Lucky Charm (Lucky 1)

She shook her head and headed to the fridge, pulled out a plastic bottle and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He twisted off the top and took a long, cold drink.

“Dad, why didn’t Gabrielle just come back here with you?” Holly looked up at him with her big, inquisitive eyes and asked the question he’d hoped she wouldn’t think about asking.

“I offered, but it seemed smarter for her to go home.”

Holly narrowed her gaze. “Smarter how?”

Sometimes he really wished she wasn’t so darned bright. “She didn’t want to bring trouble to our doorstep,” he said carefully, trying to find a way to phrase things without making her feel guilty.

“You mean, whoever broke into her place could break in here if she was staying with us?” Holly asked.

“That’s right.” He lifted the bottle for another drink.

“But you could handle anyone who broke in! So could Grandpa Hank,” she said, pride and certainty in her expression. Just as quickly, the light in her eyes dimmed. “She was worried about me, right? I’m the reason she didn’t come back to stay here?”

Derek ran a hand through his hair. “Baby, she lives in Boston. She belongs at her place. She was never going to stay here permanently, anyway.”

“But she never took me to Target like she promised.” Disappointment tugged at Holly’s lips. He hoped she wasn’t about to cry.

“Hey! Boston isn’t the other end of the world. Gabrielle has every intention of coming back here often. She’s working on a book and she has people to interview here. And I know she’ll take you shopping. She wouldn’t miss that.” He rose and ruffled Holly’s hair, hoping he was cheering her up.

It was difficult to force a smile when he was worried about Gabrielle going home alone. Still, whoever had a grudge against her obviously wanted her gone from Stewart. They’d have no reason to bother her in Boston.

“Uncle Mike can look after her in Boston, right? He kicks bad guys’ butts all the time!”

Derek shot her a warning look, but he let her get away with the comment. Because for an eleven-year-old, she was smarter than her dad. “Yeah. Uncle Mike can keep an eye on her.”

Derek might not like the distance between them, but he had to admit she was safer in Boston than she would have been here.

GABRIELLE PLANNED TO GO home, get some sleep, wake up and be back in Stewart the following morning. Life and routine got in the way.

She awoke, showered, made herself a cup of coffee and called her mother, just as she did every day. She’d spoken to Juliette while she was in Stewart, but now that she was home, her mother had plans for them.

“So I thought we’d have an early lunch at Le Petit Croissant and then we could go shopping at Neiman’s at Copley. Your father is teaching summer classes and so he won’t be joining us.”

“I won’t be able to make it, either, Maman. I have interviews I have to do back in Stewart.” Gabrielle tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder, wrapping her hands around a big mug of coffee as she spoke.

“Then we can have breakfast early and you go do your interviews later in the day. I miss you,” her mother said.

Gabrielle smiled. “And I miss you, too. I’ll meet you in an hour.” Breakfast with her mother turned into a two-hour chat fest centered around Derek.

The small café was a favorite of her mother’s. Even when Gabrielle was a little girl, they’d often come into Boston and stop here on their shopping trips. Now that her parents lived in the city, her mother frequented the quaint café almost daily.

Juliette reached across the table and placed her hand over Gabrielle’s. “He hurt you badly,” her mother said, concerned.

She didn’t need the reminder. She’d lived it. “Not because he didn’t love me. I know what I’m dealing with now.” At least she hoped she did.

“Well, I always liked him. Derek was a nice boy. He treated you well while you were together. He made you happy and that is what counted then,” she mused. “But now? I want for you what your papa and I have.”

Gabrielle smiled. Her parents had a happy marriage. They understood each other. It was exactly what she wanted for her own life, Gabrielle thought.

Just as their brunch ended, her father called and invited his favorite women to dinner, which Gabrielle ended up accepting. She was an independent woman who lived her own life, but when her parents invited her, she always felt compelled to go. As if she didn’t want to miss out on any time with them.

But spending time with her parents didn’t mean she’d forget about Derek. And she certainly didn’t intend to let him forget about her.

Her first night home, she climbed into bed and called him before falling asleep.