Lucky Charm (Lucky 1)

Marlene smiled. “I’m sure she has. But you obviously aren’t listening to her, so I’m asking you to listen to me. This woman has been a part of you for the past fourteen or fifteen years. She will continue to be a part of you whether or not you deny her a place in your life. So you have a choice. You can be lonely, stubborn and stupid like your father and his brothers or you can reach out and grab what you’ve always wanted.” She rose to her feet.

Derek stood, too. “I can’t stand by and lose her in some awful way.” The fire came to mind. The waiting desperately to see if Gabrielle had lived or died…only to push her out of his life hours later.

His head began to pound. So did his heart, with possibilities he’d never allowed himself to imagine. Could Gabrielle and Marlene be right?

Was it worth it to live like a shell of himself in case the curse kicked in? Or was he better off diving into those deep waters and at least enjoying whatever life gave him?

Gave them, here and now?

“Come on, Derek. Loss is a part of life. Are you any less miserable now than if you two were together and something happened later? Like I said, she’s a part of you and always has been. She always will be. The question is, what are you willing to do about it?”

He nodded, finally getting it. Finally hearing what Gabrielle had been trying to tell him for so long. “Thank you,” he said to his ex-wife.

“Thank your daughter. She’s the one who told me what a great person Gabrielle is, how happy she makes you and how she makes Holly feel as important as John does.” Marlene shrugged. “An eleven-year-old reminded me that I don’t need to feel threatened because she doesn’t. Go figure.” Marlene laughed.

Thinking of his precocious daughter, Derek grinned.

He still had more to mull over. He couldn’t just dump years of ingrained beliefs in ten minutes, but Marlene had given him a lot to digest. Gabrielle had always been a part of him. She always would be. What was he accomplishing by keeping them apart?

The answer was simple. He wasn’t accomplishing a damn thing. But did he have the courage to defy the old family curse?

GABRIELLE LOOKED AT THE invitation to Holly’s birthday party in disbelief. A smiling picture of Holly and Fred stared back at her. She was certain Derek had to know Holly had invited her to his house for a party. Certain he’d know how difficult it would be for her to attend. But knowing Holly, she’d probably bounced up and down until he’d agreed, and Derek wouldn’t have wanted to disappoint his daughter. The grown-ups would have to—well—grow up in order to make Holly happy on her twelfth birthday.

The invitation had a phone number and an e-mail for RSVPs. Gabrielle chose the easy way, shooting off an e-mail letting them know she’d be there.

One week later, she drove her freshly painted convertible back to Stewart. She pulled around behind Derek’s place and parked, then made her way out back where music floated in the hot summer air.

Since this wasn’t Holly’s main home, Gabrielle didn’t expect to find a large amount of people and she was right. Holly was hanging out with a group of girls, while a handful of adults mingled in the yard. She saw Hank and Thomas standing together, and to her surprise, Holly’s mother and a nice-looking man whom Gabrielle assumed was her husband sat at the old picnic table. Gabrielle had assumed Derek’s ex wouldn’t be here. She was wrong. Obviously.

Her discomfort level increased, but she pushed herself forward. For Holly’s sake.

Something cold nudged her leg and Gabrielle glanced down to see Fred, wearing a party hat, pressing his nose into her calf.

“Hey, old man. You really are a sport, aren’t you?” she asked him, bending down to scratch beneath his ears.

“Gabrielle!” Holly shouted her name and came running toward her, a happy bundle of energy.

Gabrielle rose to greet her. “Hey there! Happy birthday.” She held out the gift that she’d spent a long time choosing. “I hope you like it.”

“I’ll love it.” She accepted the gift and placed it beside the others on a table beside her. “I’m just glad you’re here. Once you said you’d come to my party, I knew you weren’t holding the fact that my dad’s such a dork against me.”

Gabrielle chuckled.

“Who are you calling a dork, dork?” Derek strode over, looking handsome as ever. He was tanned and relaxed and the light green of his T-shirt brought out the hue in his eyes. She’d missed him like crazy and her heart pounded hard in her chest.

“Holly!” Marlene called. “I need to talk to you.”

The young girl glanced at her mother and stepfather. “Coming!” She turned back to Gabrielle. “I’ll be back in a second,” she said, then ran to the picnic table, leaving Derek and Gabrielle alone.

She drew a deep breath and met Derek’s gaze. “Hi,” Gabrielle said to him.

“Hi, yourself.” His gaze traveled over her, head to toe. “You’re looking good,” he murmured, nodding in appreciation.

She glanced down at the strappy dress she’d never admit she’d bought just for seeing him today and smiled. “Thank you.”

“It was nice of you to come for Holly. I know she was worried you’d change your mind.”

Gabrielle shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that to her.”