Chapter One
The warmth of the summer sun heated the grass below. The elegant feet of ladies in heels and gents in their pristine polished shoes trod on the green grass. Thousands of people in pretty dresses, hats and suits walked around with their drinks in hands having a great time. In the distance, galloping hooves could be heard pounding the dry ground. The blue sky contrasted with the fresh green grass and the white fences around the track. At the bar there was a group of people chatting with their friends, laughing about the days events and counting their winnings. A typical day at the races.
A gentleman sat alone, sitting casually on a bar stool, he had his suit jacket hung over one shoulder. His brown eyes looked around as he took a shot of whisky. The gentleman ran his hands through his hair as he leaned against the bar. The light reflected and showed golden strands in his short, dark hair. The dark tones matched perfectly with his enticing eyes and the well thought about stubble gave him a stylish, 'rough round the edges' kinda look. This gentleman was clearly very conscious of his appearance, yet he made it look so easy to look so good.
He observed his surroundings, watched as people laughed and drank cocktails and champagne in the sun. In the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a girl walking at a very quick pace, with her shoes in her hand. She paused a second, looked around her and put her shoes on, she then pulled out the hair clip that she had been wearing and let her hair fall. The young girl walked up to the vacant space in the bar, just happened to be next to the gentleman.
Her little black dress fitted her well; it clung tightly to her tanned skin. She wore a hat, it seemed the done thing to do in England at the races. Her golden blonde hair was curled and rested just above her shoulders. She glanced over at the lonely gentleman and smiled at him.
“Hello” he said coyly, in his british accent, with a strong hint of London. “You look very beautiful” he sounded almost nervous.
The girl in the black dress turned around at his compliment. She looked positively stunning with her appearance and she seemed to ooze confidence. All the other women were clinging onto their men and yet this girl had just strolled up to the bar alone. The way she had smiled at him was like she didn’t know any other facial expression, it came so easy to her, to be happy. The gentleman probably expected to be knocked back with some comment about how he was ‘out of her league’, but instead she smiled that stunning smile again and glanced up through her fringe that hung sweetly in front of her face. Innocently, he reached up and moved the curl away from her eyes. He looked her in the eyes for the first time, those green eyes that glowed like emeralds and sparkled like diamonds.
“Thank you” she replied in a soft accent that hinted she had spent a lot of time in the American South.
“You’re not too bad yourself”, she said with a grin.
“Hello there, what can I get you Jack?” asked the bartender, interrupting their tender meeting.
“Whisky please, Cole. I’ll also get one for this beautiful lady in black” the gentleman winks at the young girl.
“I’ll have one of the same please” she returns her gaze to the gentleman. “First name terms with the bartender. You must come here pretty often” she jokes with him whilst the bartender gets their drinks. The gentleman takes the drinks from the barman, “I like to see what I can win” he replies with a mischievous smirk. “My name is Jack. You drink whiskey? You’re not like the other girls around here”.
“Lily-Rose. Why would I want to be them, when I can be me?”, she takes her drink from Jack’s hands, they touch for a second, the warmth of their skin seems inviting. More people approach the bar, making conversation hard between the two. “Lets get outta here, Jack”, Lily-Rose paused before saying his name. Having always been good with people and men in particular, Lily-Rose was no stranger to a charming gent, but for some reason Jack was one who intrigued her.
Together, they walked away from the bar and the massive crowd. They walked in silence for a while, something about one another made them revert to childlike manners, being shy around each other, with nothing but a coy smile. “Lets go to the stables, I want to see what I’m betting on” says Jack as he strolls with his left hand in his pocket and his whiskey in the right. Something about him just seems so relaxed, so calming.
The noise of the crowd slowly fades away into the distance and instead is replaced by the sound of horses neighing and pounding the ground with their hooves. After a short while, Lily-Rose and Jack approach the stables, a jockey waves to Jack and greets him. The Jockey is walking a beautiful Chestnut Gelding, he looks stunning and proud next to his rider and is calm and placid whilst he talks. His strong, muscular body suggests the horse has done a lot of training for this race, it looked healthy and happy. The horse nudges Lily-Roses arm in an attempt to gain her attention. Lily-Rose goes to stroke the horse whilst the men engage in short conversation about the race.
The conversation is short but friendly as if they had known each other a long time. As the jockey leaves, Lily-Rose comments “Is there anyone you’re not close to here?”. She perches herself upon a bale of hay, crosses her ankles and leans back onto her arms. Her positioning accentuates almost every curve in her body, with the figure hugging black dress, she looked unbelievable.
“You” Jack swirls the ice in his whiskey and smiles back at Lily-Rose, it’s almost impossible for him to look anywhere else, but he tries. He glances out towards the racetrack but then returns his eyes to Lily-Rose.
