Page 18

Rotterdam was an Official International Competition involving a Nations’ Cup.

In the two-round event, out of the eight countries represented, the Americans came away with a third-place win.

Not bad, considering Clay racked up fourteen faults in the first round, eighteen in the second.

One of the poorest rides he’d made all year.

Ellie won the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Flex should have.

In the jump-off, Sebastian took the final fence too fast, landed wrong, and Flex came out of the saddle, his chest and shoulders thrown hard against the bottom two rails.

Sparky stood over him, the gelding rolling his eyes and trembling, as if ashamed of what he’d done.

Flex spoke to him softly, forgiving him, it seemed.

The horse nuzzled his master’s head while the medics gave him the once-over.

No broken bones, they pronounced.

Flex limped off the field with a half–hearted smile.

Clay rode so poorly, taking out half the fences and stacking twenty faults, that Ellie felt little satisfaction in beating him.

She collected her silver cup and made a victory lap around the ring.

Jube, who had no trouble accepting the accolades, pranced and tossed his head, nickering to Sparky as they left the arena.

“That was fine riding,”

Jake said when she jumped down from the saddle.

He stroked Jube’s sleek sorrel neck.

“You’ve come a long way since New York.

I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Jake’s words of praise meant more than the trophy she’d won.

“Thank you.

I just hope I can keep winning.”

“You will.

The worst part, the nerves and uncertainty, are behind you.

Now you know you can win so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

They walked to the barn in silence.

Jake seemed more relaxed than he had been in the last few weeks, though in some ways he seemed even more guarded.

Ellie had noticed him glancing behind him on more than one occasion or jumping at the slightest noise.

She was sure it had something to do with the incidents that had plagued the team, though nothing more had happened.

Jake had tremendous responsibility, and he was the kind of man who took that seriously.

If anything happened to the team, Jake would blame himself.

At the stables, Maggie Delaine stopped by.

“Congratulations.

I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks, Maggie.

Did you get Sarah off all right?”

Maggie flicked a soft glance toward where Jake stood talking to Shep Singleton.

Ellie caught the subtle movement and wondered if Maggie had in some way been responsible for the change in Jake.

“She didn’t want to leave, but she had fun while she was here.”

Ellie smiled inwardly.

Maggie’s eyes moved over Jake like a caress, a far different look than she’d given him a few days ago.

Something must have happened between them.

Usually adept at hiding his emotions, when Jake looked at Maggie, he was easy to read.

Ellie hoped the two could work out their differences.

“I miss Sarah already,”

Maggie said, drawing Ellie’s attention back to the conversation.

“But it was just too hard to get my work done and watch out for my daughter, too.”

“Did she get to ride much while she was here?”

“Flex took her out a couple of times.

So did Prissy.”

“I would have, if I’d thought of it.

I guess I’ve been a little preoccupied lately.”

“I know what you mean,”

Maggie said.

“Well, I just wanted to drop by and tell you how thrilled I am for you.

I’d better get back to the hotel.”

Maggie threw a last glance at Jake, their eyes locked, then each turned away.

“Congratulations.”

Prissy Knowles approached the barn, leading Julius Caesar.

“You and Jube were terrific.”

“Thanks.”

Ellie stood outside her tack room brushing Jube, her mind going over events of the day.

“What’s the matter? You’re supposed to be excited.”

Ellie shrugged.

“I wanted to beat Clay.”

“But that’s what you did.”

“Not really.

Clay wasn’t trying.

I’ve never seen him ride as poorly as he has this week.”

“So he’s a little down in the dumps.

So what? We all have our off days.”

“Not Clay.

Clay rides his best no matter what mood he’s in.”

“You’ve got a point there.

He’s one tough competitor.

It takes a lot to get him down.”

Ellie continued stroking Jube, who nickered softly at her gentle touch.

“You don’t suppose he’s pining away over you?”

Ellie laughed.

“Hardly.

He’s got women two at a time these days.”

“Same old Clay.

Just be glad you didn’t go to bed with him.”

“We really never came close.”

“Lucky for you.”

“I suppose.”

“You suppose what?”

Clay sauntered into the barn, stopping a few feet from Ellie.

He propped a wide shoulder against the wall and crossed his long, booted legs in front of him.

