I Married an Old Billionaire

Chapter 3

The following day, Mrs. Calloway reached out and asked whether I had ever tried equestrian lessons, something to fill the time, she said, if I was bored. As it happened, Gerald gave me more pocket money than I could ever spend, and perhaps channeling my energy into something new would stop my mind from wandering.

So I joined Mrs. Calloway for riding lessons and picked up an equestrian outfit along the way.

Mrs. Calloway glanced at the clothes in my hands and lowered her head with a quiet laugh. "We don't wear that much when we ride," she said. "Too many layers and you won't feel anything."

I didn't quite follow. "If you wear too little, won't it chafe?"

She smiled, mysterious and unhurried. "You'll understand when the time comes."

On the day of the lesson, I arrived at the equestrian club she had told me about, Ashford Equestrian Club. The Calloway family's resources were clearly formidable: every horse inside was an imported Akhal-Teke thoroughbred, their coats gleaming and sleek. Each one was paired with a powerfully built instructor at its side.

My eyes landed on one of the instructors, bronzed and broad-chested, and I felt heat rise to my face. It was the first time I had been this close to another man.

The club was already in motion. The women on horseback were dressed in something resembling one-piece swimsuits, their heads tilted back, bodies swaying with the rhythm of their mounts. Their expressions were difficult to read, flushed, dazed, somewhere between agony and ecstasy. When the instructors noticed, they seemed to understand without a word being said. They swung up behind the women and rode off toward the grove.

Mrs. Calloway watched my wide-eyed reaction with a hand pressed to her lips to muffle her laughter. "See? You're the most overdressed person here. Good thing I brought you something to change into."

The moment I put on what Mrs. Calloway had prepared, warmth spread through me before I had even taken a step.