“You also didn’t give Messiah enough room in the gallops to turn. That’s something you’ve drilled into us constantly, but you don’t seem to be taking your own advice.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Okay. Noted.”
“I’m not done,” she says, standing.
From the corner of my eye, I see Billy trying—and failing—not to grin. “Old ball and chain giving it to you?”
“Shut up, dickhead,” I mutter.
I probably shouldn’t be getting turned on by this, especially because she’s correct.
“And Billy,” Ruby continues, “you were all over the place. That Tom dude had far too many chances because you kept letting him through. Miles specifically told you before the game that he needed to be separated from the boards, and it wasn’t until the fourth chukka that you finally managed it.”
My gaze slices to Billy, whose eyes have widened dramatically.
“Well,” he grumbles, “she told you too.”
“Juan,” Ruby adds, “you were sitting too deep in defense. We should’ve been attacking more.”
Juan nods in response.
“All right,” I say, before our egos take any more of a battering. “Anything else?”
Ruby glances at Diego. He shakes his head, and she finally sits back down. “Nope. That’s all. Apart from that, you all played amazingly well.”
We all sit back, shell-shocked.
“Sounds like we’ve got a lot to do before the next game,” Juan says in his thick Spanish accent.
For the next hour, we strategize. We change out of our sweaty kit into clean clothes and work through our final pony selections, debating which horses should start first. Eventually, Ruby leaves to inform the grooms.
“She’s good, Miles,” Billy says the second she's out of earshot. “She knows what she’s talking about. Where the hell did you find her?”
“Aspen Polo Club,” I say. “Met her at New Year’s.”
Jack raises a brow. “I like the way she stands up to you.”
“Yeah,” I admit. “She definitely does that.”
“She’s probably the only woman I’ve ever met who isn’t afraid to put you in your place. Makes a nice change,” Billy adds.
I roll my eyes, but I don’t disagree. Every point they make is exactly why I haven’t told the boys anything about Ruby and me—nothing about the marriage or our relationship. No one outside my immediate family and the solicitor knows, and I plan to keep it that way.
Ruby returns and says, “The Maximum Effort Devils are through to the finals. Apparently, they’ve dominated every game today. No one managed to score against them.”
“Just means they’ll be more tired?—”
“What kind of name is Maximum Effort Devils?” muses Jack before the six of us lapse into silence, each contemplating what winning this game means.
It’s still the same number of points, but it feels a whole lot more important.
One-day tournaments differ from those that span weeks. There’s a lot of waiting around between games—too much time to think about what’s ahead, instead of being able to leave once the match is over.
Juan scrolls through his phone. Jack and Billy lie stretched across the benches half asleep.
“I like those,” I say as I watch Ruby adjusting the ribbons in her hair.
“You do?”
