Page 85 of Virgin's Stolen Nights with the Boss

She saw Elias and three others go from standing still into a full gallop, and she felt electricity shoot down her neck...

Far from being a good luck charm, it seemed she had only made things worse. They were one chukka down as Elias jumped off Winnie and changed horses.

‘Elias is off his game,’ John said, cursing. ‘What’s going on?’

Elias’s team were still down at half-time, but there was barely time for Carmen to register it and not a moment to breathe. There were legs to be unstrapped, tails and manes to be un-braided, and horses to be cooled down.

It was the most incredible, exhilarating game, and she could barely take it in. The crowd was cheering, hooves were thundering, and Carmen could not believe she had ever asked to stay away from seeing this game.

Because she absolutely loved it.

And him.

But there was just no time to worry about her heart, because the opposition had scored again and John declared the match lost.

‘It’s over... They can’t come back from this.’

‘Misery!’ Laura exclaimed.

There wasn’t any time to feel—not for Carmen, as she prepared Winnie for the final chukka. And then Winnie did what horses sometimes did when you were bandaging their back legs and messing with their tails...

‘Carmen!’ Laura shrieked, and turned the hose on her to wash off the worst of it.

But there really wasn’t time to care. And Carmen, who had thought she would never smile again, and certainly not today, found that she was laughing.

‘Good God!’ Elias said when he saw her.

‘I probably deserved it,’ Carmen said, and he gave her a brief flicker of a smile.

And then it was all about the match.

‘Come on!’ John was shouting.

And the line was barely being manned any more. Duties were suspended as they stood cheering on the team, and Carmen watched as Elias charged through the opposition and smashed it.

Carmen started whooping, as she would have done at home.

‘They’re going to do it!’ Laura was calling out. ‘Come on, Elias! Go,go!’

John was shouting too. ‘Go! I think he might... It looks like they might... Yay!’

Then a siren went off.

‘They’ve won!’

Carmen’s heart was in her mouth, because it was the most exciting thing she’d ever witnessed. But, oh, it was bittersweet too. Because everyone was so happy, clapping him and supporting him... And Carmen would never forgive herself for throwing him off his game with her personal dramas.

So she put her head down and worked hard with the rest of the staff to rub down the horses and prepare them for transport back to the stable.

And then it was the prizegiving ceremony, and Elias went up to receive the trophy.

‘Thank you,’ he said in his speech, ‘to everyone.’

They all got a mention—his team mates, Blake and his wonderful grooms. But even though he glanced over, he did not look at her.

‘Why don’t I get a proper mention?’ Laura grumbled. ‘I’m head groom.’

‘And thank you to my parents...’ Elias paused for a moment, then, ‘We’re going to be starting a new venture,’ he explained.

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