“She supposes you could have ridden better today,”

Prissy said.

“What do you suppose?”

“I suppose the lady is right,”

he said darkly.

Reaching down, he picked up a piece of straw and clamped it between his teeth, but his eyes remained on Ellie.

Prissy glanced from one of them to the other.

“I’ll see you two back at the hotel,”

she said, and Ellie felt a moment of panic.

“What’s the matter?”

Clay growled as Prissy disappeared out of sight.

“Afraid I’ll carry you into the tack room and make passionate love to you? Or afraid I won’t?”

“I see you’re in fine form today,”

Ellie said, beginning to stroke Jube faster.

“I feel like hell, and you, Ms.

Fletcher, are the reason.

In two long strides, Clay ducked under Jube’s lead rope and came up beside her.

“Even my riding is beginning to suffer.”

She looked up at him incredulously.

“Your riding is suffering because of me? Now I’ve heard everything.

I think you’re just a sore loser.

I beat you, and you can’t stand it.”

“I don’t like to lose.

I’ll grant you that.

It won’t happen again.”

“Oh, really?”

Ellie stopped brushing and turned to face him.

He was standing so close she could smell his cologne.

“I hope you get over whatever is ailing you, Clay, before we get to Hickstead.

I hope you ride the best you’ve ever ridden. And when I beat you, I don’t want to hear any excuses. I just want to hear congratulations.”

“Congratulations, Ms.

Fletcher,”

he said, his tone suddenly lighter.

“How about letting me buy you dinner by way of celebration?”

Ellie released an exasperated sigh.

“I don’t feel like celebrating.

Somehow my victory seems hollow.”

Clay tipped her chin up.

“You rode brilliantly today.

Better than I’ve ever seen you.

I still can’t believe you’ve learned to compete like that in just four years.”

Ellie felt a thread of guilt.

“That’s the way the newspapers see it.

Actually, I started riding when I was three.

I just didn’t compete.”

“The truth will out.

Now where shall we go for dinner?”

“I’m sorry, Clay.

I’ve got too much to do.

We’ll be leaving in the morning.

I’ve got to pack. Rose’s tack needs mending and—”

“You’ve got a groom for that, or are his services more valuable elsewhere?”

Ellie pressed her lips together.

The hard, fast strokes of her brush gave him his answer.

“Damn it, Ellie, you’re driving me crazy.

Go out with me.”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

Ellie hurled the brush against the wall where it landed with a clatter.

“Why not? You ask me that after the way you acted? You have your women—dozens of them—what do you want with me?”

“I didn’t sleep with those two girls.

I sent them home.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’m a bastard, Ellie, not a liar.”

Clay didn’t flinch or glance away.

“I didn’t sleep with Gabriella either,”

he said, suddenly serious.

“The truth is, there are far less women than you believe.” A grin dimpled his cheeks.

“And I know all about safe sex.”

Ellie flushed and glanced away.

“I was mad because you left with Gerry,”

he told her.

“I acted abominably, and I apologize.

Now how about dinner?”

Barely trusting her voice, Ellie shook her head. “No,”

she whispered.

Clay cursed so low it sounded like a growl.

“I’m tired of taking no for an answer, Ellie.

I know you want me as much as I want you.

Tomorrow night we’ll be in London. I’ve taken a suite at Claridge’s. We’ll have supper at Le Caprice, celebrate your win, then go to bed. One way or another, tomorrow night I’m going to make love to you. It’s what I want, it’s what you want—and we both know it!”

Ignoring her stunned expression, Clay slid an arm around her waist, hauled her against him, and kissed her, long and deep.

When he let her go, she clutched Jube’s mane of support.

“You can’t just...you can’t just...”

“ The way you just kissed me says I can! ”

His lips covered hers again, and he kissed her even more thoroughly, sending little slivers of warmth down her spine.

Ellie clutched his neck, praying he wouldn’t hear her purr.

“I’m a fool not to take you right here,”

he whispered against her cheek as he nibbled her ear.

An alarm went off at his words.

Ellie broke away and glanced guiltily around to see if anyone could hear.

Clay chuckled softly.

“So fiery.

So proper.

Tomorrow night we’ll see which one you really are.”

