by Nicola Marsh
Bile rolled in Maya’s stomach and she braced herself against the cubicle wall, wishing she’d never come in here as the character assassination continued.
‘Where’s Joe’s kid while she’s here making a play for his brother? Some mother she must be.’
Fury surged through Maya’s body and she blinked back tears, repressing the urge to fling open the door and pummel the two bitchy women till they couldn’t speak any more.
‘And all dolled up. It’s pathetic when these horsy women try too hard. You can pick them a mile away with their broken fingernails and split ends.’
Maya found herself studying her nails unwittingly, noting several overhanging cuticles and a few cracks, which didn’t help her anger.
‘Oh, well. She can try all she likes but a man with Riley’s class isn’t going to look twice at a jumped-up trollop like her. He’s only paying her attention for the kid. Wouldn’t surprise me if he took the kid off her hands and raised him as a Bourke. Give the kid a fighting chance at having a decent life.’
‘Too right. You ready to head back? My lippie’s fixed.’
‘Let’s go.’
Maya waited till the door slammed before stepping out of the cubicle, the tears she’d been battling to subdue trickling down her face in slow, sad rivulets.
It couldn’t be true.
Riley cared about her. He’d intimated as much tonight, wanting to talk about them. She’d been the one to head him off, to establish boundaries. Surely she hadn’t miscued?
But what if those vile women were right?
What if the only reason he was getting in good with her was to get close to Chas before snatching him away?
It wasn’t the first time she’d thought it. Back then she’d told him to stick his kind intentions but now she knew him. At least she thought she did.
He had money to burn while she had nothing, a fact he was all too aware of. If it came to a legal battle, she couldn’t afford to fight him. Worse, her character wouldn’t stand up to any probing investigations: she came from a broken home and was a single mother living in a hovel.
Hell.
Suddenly, his kind offer to look after Chas while giving her some much-needed time out took on a whole new meaning.
Grabbing a handful of tissue, she wadded it into a ball and dabbed at the tears now coursing down her cheeks.
She’d never listened to idle gossip before and now wasn’t the time to start. However, as she made a valiant attempt to fix her make-up, she couldn’t help but wonder if Riley was as good an actor as Joe had been and if his consideration didn’t hide a more sinister motive.
CHAPTER TEN
‘GO, GIRL! GO!’
Maya yelled at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down on the spot as the Melbourne Cup field rounded the final turn and headed into the straight.
‘She’s in prime position,’ Riley said, his eyes glued to the horses through binoculars. ‘Albert’s riding her a treat. Has her coasting, not using the whip at all, looks like he’s about to give her a gee-up and let her go.’
‘I can’t stand it!’
Maya’s gaze flicked between the mare—which could provide her son with a decent education and financial security if she won—and the tall man in a designer suit standing next to her, his neck muscles rigid with excitement as he leaned forward in an effort to keep the horses in sight.
‘She’s moving up. Two hundred metres to go and she’s cutting through a pack on the rails!’
‘Oh!’
Maya gripped Riley’s arm as everything seemed to slow down. The deafening yells of a hundred thousand punters cramming Flemington racecourse faded into the background and, like a movie stuck in slow motion, she watched Material Girl—the mare who wouldn’t run unless Maya gave her a pre-race pat and a whisper of encouragement, the mare who had listened to her tales of woe about Joe while she’d groomed, the mare who had an uncanny ability to know when she was feeling down and would snuggle into her with a soft whinny—split through a bunch of horses on the inside of the track and hit the front.
‘She’s got it!’ Riley yelled, dropping his binoculars and jumping up and down like a madman. ‘Go, you good thing! Go!’
Time stood still as Material Girl flashed past the winning post, the deafening roar of cheering washing over Maya in a wave.
‘She won. I can’t believe it; she won!’
Maya and Riley turned to each other at the same instant and she leapt into his arms, wrapping her hands tightly around his neck as he smacked a whopping kiss on her lips.
