Love All Out - Part 2 (A Stepbrother Romance) by Alice Ward Page B

glanced around for somewhere to sit, but the tables and club chairs around us were already full.
    James gave me an amused look and I realized I must look ridiculous, standing there in an elegant dress and bright pink flip flops, holding my shoes. “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “I was looking for somewhere to sit… this is the last floor of general admission seats, which means that it’s the last floor casual wear is allowed. Screw it, I’ll do it standing.”
    I leaned against the banister, kicked off my right flip flop, and fought the heavy layers of my skirt, searching for my foot. James gripped my arm, pulled me upright, and took the high heel from my hand.
    “Allow me,” he said, dropping to his knee. I lifted my foot and he slid the shoe onto it. He did the same with my left shoe and then rose to his feet.
    Wow… I feel a little like Cinderella.
    James winked and offered me his arm. “What do you say? Ready to go enjoy ourselves?”
    I wanted to kiss him, but I settled for taking his arm and making our way to the party.
     
    ***
     
    “My goodness, sweetheart. This is so exciting!” Renee gushed. “I can’t imagine how you must feel. I don’t know how much longer I can take it. How long until the race starts?”
    “Not long, Mom,” James answered. “See, the band’s getting in place for the opening parade.”
    It was ten minutes after six and we’d taken our seats in our private box. James and I were on the front row, with Daddy and Renee behind us. The Millers sat across the aisle, with Bradley in the front row, directly to my left.
    We’d eaten lunch with Link Jackson and Terry Hall, the primary owners of Mondo and Denver’s Pride. After the food was cleared, James and I visited the stables with Link and Terry to watch the jockeys get weighed in. I grew more and more anxious as race time neared. After the weigh in, James and I returned to Millionaire’s Row and drowned my anxiety in Mint Juleps.
    “Willow, I want you to know how proud I am of you,” Daddy said. I turned around in my seat and saw a single tear roll down his pride filled face. “And your mother… I know Rosie’s smiling down on us right now. No matter who wins today, you’ve done her proud.”
    I reached up and squeezed his hand. “Thank you, Daddy.” I turned away to keep from crying myself. Horns sounded and adrenaline raced through my body.
    “Ladies and gentleman welcome to the 141 st Kentucky Derby,” an announcer called out over the sound system. “Please join me in welcoming the University of Louisville Marching Band.”
    The crowds cheered as the band launched in to My Old Kentucky Home , the traditional opening song for the race. The announcer ran through each horse’s statistics as the jockeys paraded them in front of the grandstands and into their gates. I already knew the numbers by heart, so I didn’t bother to listen. I reached over and took James’s hand, my eyes fixed on my horses.
    “I can’t believe this is actually happening,” I told him.
    “And just think, Willow… this is only the beginning,” he whispered back to me.
    “Mondo looks restless,” I observed. “That’s not a good sign. I hope the jockey knows better than to let him run all out, straight out of the gate. He needs to hold him back, save his energy for the final stretch.”
    “Mondo… he’s the one in green?” James asked.
    I nodded. “And Denver’s Pride is in yellow.”
    “Both of the jockeys seemed more than capable to me,” he assured me.
    Suddenly, the time for anxiety was over. A gunshot sounded, horns blared, and the gates sprung open. Dirt flew into the air and the crowds leapt to their feet as the fifteen fastest thoroughbreds in the country raced down the track. I gripped James’s arm tightly as Mondo moved into sixth position and Denver’s Pride moved into third.
    “That’s it… that’s it, hold him back,” Daddy called out behind me.
    Mondo moved into fifth, not because he’d sped up, but