled across at Drew as they turned inland from the coastal road that led from Port Kara to Port Tremellien. In the past week, they’d already been to see the lantern parade in Fowey, and attempted ice skating at the Eden Project. They were booked in to see the winter wonderland lights at the Heligan Night Garden and, on Christmas Eve, they’d be travelling on a heritage steam train with Santa Claus and his elves. It was as if Drew was making up for all the childhood experiences that he and Eden had missed out on, and she was loving every minute of it, even if it had been a bit hit-and-miss when it came to her son.
‘It’s a secret. I know Teddie wasn’t a massive fan of the ice skating, but this one is especially for him. So you’ll just have to wait and see what it is.’ Drew grinned and tapped the side of his nose, as Teddie chatted away from the back seat in his own little language. There’d been some developments with his communication in the past few weeks. He was gesturing a lot more, pointing and waving without being prompted to do so, and he was making a repetitive noise that sounded a lot like mama. At least that was what Eden was telling herself, even if it was still more of a sound than a word. He’d also graduated from refusing to watch anything exceptPaddington, to alternating between that andPeppa Pig. It had come as a huge relief to Eden, after almost three years of the same show on endless repeat.
‘Teddie’s so lucky to have you.’ She reached out and laid a hand over Drew’s for a moment, which was resting on the gear stick. Their relationship had progressed to the kind of easy intimacy that made being with him feel as though it was exactly where she needed to be. ‘And so am I. Teddie might not be able to say it yet, but we love you.’
‘I’d say that makes me the lucky one, because I love you both too.’
‘Good because you’re stuck with us now.’
‘I wouldn’t want it any other way.’
It had surprised Eden when Drew’s admission that he loved her had come with such apparent ease in the end, but it probably shouldn’t have done. Even before he’d said it out loud, it had been evident in the things he did. It made it much easier to accept what she’d been through with Jesse, because all of that had made her realise that what she and Teddie had with Drew was incredibly special.
