‘There she is!’ Mr Beckett passed the binoculars to his wife. ‘Up there behind the starting gate! There’s our Suzy!’

Maddy thought she was going to cry again. Every ounce of emotion was squeezed into a tight ball in her throat.

Drew Fitzgerald appeared at her side. ‘I thought we’d missed it. Caroline couldn’t decide what to wear.’

Maddy smiled at them both, and as Drew smiled back, the ball of emotion bounced down to her heart.

‘Drew tells me your sister is riding,’ Caroline said. ‘Which one is she?’

‘In red. She’s riding Dancing Feet.’

Caroline lifted expensive field glasses and scanned the horizon. Maddy shook her head. Until that moment she had felt fairly smart in her going-out costume of baggy black trousers and long black jacket with an emerald silk shirt. Caroline’s outfit in navy and fuchsia screamed Designer.

‘Only two more to load,’ the commentator barked. ‘That’s it! All in! They’re off!’

Maddy closed her eyes. The roar from the grandstands rocked her senses. She could hear the screams of encouragement from her parents, could sense the pricking of a million nerve endings. She opened her eyes. The tiny red dot bobbing along towards the back of the field looked hopelessly outclassed.

‘Oh, God.’ Maddy prayed. ‘Please don’t let her be last. Anything but last.’

‘There’s still over a mile to go,’ Drew spoke reassuringly. ‘She’s well positioned.’

The multi-coloured river flowed along the brow of the hill, turned as one, and poured relentlessly downwards. The commentary was lost in the roar of voices. The red dot was nowhere to be seen.

‘She’s fallen off!’ Maddy yelled. ‘Where is she?’

‘Middle of the chasing pack.’ Drew was calm. ‘Moving up nicely. She’s got style, your sister.’

Maddy glowed. It was a second-hand compliment, but she accepted it gratefully on Suzy’s behalf. Maybe, one day, Drew would say it about her.

They were easily visible now, streaking past the three-furlong marker. Then the two. The red dot was cruising through the field.

‘Jesus!’ Maddy grabbed the sleeve of Drew’s dark green jacket. ‘She’s brilliant!’

Drew covered Maddy’s clenching fingers with his hand. The roar was deafening. Suzy finished third.

Maddy buried her face in Drew’s shoulder. Slowly, he lifted her face. She smiled at him in absolute happiness and kissed him.

His lips seemed surprised at first, but only for a second. Suddenly, Drew Fitzgerald was kissing her back with the sort of passionate urgency that should be reserved for four-poster beds and spilled champagne. Trembling, Maddy pulled away from him. He was smiling. Caroline wasn’t.

All explanations were cut short as Mr and Mrs Beckett, John Hastings, and Fran, caught her up in their mad dash towards the winner’s enclosure.

‘Richard won!’ Fran glowed as they fought their way through the pushing, pulling crowds. ‘He won! That should spice up our love life a bit! And Suzy was amazing – that horse was a no-hoper! Oh, come on, Maddy! Run!’

Maddy ran.

Crushed beside her parents, she watched with brimming pride as John Hastings hugged the slender red and white figure in the unsaddling enclosure. Suzy grinned at the applauding crowds, high on the powerful cocktail of adrenaline and success. Maddy clapped as vigorously as anyone, feeling as though she were having an out-of-body experience. She was looking down at herself, standing between her parents, proudly acclaiming Suzy’s success, and all the while her body and brain were reeling with the arousing sensations of Drew Fitzgerald’s kiss.