Jacob sat inside the tiny late night gelato and pastry café in Brunswick, listening to a bunch of families speaking loudly, presumably in Italian given the Italian name of the shop and the wild gesturing going on. He loved how anywhere you went in Melbourne, you’d hear a whole bunch of different languages and see faces from all over the world. He tapped his foot on the ground, his good leg, as he tried not to check his phone for the time again. Not the injured knee, although the follow up scans he’d had this afternoon showed less damage than they’d originally thought now that the bruising had come down a bit. The team doctor and physios were both happy with the progress, and they both mentioned that he’d be perfectly fit before pre-season training started, provided he didn’t do anything stupid between now and then. He’d shrugged, since when had he ever done silly things in the off-season. His phone buzzed with a message.
The Palace: What are your plans for the week?
Jacob: Nothing so far. Might go home to the farm for a bit.
The Palace: The farm?
Jacob: My parents have a small farm near Tranquil Waters.
The Palace: Where’s that?
Jacob: About 3 hrs drive. Near Echuca.
The Palace: Want some company? I need a distraction.
Jacob: Are you inviting yourself to my parent’s place?
The Palace: Sure. If that works for them.
Jacob: They’ll put you to work. There is always something that needs doing around a farm.
The Palace: Perfect. Give me something to do. I hate this sitting around.
Jacob: I’ll pick you up tomorrow.
The Palace: Lunchtime?
Jacob: Why? You planning to sleep in?
The Palace: Nothing else to do.
Jacob scoffed at his friend. He really needed a hobby, or something else to do during the off-season. A scraping noise made him look up from the phone. Rachel pulled out a chair, the legs dragging on the tiled floor. She slid onto the chair in a graceful movement, the athletic motion drawing his gaze over her neat attire and gorgeous body, and she returned the look with one filled with promises. Promises of just where she’d like to touch him, her gaze on his throat seemed to make his pulse speed up with anticipation of her tongue pressing against his neck. Finally her eyes rose to meet his, sparkling brown highlighted with green eyeshadow reminding him of the spring growth at his parent’s small holding farm.
‘Great choice by the way, I love this place.’ Her voice had a little croak in it, as though she was getting sick. He peered closer at her face, noticing the little lines at the corner of her mouth and the shadows under her eyes.
‘Are you getting sick? You look tired.’
She grinned, ‘Just what everyone wants to hear when they go on a date. I’m fine. It’s been a big weekend.’
‘Sure has.’ One he wouldn’t be forgetting in a hurry. A sudden urge to gather her up, and sink himself into her, had him shifting in his seat. This was more than lust, a deep need to be one with her, to fuse himself with her. He gripped his thighs, his fingers digging into his muscles as he tried to stay in his chair, when all he wanted to do was pick her up, slam her against a wall, and have her wrap those slim legs around his hips.
‘Worth it though. I won my second Group One, and I might have a Cox Plate ride.’ Her work wasn’t at all what he meant.
‘I’m guessing that’s a good thing.’
‘A good thing. It’s freaking amazing.’ Her smile lit up her whole face, her cheeks glowing, her eyes flashing with heat and excitement, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her cheek, sending a buzz through his finger and up his arm, answering the question about whether they’d got it out of their system last night. He absolutely wanted more. He wanted all of her, much more than she seemed willing to give, and with a desperation from low inside himself. More than a couple of months of fun, this connection sang with promises of forever. He held her gaze, her eyes all shiny and excited, and dropped his hand back to the table as he forced himself to focus on her words, which is how he noticed something unusual in her phrasing.
‘So amazing you can’t even swear about it?’ he asked, grinning at the way her mouth quirked up at the side.
‘Fuck yeah. Come on, you have to be living under a rock to not know anything about the spring carnival. The big three races are the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate, and Melbourne Cup. Even the least horsey person in this city knows that.’
He scoffed, ‘Says the horse person. I think you underestimate how much the rest of the world knows about it.’
‘Seriously? The Cox Plate is legendary. The battle between Bonecrusher and Waverley Star, the sensational victory of Winx breaking her own track record to equal Kingston Town’s treble, and then grabbing an unprecedented fourth win last year, or the time Northerly and Sunline took out Viscount in their epic tussle for supremacy. I adored Sunline, I had posters of her all over my bedroom wall. I was eight when she won her first Horse of the Year title, and I absolutely bawled when she died.’
‘She died?’ He adored the way her passion shone from her whole being as she spoke with awe about past champions.
‘It was so sad, she’d only been retired for a few years, and got laminitis.’