“What makes you think I’ll go with you?”

“Because, if I have to, I’ll find you and convince you that’s what you want.”

Ellie moistened her lips.

She hated to admit how good that sounded.

“Keep that up, and I won’t wait until tomorrow.”

He flashed her a grin that said he was only half teasing.

“Don’t worry, love.

I want what happens between us to be special.”

Lowering his head, he kissed her again, quick and hard, making her insides melt.

“Maybe you’re right,”

she said.

“I’ve been trying to convince myself to stay away from you, but we both know that’s not what I really want.”

Clay’s eyebrows arched in disbelief, then he smiled so brightly his whole face lit up.

He looked vulnerable, almost boyish.

“We’ll be at Hickstead by ten o’clock tomorrow.

We’ll see to the horses, then go into London and do a little sightseeing.

Have you seen the Tower?”

“I’ve never been to London,”

she said, still slightly breathless.

“Then you’re in for a treat.

We’ll go to lunch and prowl around a little afterward.”

He ran a finger down her cheek.

“I’ve got a meeting with some of my father’s business associates tonight.

Believe it or not, I work for a living, just like everyone else.

The family business usually takes up a lot of my time, but this year, I made an exception.”

He smiled.

“I’ll see you in the morning.”

Ellie just nodded.

“Get some rest, love.

This is all going to work out.”

With a last quick kiss and a sweeping glance that sent the blood singing in her veins, Clay was gone.

When morning arrived, Ellie felt nervous and jittery yet filled with anticipation.

Tonight, she would sleep with Clayton Whitfield, let him make love to her as she’d wanted him to do almost from the start.

The brief flight to Gatwick Airport left at nine o’clock sharp.

The horses, traveling by ferry, had left hours earlier and would arrive in Hickstead ahead of them.

Clay sat in the seat beside her, smiling, touching her a little more than necessary, his eyes warm, yet she couldn’t miss the hunger.

He laughed and smiled easily, and Ellie felt herself smiling in return, approaching the inevitability of their lovemaking with an unexpected sense of relief.

She wanted to take the final steps to womanhood, and she wanted to make that journey with Clay.

What happened tomorrow didn’t matter, she told herself.

She’d deal with whatever problems arose when the time came.

“Tell me about your first pony,”

he teased as he tried to get his wide shoulders comfortable in the far too narrow seat.

“How old did you say you were? Three?”

“I was three when I sat my first pony, but I didn’t get one of my own until I was five.

I’ll never forget her.

Cuddles.

She was a ten-hand Welsh Mountain pony, blaze-faced, the most beautiful dapple gray.”

Ellie flashed on a blurry image of her pony, then the photo she had seen after her surgery.

The pony was gone by then, but she remembered the feel of the pony’s sleek coat beneath her hands.

She wished she could see Cuddles as she really was instead of just a picture.

“My father gave her to me on my birthday.

I really loved that pony.

I rode her every day until I was ten years old.

It always makes me sad to think of her.”

Ellie swallowed and glanced away.

“What happened to her?”

Clay asked.

She turned back.

“Just before my birthday, one of the stable boys left her stall open.

She wandered out and got into the feed bin, gorged herself on hay and oats, then got colic.

I sat up with the vet all night, holding her head in my lap. She’d just nuzzle me and whimper as if she were asking for my help. Around midnight, my mother and father brought me a tray of food, but I couldn’t eat. By then the vet knew she wasn’t going to make it.”

Ellie ignored the catch in her throat.

“My parents knew I’d want to be with her at the end.”

Clay brushed a tear from her cheek.

He reached over and caught her hand, brought it to his lips.

“You are so damned sweet.”

Ellie shook her head.

“I didn’t mean to do that.

Now I feel foolish.”

“You shouldn’t.

I lost a horse I felt that way about, a big chestnut gelding.

His name was Nickels and Dimes.

I called him Nicky. I was fourteen when it happened, and it was my fault. I put him in a class he wasn’t ready for, then put him wrong over a fence too high for him to handle. Nicky went down, me along with him. I got a broken leg out of it, so did Nicky. They put him down right there at the show grounds. I didn’t cry. I was afraid if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop, and someone would see me.”