It was a heat of the moment embrace that didn’t mean a thing. However, Riley didn’t move and Maya found herself relishing the feel of his strong lips against hers, lips which gentled and moved in a light, feathery skid across hers, teasing her to prolong the contact, to savour the moment.
And she did, without thought or reason.
She slid down his body, her soft chest pressed against a wall of hard muscle that had her itching to feel more, to feel it bare, to feel it all.
Desire slammed through her body, the strength of it taking her breath away. She’d never experienced anything like it before, this crazy need to know a guy in every intimate way.
With Joe she’d been naïve, innocent, a girl who’d never had a chance to date let alone know what it felt like to be with a man. She’d equated sex with love though the act itself had left her cold.
Yet here she was, pressing herself against Riley in wanton abandonment, wishing he’d kiss her properly with heat and passion while stripping her naked and making love to her.
Her eyes fluttered open as Riley broke the kiss and set her away from him, a stunned expression on his face.
‘She’s a champion,’ he said, managing a rueful smile as he turned back to the track, effectively breaking the awkwardness of the moment and giving her a much-needed second or two to compose herself.
She’d kissed Riley.
Riley had kissed her.
Oh, no…
Okay, it hadn’t exactly been the most romantic kiss and it hadn’t been pre-planned but the minute his lips had touched hers, she’d lost her mind!
They were friends.
Friends exchanged impulsive, congratulatory smooches but their lip-lock had been more than that, she was certain of it.
Thankfully, Brett appeared by her side and she hugged him, not surprised to see the sheen of tears in the owner and trainer’s eyes.
‘She did it. The Girl did it,’ Brett said, clasping her hands and squeezing tight.
‘She sure did,’ Maya said, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.
Yes, the money would take a major load off her mind but there was more to it. Glancing around at the ecstatic connections of Material Girl—the other co-owners in the syndicate, Brett, the stable hands—she had a strong sense of belonging.
She was a part of all this and, though she’d never had a family of her own as such, surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her and who shared in the joy of today, it didn’t matter.
‘Congratulations, Brett.’ Riley shook the other man’s hand and Brett slapped him on the back.
‘And thanks to you, mate. If you hadn’t stepped in and helped us out, the Girl wouldn’t have run today let alone won. Damn mare won’t do anything without this little lady by her side.’ Brett tweaked Maya’s nose and she grinned, happy to join in the banter.
‘And don’t you forget it!’
They laughed, turning in unison towards the entrance to the mounting yard where Albert was standing in the stirrups, holding his whip aloft and pumping the air in a victory salute. Material Girl had her ears pricked and swung her head from side to side as if checking out the crowd and wondering what all the fuss was about.
‘I’ll never forget this day,’ Maya said softly, grateful for this little ray of sunshine in what had been a pretty dreary year so far.
‘Me either.’
She looked up at Riley, expecting his gaze to be firmly fixed on th
e Girl. Instead, his blue eyes shone with excitement as he tipped up her chin with his index finger and stared directly at her.
‘Friends, remember?’ she blurted, suddenly overwhelmed by her erratic heartbeat, her deep-seated yearnings and the fervent glint in his eyes.
‘I remember,’ he said, a confident smile curving his lips and drawing her attention to them just when she needed to concentrate on forgetting how darn great they’d felt pressed against hers.
‘Hey, Eddy! We did it!’
Maya turned in time to see Albert leap from the mare and land squarely on his feet, giving her two thumbs up in victory.
Her head swung back to Riley, torn between wanting to hear what he had to say and running to Albert.
‘Go,’ Riley said, giving her a gentle push in the jockey’s direction. ‘This is your day. Enjoy it.’
‘Thanks.’
Smiling, she raced towards Albert and joined in a group hug with Brett and the jockey, who’d made an unerring judgement call yesterday when he’d said she had feelings for Riley, while photographers snapped away and journalists crowded around them thrusting microphones in their faces.