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s a horrible hoof, foot, disease, really hard to fix. I think she only had four foals, poor girl.’ Rachel swiped her hand across her eye and shook her hand. ‘Sorry, she was the first champion I fell in love with. I was lucky enough to see her at Moonee Valley a couple of times, when I was a kid.’
‘You really love horses, don’t you?’ He’d cried when his dog, Budja, died, ironically poisoned by a platypus, the animal Budja hadd been named after. He completely understood shedding tears for a much loved animal.
‘I do. Being a jockey is more than a job, it’s a life.’ She ran her hand over her ponytail, ‘I really hope Shelley keeps me on Darnation for the Cox Plate. I’d love to have my name on the list of winning riders,’ she said as a waiter approached their table. ‘Oh, hi, Lorenzo, how’s things?’ She knew him? He frowned. She’d mentioned this café was a great choice, but not that she knew the waiter. A twinge of jealously stirred in his stomach at their familiarity.
‘Things are great, Rachel. You want your usual?’
‘Not tonight, just a small chocolate gelato.’
‘And you, sir?’ The waiter asked.
‘Oh, hey, Lorenzo, this is Jacob. He plays for Norths. I’m flatting with his sister at the moment. Jacob, this is my cousin, Lorenzo. This is his shop.’ Her dismissal of their relationship made him clench his jaw. Now wasn’t the time to correct her, he could save that up for later when she wasn’t introducing her cousin. At least he could push away his silly envy, replacing it with a nicer understanding of why she liked his choice of café.
‘Hi Lorenzo, nice to meet you.’
‘And you too. Welcome to Gelato Amore,’ Lorenzo said, slipping into an almost Italian accent for the name of his shop, slightly jarring against the strong Aussie of the rest of his words.
‘How’s Steve? I haven’t seen you guys in ages,’ Rachel said.
‘He’s good. And Lisa?’
Rachel’s shoulders sagged, ‘Ahh, we broke up. It’s been a bit hectic. Spring carnival and all that.’
‘Nothing like a bit of gelato to cure crepacuore.’
Rachel straightened up at Lorenzo’s use of Italian, squaring her shoulders, ‘Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco.’
Lorenzo laughed, ‘Love is not a donut without holes. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be and this one is an improvement.’ He waved his hands in Jacob’s direction.
‘Lorenzo. He’s right there, you can’t say that,’ Rachel chided her cousin, a faint blush washing over her cheeks. Her cousin simply waggled his eyebrows in a what are you going to do about it look.
‘Oh, it’s like that is it? You two must come over for dinner. Steve would love to see you.’
‘Maybe after the spring carnival.’
‘Why wait?’
‘Lorenzo, you know why. Because you always ply me with more food and wine than is good for me, and I have to ride light at the moment.’
Lorenzo scoffed, ‘There is no such thing as this. Wine is good for your heart. It will cure you.’ His comment made Jacob smirk.
‘My heart doesn’t need fixing.’ Rachel lifted her chin.
‘Are you telling me Lisa didn’t mean anything to you?’
‘Not nothing, jeez, Lorenzo, just grab the gelato or something?’ Rachel brushed off her cousin.
‘Sir, what would you like to order? A side dish of cold tears for our heartbreaker here?’
‘Lorenzo.’ Rachel’s admonishment made Jacob glance at her cousin, whose grin almost split his face.
‘I’ll have what she’s having.’
‘Chocolate. An aphrodisiac for the lovely couple.’
‘Lorenzo. Damn it, how about next Monday night?’
Her cousin winked at him, still grinning, ‘Tomorrow?’
‘No. I have to go to the farm tomorrow to see a horse. Next week. I know you guys are shut on Mondays.’
‘Bring this one.’ Lorenzo commanded before walking off to the back of the shop.
‘I didn’t know you spoke Italian,’ Jacob said. After that interaction with her cousin, it seemed the easiest place to start, besides he wanted to know what Rachel had said.
‘A little.’ Rachel made a gesture with her thumb and forefinger. ‘My mama’s family are Italian. Nonno and Nonna came out after the war and set up a little shop in Tranquil Waters. Lorenzo’s father is Mama’s much older brother. Nonna had Mama later in life, and died when Mama was young, so I never met her, but you’d remember Nonno’s shop? The hardware place.’
‘That was your grandfather’s place? I remember going there to get supplies for my Dad. The owner was tiny—’
She grinned, waving her hand down her body, ‘Just like me. My brothers took after Dad’s side of the family, they’re all over six foot. Me and Serena are small like Mama’s family.’
‘And speaking Italian.’