Ellie glanced up at him and realized he still felt the pain.

Clay cleared his throat.

“It was probably a good lesson.

After Nicky died, I never let my ego come between me and my horses.”

Ellie smiled up at him.

“You never cease to amaze me.

You write poetry, you like art and ancient history, now I discover, deep down inside, you even have a heart.”

Clay laughed.

“Another of my deep dark secrets.”

The plane began its descent.

Somehow with Clay beside her, the plane ride wasn’t so unnerving.

They landed at Gatwick and were shepherded quickly through customs.

On the bus ride to the hotel, she and Clay sat across from Jake. She didn’t miss the scowl of disapproval on his face. Sweet God, she couldn’t imagine what he’d say if he knew about their plans for tonight!

It was none of Jake’s business.

He wasn’t her father, for heaven’s sake.

Besides, he had his own problems with Maggie to worry about.

Across the aisle, Flex noticed Clay sitting beside her and winked.

Prissy looked uncertain.

Ellie glanced at Clay and found him watching her, as he had been off and on all day.

His eyes looked dark and hungry.

Ellie felt a knot of tension curl in the pit of her stomach but willed herself to relax, certain she was making the right decision.

Who was she kidding? There was no decision to make.

Ellie turned her attention to the lush green English landscape outside her window.

All the cars drove on the wrong side of the road, and she loved the narrow, very British black taxis with the tiny white lights on top.

People walked the roads in trench coats and carried umbrellas, though it wasn’t raining.

It was like watching a color version of an old Basil Rathbone movie.

At the Hickstead stables, Ellie checked on Jubilee and Rose.

Clay checked on Max and Zodiak.

When he didn’t return, Ellie went to find him and bumped into Jake on the way.

“Getting awfully cozy with Whitfield, aren’t you?”

“Since when did my love life become your affair?”

Jake seemed surprised by her tone.

“Sorry.

I guess I deserved that.”

Ellie softened.

“I appreciate your concern, Jake.

I know you mean well, but I have to do what’s right for me.”

“Believe it or not, I know what it feels like to love someone.

When that love is returned, it’s the most wonderful thing in the world.

When it isn’t, well...

nothing’s more painful.”

“You’re talking about Maggie.”

Jake seemed to collect himself.

“I’m talking about you and Clay.

I know him better than you do.

Clay may not be capable of giving you the kind of love you deserve.”

“But you aren’t sure.”

Jake didn’t answer.

“Look, Jake, I don’t expect Clay to love me.

But I am attracted to him, and it’s clear he’s attracted to me.

So far, that’s all it is.”

“Ellie—“

“Leave it alone, Jake. Please?”

Jake touched her cheek the way her father often did.

It was a gesture of affection so foreign Ellie glanced up at him in surprise.

The only time he’d let down his guard was when he’d been with Maggie.

“Just be careful,” he said.

She smiled.

“I will.

I promise.”

Jake turned to leave, but Ellie stopped him.

“I don’t mean to interfere in your business either, Jake, but I think Maggie still loves you.

She’s a great lady.

If you two had a fight, maybe you should try and make up.”

Jake’s smile came easy.

“I’ll give it some thought.”

Ellie watched him walk away, thinking maybe he already had.

Continuing down the long line of stalls, past whinnying horses and bustling grooms, Ellie found Clay brushing Max, smiling and speaking to him quietly, as if he were talking to a friend.

“You have a groom for that,”

she teased, repeating his words.

“Sometimes Max gets nervous in a new place.

Or maybe there’s been a mare in heat in one of the stalls.”

Ellie flushed.

It was ridiculous.

She’d been around horses all her life.

Now the implication seemed more personal.

“I just want to get him settled,”

Clay finished.

“You think of him the way you did Nicky.”

Clay looked surprised.

“Yes, I guess I do.

He’s the finest animal I’ve ever owned, but he’s more than that.

When we ride together, we’re partners. He knows what I want, even before I ask. Usually, it works both ways.”

“But not last week.”

“I think my dismal mood rubbed off on him.”

He grinned, flashing his dimples.

“This week, I’ll be fine and so will Max.”

He threw her a look that said making love to her would solve all his problems.

Ellie hoped it wouldn’t be the beginning of hers.