“You” Jack swirls the ice in his whiskey and smiles back at Lily-Rose, it’s almost impossible for him to look anywhere else, but he tries. He glances out towards the racetrack but then returns his eyes to Lily-Rose.
“Oh just me is it. Well all that could change” Lily-Rose replies playfully and shoots her whiskey down in one. Jack’s eyes widen a little at the sight. “I’m from the American south, can’t you british boys keep up”. Jack smirks at her, subtly surprised and downs his drink in one, he places the empty glass next to her leg.
“I can keep up. But that was my third, so I’m thinking its you that needs to catch up” Jack winks at Lily-Rose.
She slides herself off the haybale placing her body very close to Jacks, so their shoulders touch. Placing one hand on his shoulder, she pulls herself closer to him and whispers in his ear; “That was my fifth”. He turns to her and they can feel each others breath on their faces, they smile and she walks away.
She slides herself off the haybale placing her body very close to Jacks, so their shoulders touch. Placing one hand on his shoulder, she pulls herself closer to him and whispers in his ear; “That was my fifth”. He turns to her and they can feel each others breath on their faces, they smile and she walks away.
“You’re fascinating, did you know that?” Jack’s eyes follow Lily-Rose around the stable. “I’ve been watching you all day. I’ve seen you talking to a few people here and there, but you seemed a little lost when I approached you at the bar”. At the stable door, with the wind blowing in her hair, Lily-Rose paused. For a second she looked upset, as though she had been reminded of something terrible.
“How long do you think I’ve been around here?” She questioned Jack. Confused a little by her response, he places his drink on the hay bale that Lily-Rose had previously sat on. He strolls to her. Jack thinks for a little while.
“I’m going to guess, not very long. Your accent’s quite strong”. Lily-Rose turns on her heel, looks at Jack and smiles.
“You’re wrong” she returns to her spot on the hay bale. “I was born here. Just up the road actually. I moved to America when I was 16 and lived there with my father for 5 years. It got boring over there, so I came back and here I am”.
Jack casually leans on the stable door. A commentator can be heard over a tannoy.
“The race will begin in 5 minutes. Place your final bets now!”.
Lily-Rose picks up Jack’s drink from her side and drinks. She swallows it in one shot and then looks towards Jack.
“How could America get boring!” he laughs in disbelief. “I bet you were very popular out there”.
Lily-Rose sighs as if it’s a sentence she’s heard a thousand times.
Lily-Rose sighs as if it’s a sentence she’s heard a thousand times.
“Not with everyone” jumping down from her hay bale, she walks swiftly towards the exit. Jack grabs her arm tightly as she walks past him. She pauses, unsure of what he is going to do next.
“Hey, we don’t have to go Lily-Rose”. Her name rings in her ears. The way he says it in his beautiful English accent, with that cute cockney tune to it was like music. “I was enjoying getting to know you” Jack smiles at Lily-Rose, it’s a comforting smile. The kind of smile that says, ‘I won’t hurt you’. His hand follows her arm down and he grasps her hand. All of a sudden without even really knowing what she was doing, Lily-Rose interlocks her fingers with Jack.
“I’m done talking about me. Lets go take some risks” she winks at him and they head back to the track still holding hands.
The sun is just about to set and it’s the last race of the day, people around are starting to feel the slight change in temperature, you can see people putting cardigans on or using their partners jackets. In the windows, you can see a reflection of the golden sun in the sky, slowly sinking below the horizon. It’s a beautiful summers evening. As they approach the crowd, Jack lets go of Lily-Rose’s hand. She glances at him as he removes his hand from hers.
“Just getting money out sweetheart. Which one are you feeling?” he casually responds.
Lily-Rose shrugs her shoulders and laughs, looking at the betting board.
Lily-Rose shrugs her shoulders and laughs, looking at the betting board.
“I really haven’t got a clue! That guy who you were speaking to in the stables. Is he running?” she smiles coyly at him, hoping he won’t judge her on her lack of racing knowledge.
“One hundred pounds on Crystal Phoenix thanks” he says to the lady behind the counter. The lady hands him the receipt.
Together, Lily-Rose and Jack head over to the track, as they walk Jack waves to numerous women. “Quite the Mr Popular aren’t you?” says Lily-Rose to Jack. He laughs. Jack had one of those laughs that just made you smile. It wasn’t a loud, embarrassing laugh, in fact quite the opposite, it was a quiet, coy, sweet sounding laugh. Almost seemed as though he was a little school child, speaking to the most popular girl. Quite the irony considering, he seemed to know everyone of the 6200 people there. Although, however many people he knew there that day, he was spending his time with Lily-Rose. She appreciated this greatly.
