Leaping Hearts(50)

“End of the week?”

“I think I can have a couple of trainers come by tomorrow. We can pick the one who works best and transport the stallion to his new stable ASAP.”

A.J.’s voice cut through the kitchen. “I already have a trainer.”

Devlin frowned.

Chester said, “I better get on down to the barn.”

Neither of them noticed as the man left and took his breakfast bowl with him.

“A.J., I thought we agreed on this.”

“I told you last night. I want you. I need you.”

“And you agreed to choose.”

“I did. I need all of you.”

He started shaking his head. “Wait a minute. I was very clear about what I wanted.”

“So was I.”

“I assumed we made love last night because you were going to go with another trainer.”

“And I told you I wasn’t.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.”

They squared off across the table.

“I don’t recall hearing those precise words come out of your mouth.”

Her eyes implored him. “Look, we can make it work. We can do both.”

Devlin cursed, wrenched his hands through his hair in frustration. “I never would have been with you if I’d known this was what you were thinking.”

His words and the regret in his voice brought tears to her eyes.

“A.J., for God’s sake, please don’t cry. I’m sorry it came out like that.” He went to her and tried to hug her but she pushed him away.

“So am I. I’m sorry you have so little faith in us.”

“This isn’t just about us.” He picked up the paper, only to toss it aside with contempt. “Everyone’s going to read this crap.”

“Why do you care so much about what some idiot prints in the newspaper?”

“You’ve got no idea what it’s like to be the topic of conversation. I’ve spent the past year being whispered about and stared at. Any room I walk into, the murmuring starts up. And my notoriety isn’t even prurient. I fell off a goddamn horse. They’ll have you in bed with any man you talk to or look at for the rest of your career.”

“Well, thanks for the heads-up,” she said, wiping away angry tears, “but I’m not rearranging my life just because someone else doesn’t like the way it looks from the outside.”

“You want to be like Philippe Marceau? He’s the laughingstock of the circuit because he’s been with so many people. As a woman, it’s going to be worse. They’ll rip you up and use the pieces as fertilizer.”

“Marceau is a topic of conversation because he’s a conceited blowhard.”

“And you’ve got your own liabilities.”

“What? People know I can’t do long division in my head? My closet life as a comic-book addict suddenly comes out?”

“There may be a lot of money in the horse business but not a lot of folks have their daddy build them a stable compound. Your stepbrother looks like he belongs on the cover of GQ and his attitude stinks. You tool around in a convertible that costs more than most people’s mortgages and—”

“So I can’t be with the man I want and the trainer I need because Peter’s into fashion and my father went over the top for my birthday? That’s ludicrous.”

“I’m just telling you what people will say.”

“And I refuse to buy into the talk.”

“But that’s my point. They’re already saying you’re trying to buy your way to the top. You want them to add you’re sleeping your way up, too?”

His frank challenge slapped the fight right out of her.

“Listen,” Devlin said more quietly, “I’ve got to tell you like it is. The higher the profile you have, the more you serve as target practice. Who your family is and buying that stallion aren’t exactly making you blend in with the crowd. Sleeping with your trainer isn’t going to help.”

He approached her again, and this time she let him put an arm around her.

“A.J., competing at the highest level is tough. Don’t add to the burdens.”

“Are you sure that’s the only reason you want me to go?” she asked.

“I don’t want you to go. That’s the whole point of getting someone else to train you. Someone who can be objective.”

“But I don’t want someone else!” She pulled away. “And I don’t need you to be objective. I want you to be passionate about what we’re trying to accomplish with Sabbath and I think you are. I can see it in your eyes when we work together. We’re a terrific team. You know that.”

“A.J., you need to take the stallion somewhere else.”

“I can’t believe you’re throwing us out.”

“I’m not throwing you out.”

She didn’t hear him as she paced around the room. “First Peter, now you. I expected it from him. Coming from you, it’s a surprise. I thought I meant more to you.”

“Do you remember what it felt like when I was inside you?”

The low words brought her to a halt as a flush bloomed in her body. She didn’t have to answer him. As she turned around, her expression told him all he needed to know.