Page 84 of Virgin's Stolen Nights with the Boss

Carmen wanted to call Maria, to hurl her rage at the person who really deserved it, but she was out of emotion for her mother today.

Oh, what had she done?

On the morning of the grand final. A match he had wanted to win for his late brother...

She thought about her own preparations before a big event, how she had to have the right boots, the right scarf, the right brush for Presumir...

She could never make that row right. Carmen knew that. But she had to at the very least apologise.

‘Good luck,’ said Elias’s father, shaking his hand. ‘Proud of you.’

‘We haven’t won yet...’

‘I’m proud of you whatever the result today.’

‘Thank you,’ Elias said.

‘You’re very pale,’ observed his mother.

‘It’s the grand final, Mom.’

Elias could not give a damn about the grand final.

He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t shaken—he just knew he was in the wrong place.

Carmen was no doubt packing that backpack and heading to LAX, and he was about to play a silly game while she was leaving him.

All the molecules and atoms in his world felt misaligned: the immaculate green grass was too vivid, the world not quite right without Carmen here.

Laura was missing her too, and obviously sulking. ‘Carmen would be much faster. Why did Blake let her stay behind? She should be here.’

‘Well, she’s not,’ Elias said, and mounted Winnie, who was so full of energy that he possiblycouldride her to Vegas...

Their names were being called over the speakers.

‘You’ve got this,’ Blake said, as he always did before a match.

‘Good luck!’ Laura stopped sulking long enough to give him her best wishes.

‘Buena suerte!’

He heard her voice and turned to see Carmen, smart in her uniform, her hair in a ponytail. But her face was grey. She was patting Winnie’s neck, and although she was looking towards him, she did not look directly at him.

‘Thank you.’

I’m so sorry, she mouthed.

But he said nothing, just gave a very brief nod.

And then John caught sight of her.

‘Carmen, thank God you’re here!’ he shouted.

It was the craziest, most dangerous game she had ever seen, and so fast that her head was spinning. She watched them deliberately crashing into each other, and it was hard to make sense of it when her career was one of perfect formations, with beautiful dancing horses...

‘I thought it was seven and a half minutes?’ she said.

‘Plus fouls,’ Laura said.

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