Since her return to the UK, her brother; Michael had not left her side. It was him who she had ran away from upon arrival at the racecourse. It was nice for her to finally have her independence back. Michael was her older brother and very protective over her, he didn’t trust her around other people, especially after last time. Let’s just say that there was a reason that Lily-Rose left for America, and it wasn’t to chase fame and fortune and city lights.
Jack stood close to her, his body shielded her from the breeze that was blowing. With his proximity being so close, she had the chance to look at him properly, to examine his facial features in great detail. His face; beautiful, with slight designer stubble gracing his chin. The lips, an inviting shade of pink, they curled into a smile whenever he looked at her. When he did smile, little dimples appeared at the corners of his mouth, making him ever more attractive. His dark hair that contrasted his bright blue eyes, so blue, like the sky on a summers day. It was his eyes, so perfect, so intriguing that made Lily-Rose smile.
“You okay sweetheart?” Jack asked, clearly noticing that Lily-Rose had spent the past few minutes staring at him intently.
‘Sweetheart’, no-one had called her this in a long time and the last person who did ended out with a bruised face. Lily-Rose had romantic interest from quite a few men, it was not always received well. But this time, here at the racetrack with Jack, she felt happy and comfortable, so maybe being called ‘sweetheart’ in his London tones, wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, she quite liked it.
‘Sweetheart’, no-one had called her this in a long time and the last person who did ended out with a bruised face. Lily-Rose had romantic interest from quite a few men, it was not always received well. But this time, here at the racetrack with Jack, she felt happy and comfortable, so maybe being called ‘sweetheart’ in his London tones, wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, she quite liked it.
“I’m great thanks. So, tell me more about yourself, you look like you’ve got a story to tell” Lily-Rose replies and stares out at the track, slightly embarrassed that she was caught staring.
“Me? Not much to say really, I’m actually quite boring”, he seems rather taken aback by the fact someone wants to know more about him.
“Now, I don’t believe a word of that. I bet you’ve got some secrets” she playfully laughs.
“A magician never reveals his tricks” he says with a wink. “Well if you really want to know, I moved here when I was 13, from London. Went to school here, got kicked out of 2 of them. Then went into work pretty much straight away at the age of 19”. He looks at Lily-Rose who seems fascinated by all he said. “Told you I’m boring”.
“You were kicked out of two schools? Hell that’s not boring”, her southern twang making every little word sound exciting. “That’s not boring at all, what did you do? Were you a naughty boy?” She gives a sly grin to him, her green eyes glowing with energy and twinkling fearlessly as she openly flirted with him.
“Not as interesting as that I’m afraid. I just never turned up.. Got bored I suppose. I just never liked commitment. Especially to school subjects. Just wanted to be out there, earning money really”
“So you’re a man who loves money, but has commitment issues, a whiskey habit and spends his weekends blowing his money on gambling” she jokes.
“I sound like a right screw up there. Thanks for that” he sniggers.
“Believe me, you’re not the screw up. I had to run from my brother just to give myself some peace” she sighs.
“You had to run from your own brother?” he repeats.
“Yeah. Since my return, he’s been all up in my case. He doesn’t trust me. He needs to understand I’m not a little girl, I can handle myself. I am capable of not messing everything up”
Horses race past Lily-Rose and Jack, pounding the ground as they canter. People around the pair scream and shout enthusiastically. The finish line lays a few yards ahead, Crystal Phoenix appears to be second, Lily-Rose and Jack join in the cheers.
“Come on! You can do it” they yell as the horses cross the line. A tannoy announcer explains that it was a photo finish and they would have to examine the results. A few seconds later, the voice returns and announces the results
“The winner of today’s final race is: Crystal Phoenix”.
“YES!” Jack leaps and punches the air “Well it would appear that you most certainly did not mess that up”.
Lily-Rose laughs at Jack’s excitement. “So how much did we win? I say ‘we’ because you’ve gotta go halves with your lucky charm” she smirks cheekily at him.
“One hundred pounds on a 9/4…” He works it out in his head, Lily-Rose can see the thought processes going on in his head, the concentration on his face. “three hundred..” he pauses. “and twenty five. So three hundred and twenty five pounds”
Open mouthed, Lily-Rose doesn’t know what to say. Jack smiles at her. His dimples appear again, making Lily-Rose grin.
“Thats a really good turn out for today, It’s been a very very good day. I think you, Lily-Rose might just be my lucky charm” he leans over and kisses Lily-Rose’s cheek. She blushes.
Their tender moment is ruined by a telephone call. Lily-Rose’s mobile phone can be heard ringing in her handbag. She views the called ID and sighs, her face shows disappointment.
She reluctantly answers the phone-call and wanders a few feet away from Jack, in the corner of her eye, she can see Jack watching her.
“What do you want?” she exclaims through gritted teeth down the phone.