‘Nah, only a few catch phrases really. Nonno loved using that one, it basically means sometimes life doesn’t work out how you thought it might.’
‘And am I?’ Jacob asked.
‘Are you what?’
‘An improvement on Lisa.’
Rachel pursed her lips, tilting her head as she stared at him with a deep furrow between her eyebrows. ‘That depends.’
‘On what?’ His cheeky question from before suddenly turned serious.
‘If you are loyal, you’d be a huge step up from Lisa.’ She waved her hand, ‘That’s assuming this goes somewhere. It might just be a bit of temporary fun.’
‘Temporary fun?’
‘Yeah. I’m having fun, aren’t you?’ Her tone didn’t indicate any truth in her words, more of a forced cliché. His body screamed, yes if that’s all she’ll give him, he’d take it, while his mind wanted more.
‘Yes.’
‘So tense? Anyone would think fun wasn’t part of your vocabulary.’
Lorenzo arrived back with two dishes filled with creamy chocolate gelato, saving Jacob from a terse answer.
‘Stop teasing him, Rachel.’
She glanced up at her cousin, ‘What makes you think that?’
‘I have eyes. I can see his expression, and right now he looks like he wants to throttle you.’
Jacob nodded, either that or fuck her until they were both senseless. Lorenzo winked at him. No secrets from her cousin then.
‘Thanks,’ his voice growled as he picked up a spoon and took a bite of the dessert. Rich chocolate exploded on his tongue, a massive burst of flavour with a soothing texture.
‘Good?’ Lorenzo asked.
‘It’s amazing, as usual,’ Rachel said. Her tongue darted out to catch a tiny drip of chocolate from the corner of her mouth. He’d never understood the fascination with food and sex until this moment, as goosebumps rose on his arms at the prospect of Rachel licking him. Cold ice cream and her hot tongue sliding over his skin.
‘Brilliant. See you Monday and bring this one. Steve will want to vet him.’
‘I might just do that. Nothing much gets past Steve.’
Lorenzo ruffled her hair, ‘You could have saved yourself so much trouble if you’d let us meet Lisa.’
‘Hey, I wanted to bring her over sometime, but she always had an excuse.’ Rachel gasped.
‘That should have been a clue.’ Rachel and Lorenzo spoke in unison.
‘Shit. Yes, I’ll bring Jacob for Steve’s approval, or not.’ Rachel’s voice lowered, almost to a whisper, fading away at the end of the sentence.
‘Excellent. I will leave you to enjoy the dessert. Call out if you need anything, like wine. People always need wine for a tricky conversation.’
‘Stop stirring up trouble. You’ve made this tricky.’ Rachel laughed and stood up to hug her cousin. She whispered something in his ear which made him laugh. Jacob found himself leaning towards them, even though he hadn’t heard what she’d said.
‘Your cousin seems nice—’ he started.
She scoffed, ‘He’s an old busybody, that’s what he is. But he makes the most amazing gelato.’ She spooned in another scoop, dragging her lips over the spoon, sending a warm glow through his torso. Those lips. Hell.
‘Shall we go?’ he asked.
She lifted her chin a fraction, ‘Where are you in such a hurry to get to?’
‘Come to my house.’ He needed to have her in his bed. Now.
‘No thanks.’ She glanced at her phone. ‘I have trackwork early tomorrow, then I need to go out to the farm. I really ought to get home, although …’
He bit the inside of his cheek to stop a ridiculous grin. ‘Allira is on night shift?’ he guessed.
‘She’s at the movies with a friend.’
‘Invite me to your bed.’ He waited, hoping, as she stared at him, her head tilted, considering. After an impossibly long pause, she licked her lips, one corner of her mouth twitching.
‘Only if I can ride you this time.’ She floored him with the one answer he assumed she wouldn’t give. He’d expected her to tell him to go home alone, not this. He stood up so quickly, he had to reach behind him to grab the back of the chair before it clattered over.
‘Let’s go.’
She dipped her spoon into her gelato one more time, and slipped it between her lips, lips he wanted on his body. His breath quickened, shallow, as she moved slowly, deliberately holding his gaze with her beautiful brown eyes. With one graceful controlled motion, she stood up, her ease completely contrasting the desire making his muscles tremble with the need to move. Come on, come on, what’s taking so long? She opened her purse, pulled out some money, and tucked it under her half-eaten dessert.
‘Are you ready?’ She smirked at him, one eyebrow slightly raised, as he twisted his hands behind his back to stop him grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the shop.
