Page 81 of Polo Fever
‘And you proved to everyone that you were born to play!’ Sam gushes, releasing me. ‘If you’d never left London to escape to here, you might never have tried polo in your life. Isn’t it funny how life has a way of working out?’
‘It is funny,’ I say, gazing up at Mateo, who winks at me.
‘Ren made a huge mistake letting you go, Ash, but he knows that by now. I’m surprised he hasn’t been calling you day and night begging for you back!’ Sam exclaims, momentarily distracted by a handsome DQ groom who brushes past her, flashing her a winning smile.
‘Why would he do that? I accidentally sabotaged the biggest launch of his career, remember,’ I remind her drily.
She frowns at me as though I’ve lost the plot. ‘Sabotaged? Honey, you made him. He should be thanking you! His sales are through the roof. Your… um…involvementmade sure his brand became a household name. The publicity was more than he could have dreamt.’
‘But it was bad publicity.’
‘What, that a guy wearing his clothes can attract beautiful girls like you?’ she says, eyebrows raised. ‘That jacket that Chris wore to the launch, the one in the photographs? Sold out faster than any other piece. Trust me, Ash, I know you went through a shitshow, and I’ll forever hate that disgusting pig of a tennis player – but Ren? That moron is laughing all the way to the bank.’
I blink at her, astonished. ‘Wow. I did not see that coming.’
‘Like I say, sometimes, things have a way of working out. You have to keep the faith.’ Sam shrugs, accepting the three glasses of champagne that are passed to us from the chain of people surrounding the bar. She holds her glass aloft. ‘To our polo champion, Ash. Cheers!’
‘Cheers!’ Mateo echoes, clinking his glass against hers.
‘Thank you for coming today, Sam,’ I say, taking a sip.
‘Oh, the pleasure isallmine,’ she murmurs suggestively, her shoulders rolling back and her wicked smile broadening as we’re joined by Fitz and Eric.
‘Here she is!’ Eric cries, nudging me with his elbow. ‘Feels good to win, doesn’t it? That penalty was spectacular. Are you sure you’ve never played polo before you came here to Maycourt? It’s a shame you didn’t come to it sooner. A bit of training in Argentina, Chile, maybe Florida, and you could have made pro.’
I laugh. ‘Thanks, but I’m happy to stay behind the scenes in the polo yard. There are a thousand grooms more skilled than me when it comes to polo, so if anyone should be backed to play, it’s them. I was by far the weakest on the field today.’
‘It’s great that you feel so at home at Maycourt.’ Eric smiles at me. ‘I hope we’ll see you back here next summer. Have you thought about what you’re going to do in the meantime?’
I hesitate. ‘Uh…’
‘A lot of the grooms work for my aunt on a seasonal basis. Not as much to do around here during the winter months,’ Fitz reminds me. ‘They go where the high-goal polo is.’
‘Singapore, Australia, and Argentina coming up,’ Eric says.
‘Eliza also hires grooms all year round,’ Mateo notes.
‘The all-year round positions are filled with grooms who have been here a long time,’ Fitz says. ‘Did she say this was a permanent position when she hired you?’
‘We didn’t go into specifics,’ I say, biting my lip. ‘She spoke about Serafina and the summer season…’
As I trail off, Eric clears his throat. ‘Well, during today’s performance, you made the whole Maycourt yard proud.’
‘I think you played well,’ Fitz decides, taking a sip of his drink. ‘Room for improvement, but I’m sure Mateo will dedicatemorethan enough of his time to that.’
His comment is noticeably pointed. There’s an edge to his tone. A dash of irritation, maybe? He’s miffed about something and he’s choosing not to hide it. Mateo picks up on it. I feel him tense up next to me.
‘It wasn’t just Mateo’s teaching that got me out on the pitch today, but also his calming effect,’ I say chirpily, refusing to rise to it. ‘I was terrified, playing in front of all those people. I don’t know how you lot do it!’
‘The lead-up to the match is always worse than playing it,’ Eric says, nodding in understanding. ‘You’ve got to have the right mindset.’
‘Composure under pressure,’ Sam says.
He smiles at her. ‘Exactly.’
‘I work forStudiomagazine and one of our writers, Iris Gray, profiles athletes. She often writes about their mental resilience and its importance to their success,’ she explains.
‘Interesting. Has she ever written a polo article?’ Eric checks.
