Lucky Charm (Lucky 1)

He sure as hell wasn’t up to revealing Marlene’s custody threats to Gabrielle. All he could think about was the emptiness in his heart with Holly gone and his fear that her mother was taking her away for good.

GABRIELLE WOKE UP, HOPING Derek was in a better mood than when he’d gone to bed. She’d given him time and space, knowing it hadn’t been easy for him to hand Holly over to his ex-wife. She’d hoped he would turn to her for comfort—sex or even just to be held, she didn’t care which—but he’d climbed in beside her, rolled over and gone to sleep.

She could say she wasn’t hurt, but that would be a lie.

Making her way downstairs, she approached the kitchen with cautious optimism.

He sat at the table, drinking coffee and reading the paper.

“Good morning,” she said with forced cheer.

“’Morning.”

She made herself coffee from the coffeemaker, adding milk and Equal before joining him at the table. “Sleep okay?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Fine.”

She took a long, hot sip for courage. “Derek, we need to talk about a few things.” Reaching out, she pushed the newspaper down so she could see his face. “Please.”

He folded the business section and faced her, waiting for her to speak first.

She cleared her throat. Although she’d rather discuss Holly’s departure, she knew she had to deal with the more immediate issues between them.

Since he was obviously still upset with her from last night, she decided to tackle the problems head-on. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was working and interviewing at the Wave. I knew you wouldn’t like it and it was easier not to argue with you.”

He raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised by her apology. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.” She’d lain awake last night tossing and turning, wondering how she was going to repair things between herself and Derek.

And they’d need repairing. With Holly gone, there was no chatty buffer between them. Nobody to keep them laughing. Nobody to force their minds off what drew them apart—that damn curse—and Gabrielle’s work. And Derek, she knew, would keep the walls standing between them because he still feared their love more than he trusted in it.

“And I promise I won’t do something like that again. If something comes up that you should know, I will keep you in the loop,” she said, adding it sincerely.

“I appreciate that.” He reached for the newspaper, but she smacked her hand down on top of it.

She had one more thing he needed to hear from her before he found out on the streets of Stewart or Perkins.

“I’m not finished,” Gabrielle said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What is it?”

She wanted to yell at his stubborn silence. She wanted to tell him that she knew he was using his anger at her as a shield, to not deal with the feelings between them. She wanted to tell him she loved him and she wasn’t about to let him go, but he obviously wasn’t in a receptive mood. And if that wasn’t the understatement of the year, she didn’t know what was.

Gabrielle drew a deep breath. “A television crew is coming to town today so they can tape a segment on ‘A Day in the Life of a Local Author.’”

His scowl deepened. “You being the local author.”

She nodded. “Any other local authors you know around here?” she asked cheerfully. She smiled.

He didn’t. “Why now?”

She swallowed hard. “Why not now? Who knows why TV and newspapers decide to write and publish when they do?” She glanced down at her intertwined hands.

“Gabrielle?”

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nbsp; “Hmm?”