‘Great ride, Al,’ she said, high-fiving the grinning jockey while flashes continued to light up around them.
‘Piece of cake.’
Albert dropped a quick peck on her cheek—the type of kiss she should’ve got from Riley but she was real glad she’d got more. ‘I did it all, you know. The strapper didn’t have the slightest influence in the greatest win in Melbourne Cup history ever.’
Maya rolled her eyes, slapped him playfully and turned to the mare, who almost meant as much to her as Chas.
‘Who’s a clever girl?’ Maya murmured, stroking the mare’s nose as she snuggled into her for a characteristic hug.
‘You are,’ Brett said, touching her on the arm while slipping the winner’s shiny blue satin blanket over the Girl. ‘That bonus we discussed before the race is all yours.’
‘Thanks, boss,’she said, hoping she wouldn’t blubber in front of Brett.
‘Thank you for all your hard work. You deserve it.’
Brett winked and walked towards the throng of cameras, leaving her alone with the mare whose amazing endurance in running three thousand two hundred metres—and winning—had just earned her one hundred thousand dollars.
Money that would go a long way to making life easier for her son.
But what about her life?
After that kiss she’d shared with Riley, nothing in her life seemed clear or easy.
‘Are you sure you’ll be okay?’
Maya lingered in the hallway of Riley’s million-dollar Docklands penthouse apartment, her gaze darting from Chas, playing with a new puzzle on the floor, to Riley, all but pushing her out the door.
‘We’ll be fine. It’s only for one night. How much trouble do you think we boys can get into in that space of time?’
She saw Chas stuff a piece of soft puzzle into his mouth and look around for a toy chaser, his cherubic face split by a demonic grin.
‘Plenty,’she said, knowing her son was in good hands with Riley yet unable to shrug off her paranoia.
She couldn’t forget what those women had said in the powder room at the ball last week and, now that the time had come to leave Chas for the first time, her previous doubts flooded back.
Was Riley like Joe but a better actor?
Was his kindness a front for getting in good with her and Chas before he staged a coup and took Chas away from her?
The very idea seemed ludicrous, and she’d told herself that repeatedly since the ball, yet she’d been suckered once. Surely she’d grown up and wised up since?
Then what was her excuse for having these ridiculous feelings for Riley that wouldn’t go away?
No matter how many times she berated herself for being stupid, for acting like a fool, for wishing for something that she’d never let happen, her insides twisted in knots every time he so much as looked her way.
Which was what this break was all about. Her first step towards putting some much-needed distance between them. He’d been there for her when she’d needed him the most but now it was time to step back, take stock and get her life back on track without the dependable shoulder of Riley Bourke to lean on whenever she needed it.
‘It’s not like you’ll be miles away. You’re staying up the road and I promise to call if anything dire happens, which it won’t,’ he added, seeing the flash of panic in her eyes. ‘You just check into that hotel, spend hours in their day spa and do whatever you need to do to chill out, okay?’
‘Okay.’
She hadn’t wanted to touch a cent of her bonus from Material Girl’s Cup win for herself but Riley had insisted, nagging her till she’d booked an overnight stay at one of Melbourne’s swankiest hotels to shut him up. Now that the time had come, a small part of her was eternally grateful for his pushiness as she couldn’t wait to relax for the first time in two years. The rest of her wanted to pick up her little boy from the floor and hang on to him for dear life.
‘Good. Off you go, then.’ Riley held open the door and did a funny bow to usher her out.
‘Slave-driver,’ she mumbled, rushing back into the lounge to give Chas one last kiss and cuddle before heading out the door.
‘Have fun,’ Riley said, enveloping her in a quick hug before releasing her all too soon. ‘And don’t worry. We’ll be fine.’
‘Uh-huh.’
Despite Riley’s reassurances, despite how close he’d grown to Chas and how capable he was, she took the sleek lift down to the ground floor with her heart plummeting along with the steel cage.
