Page 622 of From Rakes to Riches

A hole, black and bottomless, opened up inside Rake, and he felt suddenly winded, even having to put his hands on his knees to support himself.

He’d lost her.

Truly lost her.

Strangely, he hadn’t considered it a real possibility.

Her decision was made.

And he had no choice but to respect it.

Respect it?

Nay, if she’d stayed in England, he wouldn’t have been able to keep away from her.

But when a woman followed through on putting an ocean between her and a man, well, it sent a message.

One he would have to try to find a way to live with.

He had only himself to blame.

26

EPSOM DOWNS, TWO WEEKS LATER

Rake rested his forearms on the top runner of the track fence and watched alongside Julian as horse and rider blazed past, hooves pounding the earth with a mutedthud-thud…thud-thud.

Julian glanced at his pocket watch. “Eight seconds faster than the last go.”

“Filthy Habit will need a good gallop about an hour before the Derby to get his blood up,” said Rake.

Julian nodded in agreement and slipped his watch into his pocket. Together, they watched the horses in their morning workouts. Though the Derby was still a week away, Epsom was already buzzing with the frenetic energy that possessed every course in England the week preceding a racing meeting.

“Little Wicked is in fine form for the Oaks,” observed Julian.

“Aye, she’s a sweet goer,” returned Rake. “Good bottom.”

He could barely speak the words through gritted teeth. It would always irk him that Little Wicked belonged to Deverill.

He flung thoughts of the man from his mind. All they did was lead to…

Gemma.

“I think we’ve got Filthy Habit’s main issue sorted,” continued Julian.

“What issue?”

“Not so much with Filthy Habit himself, as with his jockey.”

“Too much crop?”

Julian shook his head. “Too little, actually.”

A dry laugh sounded through Rake’s nose. “Don’t ever let—” The remainder of the sentence died in Rake’s mouth.

Don’t ever let Gemma hear you say that.

Of course, Gemma couldn’t hear it. She wasn’t here.

---