Another male voice can be heard on the other side of the phone, it’s her brother Michael. Somewhere across the racecourse, he was looking for Lily-Rose and appeared to be very unhappy that she had run away.
“Well I’m sorry Michael but I’m 21. If I can’t be trusted to be alone, then something is seriously wrong with you” glancing back at Jack, he is busy putting something in the breast pocket of his jacket. Again, she finds herself staring in awe at his beauty and the way the setting sun made his hair glow slightly auburn red.
After an abrupt end to the call, she returns to Jack. Jack notices that Lily-Rose seems downhearted. She stares at the ground.
“You alright sweety?” with his left hand, he reaches up and touches her face, lifting her chin to see her. Lily-Rose takes his hand.
“I’m fine, but that was my brother. He wants to go home and unfortunately that means that I must leave too. It’s a shame. I was having fun. But hey, I suppose that’s what brothers are for? To spoil the fun”
Jack pouts and makes Lily-Rose laugh. “Now that is a shame. But can’t be helped. I don’t want to get you in trouble. Anyway, don’t be sad.”
She smiles. Somehow, Jack had the ability to make her smile no matter what. This was crazy as they had only just met but together something just felt right, comfortable, nice. It was a feeling she hadn’t had in a long time, and if she had told anyone that she had had this feeling, it was a lie. This was the first time in a long time that she felt genuine butterflies in her stomach. It had always been a feeling that she had never thought existed. But here in the summer of 2013, here she was standing with a guy that made her feel all those feelings you should feel and more. And here she was in the summer of 2013 about to leave him.
“After all” he continues, “he hasn’t ruined all the fun. It just means you’ll have to come back. I’ll show you the horses and everything. How about tomorrow?” out comes the boyish grin again.
“After all” he continues, “he hasn’t ruined all the fun. It just means you’ll have to come back. I’ll show you the horses and everything. How about tomorrow?” out comes the boyish grin again.
“I’d love to… you sure you don’t just want me to be your ‘lucky charm’ again though?”
“There are no races tomorrow. It’s closed. So definitely not the reason”
“Well if it’s closed, how will we get on here?” she hesitates, wondering if she sounds silly asking this question.
He laughs and shakes his head as the barman approaches them with a bottle of Champagne and two glasses.
“Hello Cole. Guessing you’ve heard about my win?”
“Of course Sir. Here is your winners Champagne. One for you and one for the lady” Cole smiles at Lily-Rose. Cole opens the champagne with a loud ‘popping’ sound and then pours into two flutes.
“Put the rest on ice please Cole, I’m just going to say bye to Lily-Rose and then I’ll come get it in a second. Thank you” Jack clinks Lily-Roses flute as Cole walks back to the bar. “That’s what happens when the owner wins” he takes a sip of his champagne.
“You own the racecourse? Why didn’t you tell me! You said there was nothing interesting about you! Owner of a racecourse seems pretty damn interesting to me!” says Lily-Rose in bewilderment.
“Now this is why you won’t have a problem getting on site tomorrow, when you come back and help me finish our winners champers” he sounds so confident when he speaks, almost proud. He has a lot to be proud of, wealthy owner of a successful racecourse, very goodlooking, clearly popular but most of all, modest. He probably didn’t feel the need to tell Lily-Rose he owned the place, maybe didn’t want to brag. Possibly it was that he felt at home with her, as much as she did him. All she knew was that they both were comfortable around each other and there was no need for charades, they could be completely at ease with one another.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Give me your number, I’ll text you when I wake up”
They exchange numbers and say their goodbyes. Jack watches her leave.
As Lily-Rose heads towards the exit, she thinks about the day she’s had. She reflects over the way she just ran from her brother whilst he went to the loo, after specifically saying “do not go anywhere”.
But she never had been one for listening to people. Even at school, she was always in trouble for not paying attention, usually she was talking to boys in her class. From the age of 5 she started getting attention from boys, they’d play kiss chase in the playground and then get told off for running. She was never bullied, always the popular one.
It was when she was in secondary school that she started causing trouble. Lily-Rose had a habit of attracting boys, whether they were single or not. This caused a few fights with other girls who were just defensive over their men. It never seemed to phase her though.
Many thought it was ‘selfish’ of her to have this nonchalance to other people’s feelings. But perhaps it was something deeper than that. No-one cared though, least of all Lily-Rose. It was who she was and no-one was going to change that anytime soon.
Lily-Rose thought about the bar and meeting Jack. The day had been so marvellous and relaxing. It was nice for her to have someone nice to talk to, who didn’t know her past, who wasn’t going to judge her. Many of her old friend’s had moved on, and some still held grudges against Lily-Rose for her behaviour. That was in the past though and Lily-Rose Johnson was ready for a new start.
Maybe, just maybe this could be the start of her love story.