Riley was the perfect role model for Chas and he would’ve made a great father. Coupled with her burgeoning feelings, she could’ve had the family of her own that she’d always craved.
Instead, she had to turn her back on it all because of one tiny biological fact: Riley was Joe’s brother and she wouldn’t go there.
Friends, she could do. A strong, uncomplicated friendship that would benefit Chas and give her someone to share the load if needed.
Friends was good.
Friends was all they could ever be.
Maya lay back on a comfy chaise longue, every muscle in her body liquefied after a half hour soak in a mineral bath and an hour long Swedish massage that had her sighing with pleasure with every stroke.
This is the life, she thought as she sipped a refreshing ginger-infused honey tea and flicked through a stack of magazines. How long since she’d felt like this, as if the boulders of stress strung across her shoulders and weighing her down like some obscene necklace had been pulverised into nothing?
Try never.
Her whole life had consisted of tiptoeing around her mother or cleaning up after her and then she’d had more of the same with Joe.
Thinking of her mum, she realized she’d missed her monthly visit, courtesy of her torn ankle ligaments and then the Cup preparations had gone ballistic. No matter how hard it was to see her mum in a vegetative state most of the time, Maya tried never to miss a visit and was way overdue for one.
Though she wouldn’t think about that now. The mere thought of seeing her mum’s vacant stare, her listless face and her fidgeting hands had her neck muscles re-tightening.
Finishing the rest of the tea in three gulps, she flicked the pages of the latest Flirt issue, Melbourne’s hippest magazine. However, rather than the action de-stressing her, she found her hands shaking and her blood pressure spiking as she stared at the half page picture, bold caption and accompanying article.
A FINE FILLY ON TO A WINNER?
Stockbroking whiz Riley Bourke congratulates Material Girl’s strapper Maya Edison after the mare’s stunning victory in the Melbourne Cup, the race that stops a nation. Riley, the brother of Ms Edison’s deceased fiancé, Joe Bourke, had been seen squiring the lovely strapper at the Cup Eve Ball the night previously at the Palladium, and if a picture paints a thousand words we can safely say that the
cosy couple are more than just friends.
A source confirmed that Riley Bourke has been seen around the Flemington stables where Ms Edison works on a regular basis, and is more than comfortable with Ms Edison’s young son, who also happens to be his nephew.
Is Ms Edison keeping it all in the family? Stay tuned to the Flirt Alert to find out more.
Mortified, Maya closed her eyes, took a deep breath and reopened them, refocusing on the glossy photo of the post-race kiss she’d shared with Riley. The article was a load of trash but there was no arguing with the vivid image of the two of them plastered against each other, arms entwined, sharing what looked like a passionate kiss.
Everyone who saw that picture and read the article would believe she was a tart, just like the gossip-mongers had already been saying and, thanks to Flirt’s readership, that would be a lot of people.
Not that it bothered her. She knew the truth and it wasn’t this trumped up piece of rubbish journalism designed to sell copies.
However, what horrified her most was that the article was exactly the type of mud she didn’t want sticking to Chas and seeing the evidence of her growing feelings for Riley plastered across a national magazine was the wake-up call she needed.
No more impulsive displays of affection.
No more time spent together.
If Riley wanted to see Chas, she would set up a formal visiting system, through a lawyer if she had to, but the three of them would have to stop hanging out and doing the regular stuff that families did.
Riley wasn’t her family and he never would be.
The sooner she started to believe it the better.
Flinging the magazine back on to the pile, she lay back and massaged her temples, knowing what she had to do, all too aware of how difficult it would be to carry out.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
RILEY PACED THE hospital corridor, passing the same tilted vending machine, the uncomfortable bright orange plastic chairs and the small TV on mute that he’d seen for the last ten minutes since he’d made the call to Maya.
Having rushed Chas to the Royal Children’s Hospital an hour ago when the little tyke had been making a God-awful barking sound between a cough and a croak and couldn’t seem to take a breath, he’d been dreading making the call to Maya.
