Winner Takes All - Anna Harrington Page 0,4
the seat of his curricle as he drove her to Uncle Jonas’s house. So far, he hadn’t said a word about her announcement in the stable. No comments, no questions…nothing. All he had done at the news of the agreement with Papa was hold out his hand to help her to her feet and quickly announced that he’d fetch his rig so he could take her home. She might as well have declared that the sun rose in the east for all the reaction she’d garnered from him.
Even now he just stared straight ahead and occasionally flicked the ribbons to keep the beautifully matched team moving at a quick clip. The faster they arrived at her uncle’s country pile, she knew, the sooner he could deliver her home and out of his life. For good this time.
But then, what had she expected? That he would grab her into his arms, declare his undying love, and demand that she marry no other man but him? After all, she’d spent years dreaming of exactly that.
Ah, but dreams never did come true, did they? Or he wouldn’t have left four years ago.
He’d loved her once, she’d been certain of that. As certain as she’d been of her own love for him. As certain as they’d both been that any kind of lasting future for them was impossible. But that hadn’t stopped her from dreaming and wishing and wanting for so much more than she could ever have.
“Stop staring,” he grumbled and irritably flicked the ribbons.
“I can’t help it.” When he shot her a quick look of surprise, she shrugged and turned away before he could see her true feelings for him on her face. “I like to size up the competition before a race.”
Certainly she’d always enjoyed sizing him up.
When she’d finally found her breath after falling from Midnight, the sight of him had simply knocked it right back out of her. Heavens, he was as handsome as ever, right down to the little crinkles in the corners of his eyes when he smiled and that sandy blonde hair that she’d once loved to run her fingers through. It was as soft and silky as a horse’s mane, and sometimes just as untamed.
No—he looked better than before. Now he practically glowed with confidence and strength. But she supposed that was what happened to a man who was set free to pursue his dreams.
Oh, he’d possessed those traits before, certainly, if in lesser quantities. That was part of the reason she’d been drawn to him so fiercely when she’d returned home from school at eighteen and found him in charge of Papa’s stables at Willow Wood. The rest came from the way he’d worked with the horses—gentle hands, soft words, easy caresses. Not at all one of those brutes who forced a horse to bend to his will when it was broken. Not someone who felt the need to break a horse at all. Instead, he’d worked in a way that made it seem as if he’d had a conversation with the horse and simply convinced it to see things his way. Just as he had with her—gentle hands, soft words, easy caresses.
Apparently, he still could, if the way she’d tingled beneath his touch earlier was any indication.
“You knew I would be at the Derby,” he muttered.
“Not for certain.” But merciful Lord, how much her foolish heart had hoped he would be! “But you were certainly surprised to see me.”
“Surprised isn’t exactly the right word.”
Her foolish heart stuttered. “Then what would be?”
He grimaced. “For one, I expected a man.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
That earned her a scalding glare. “At least you’re back in a dress now.”
“Where I belong?” she challenged. She’d changed out of the boy’s clothes and into the dress she’d brought with her for coming and going from the track, although to be honest she’d felt more at ease in buckskin breeches than flower-print muslin. With his hand on her thigh.
Being with him again felt like coming home. She hadn’t realized until that moment exactly how much she’d missed him.
“Trust me, Francesca. No one has ever been able to put you anywhere you didn’t want to be.” He muttered, “Including in a dress.”
A warmth tingled at her toes, nearly enough to make her forget about her swollen ankle. But not enough to soothe the ache in her heart. I wanted to be with you, but I didn’t get to be there…
“So why are you letting your father force you into marriage?”
The question jolted