‘Yes.’ He was out of the door before he realised he’d come here on public transport, enjoying a tram ride through the suburbs on a lazy Sunday afternoon, vaguely heading towards Allira and Rachel’s place before she’d called him.
‘Jacob, slow down.’ Her voice came from far behind him, and he spun around to see her only just leaving her cousin’s gelato shop. ‘What’s the hurry?’
He made himself halt, his heartbeat thudding as fast as he’d been walking, echoing in his chest with anticipation.
‘I thought you’d want to take your own advice and make it last for both our pleasure?’ Her teasing tone made his mouth dry.
‘Did I say that?’ He croaked out a response, damn, he needed a drink of water.
‘I might not be book smart, but I remember shit, Jacob.’
He couldn’t stop the laugh, not that he wanted to, as her comment added to the burning lust raging in his veins. He hauled in a deep breath.
‘Remind me never to underestimate you.’
She smiled, a cat with cream–satisfied smile, ‘My car is this way. You can collect yours later, I’ll need mine in the morning.’ She sashayed past him, her hips swinging unsubtly in her slim skirt. In a couple of strides, he caught up to her, his chest heaving as though he’d done three laps of the oval. Her wattle and honey scent filled his nostrils and he leaned closer to her, breathing in her luscious smell. They walked together, quickly, to her car, and she slid into the front seat. He jumped into the passenger seat and clicked his seatbelt.
‘You don’t mind me driving, do you?’
‘Why would I? Apparently, you can drive almost as well as you can ride a horse, and your win on Saturday proves how well you do that.’
She blushed, ‘You have been paying attention. I like that.’
Satisfaction made his chest swell. She had better drive home quickly before he reached for her, distracting her from a safe journey. He stared out the front window, unable to look at her in case he succumbed to temptation.
Jacob grinned as Rachel swung the car into the driveway with a squeal of tyres. Her hands spun the steering wheel, competent and confident, as she parked in her usual spot.
‘Nice.’
She grinned at him, ‘I told you I could drive.’
‘You can, and I only had to hold the seat for dear life a couple of times.’
She blew out a loud breath, almost a laugh, ‘Whatever. It was perfectly safe.’
‘Except that one time, when changing lanes.’
‘Damned hook turns. I just can’t get used to them. There isn’t anything like that in Tranquil Waters.’
‘Country driver,’ he teased her, and she batted his arm.
‘And you are so superior, city boy?’
‘Utterly.’ The truth was that he’d learned to drive in the school holidays, at a mate’s farm, far from Tranquil Waters. His parents hadn’t the money for driving lessons, and although his dad taught him the basics in their beat-up old station wagon, it wasn’t until he’d driven an old ute around Benji’s farm that he’d learned how to handle a vehicle in all circumstances. They’d done some dumb things, those holidays. It’d been ages since he’d talked to Benji, he probably should flick him a text or something. Benji had stuck up for him at high school, and was now overseas on some grand adventure, supposedly learning business but more likely just screwing his way around Europe, before he had to come home and run his family’s extensive cattle properties.
‘Hey. Are you coming inside?’ Rachel’s query made him blink. ‘Or are you having second thoughts now you are at your sister’s house?’
‘What? No, just lost in a memory.’
‘Must have been a good one if it distracted you from sex.’ Her eyebrows flicked upwards to match the lilt at the corner of her mouth.
‘Maybe it was.’ He’d meant to hint he was reliving the first encounter, except her mouth turned down slightly. ‘I mean—’ Shit, he couldn’t lie to her now, ‘I was thinking about how I learned to drive. You know because you were teasing me.’
‘Okay … I’m going inside now. You can stay here if you like, or whatever.’ She slammed the door of the car and jogged up the front steps. He cursed the lack of filter between his mouth and brain, why couldn’t he say something suave instead of whatever the hell fell out first? He opened the car door and pulled himself out, before following her up the stairs.
‘Can I come in?’ he asked, uncertainty creating a hollow in his gut.
‘Of course you can. This is just sex, I don’t care if you would rather think about driving than me.’
‘If that was true, you would sound less bitter.’
She growled under her breath, ‘Bitter?’ She shook her head, ‘No, I’m not going to bite. Go home, Jacob.’
‘Invite me into your bed, Rachel.’
She stepped through the door, flicked on a light, then spun on her heels to stare at him.
‘Why?’
‘Because we are great together. Because you know you want me.’
She sighed, ‘Fine. Come in. I wish I could resist you, but fuck, whenever you are near, all I can smell is you, and my brain ends up totally fried. This is probably a dumb fucking idea, but you know, right now I don’t care.’