Page 43 of Polo Fever
‘It was all you.’ He smiles, his eyes glistening at me. ‘Brilliant you.’
Something tugs in my heart as we grin stupidly at each other.
He notices something over my shoulder and his smile falters. Shifting in my saddle, I look behind me to see someone waiting at the edge of the field: a gorgeous woman in a mini dress with long, blonde hair and huge sunglasses. She wiggles her fingers in our direction.
‘Isn’t that…?’ I peer at her and then turn to face Mateo again, recognising her while my stomach twists itself into jealous knots. ‘It’s the actress you met at the Berkshire.’
He looks sheepish. ‘She joked about surprising me one night, I didn’t think—’
‘I won’t keep you. Our lesson is finished anyway. End on a high, right?’ I babble, patting my pony before I dismount. ‘I can take the ponies back and sort them, and come back to pick up the balls and mallets and stuff. You head out. Don’t want to be late for your date.’
God, why am I talking like this? It’s so weird and forced. He’ll see through it. But I can’t seem to stop. I’m on a frantic mission to prove I’m at ease.
‘Thanks so much for the lesson. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good time!’ I call out, leading my pony away.
‘Ash, wait,’ he says, and I spin round, turning the horse with me.
‘Yes?’ I say, my breath catching in my throat.
‘I… I haven’t got off my horse yet,’ he says, brow furrowed.
I slap my forehead with my palm as he hops down onto the grass and leads him over to me. ‘Almost forgot a pony. It’s the high of hitting the ball. It’s made me dizzy.’
‘Ash—’ he begins, pained.
‘I’ll see you in the morning,’ I say, cutting him off and leading the ponies away before he can say anything else and refusing to look back over my shoulder at them as I go. Soothed by the rhythmic clopping of the two ponies walking with me across the yard, I remind myself in a quiet voice out loud why this is a good thing: ‘He only wants flings and you’re better than that. Forget him before it’s too late.’
Fifteen
When you’re around someone a lot, it’s hard not to constantly think about them. I see Mateo almost every day and we’re spending a lot more time together thanks to my polo lessons and his training with Serafina. I’ve had to stop myself from asking him outright about his date with the actress, desperately wanting to know what happened and at the same time dreading it, uncontrollable envy swirling in my stomach at the thought of them together.
‘Serafina is doing brilliantly,’ Jules gushes a few days later as she helps me untack her now that her wrist is healed and her cast is off. ‘She’s calmer, she’s controlled, she’s listening to Mateo. And she’s quick. She’s becoming a fantastic little polo pony! If she keeps this up, Mateo might even consider bringing her to Guards. Good work, Ash.’
‘I haven’t done much. Mateo is the one riding her.’
‘Yeah, but he wouldn’t have won her trust if it weren’t for you. Take the compliment.’
‘Okay.’ I laugh. ‘Thanks.’ I pause, fiddling with the bucklesbefore asking innocently, ‘Will Mateo’s date be coming to watch him play at Guards?’
‘What date?’
‘You know,’ I say casually, ‘that beautiful actress he met at the Berkshire. They’re seeing each other aren’t they?’
‘Oh, her. No, that didn’t go well,’ Jules shrugs. ‘I heard Malcolm ask him about her and he said he wasn’t interested. Apparently, he cut the date short. Strange, right? She’s hot.’
I silently continue with my task while my heart swells.
That evening, after a late lesson with Mateo, he helps me lead the ponies back to their stalls, untack and sort them before bed, which has become a bit of a routine of ours. We usually talk about tactics or upcoming matches or ponies – I do my best to keep it professional so my growing feelings for him are, at least, a little restrained. Tonight, though, I’m gabbling on about my love for the sport, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins after a brilliant lesson.
‘It’s impossible to describe that thrill,’ I gush, exiting Lyra’s box.
‘I know what you mean.’ He laughs, leaning on the door of the stall belonging to the handsome grey horse he was riding today, Wickham, who nudges Mateo in the hope of a treat – Wickham isalwayshungry. ‘When you hit the ball right, it’s an amazing rush.’
‘Actually, I was thinking more about the moment just before you hit it.’
He raises his eyebrows. ‘Before?’
‘Yeah.’ I grin, enjoying his surprise. ‘When you’re going at it full speed, I mean. Obviously, if you’re fighting for the ball or if it’s a penalty, it’s different. But when you’re charging full pelt down the field and you can feel the powerof your horse and your heart jumps into your throat as you begin your swing, not knowing how it’s going to go.’ I blow out the air in my cheeks. ‘That’s the moment I’m addicted to.’
