Authors: Whitney Gaskell
Good Luck (34 page)
“I think you did okay with it,” Mal said.
I shook my head. “I let the money change me. Temporarily, at least.”
“And then you learned your lesson and changed back to your old self?”
I shook my head. “No, not exactly. I think that Lucy had a little growing up to do. She wasn’t always the best judge of character.”
Mal smiled at me, and I thought I saw approval gleaming in those gray eyes.
“And now?”
“And now I’m learning to dig a bit deeper. It’s a work in progress.”
“Like life,” Mal said.
“If you want to get all philosophical about it, yes,” I said, smiling back at him.
“So now you know my little secret. Rather than the gigolo you thought I was—”
“You’re never going to let that one go, are you?”
“Never. Anyway, instead, I’m a trust-fund-brat-slash-Palm-Beach-playboy. So which do you think is worse?”
“Please. What sort of a pathetic excuse for a playboy works even though he doesn’t have to and spends his afternoons volunteering?” I asked, nodding toward the girls, who had finally given up on watching us and were back to hitting balls. “Although it’s true you do spend quite a bit of time mooching around the Drum Roll.”
“That’s because I own it,” Mal said casually.
My jaw dropped open. “You
own
the Drum Roll?” I gasped.
Mal grinned at me.
“But…but…” I sputtered. “You never said…and Ian never mentioned…but why would you keep that secret?”
“I’m an enigma wrapped in a riddle.”
I gave him a playful push on the arm. “Come on, tell me why!”
“My dad kept insisting I invest some of my money in a business. And I wanted a place to hang out, somewhere with good drinks and a good atmosphere—”
“And lots of hot young girls,” I added.
“Are there hot girls there? I hadn’t noticed. Ouch, stop hitting me!”
Mal grabbed my wrists to prevent me from beating him about the head and pulled me close. “The truth is, I did it to get my dad off my back. I didn’t expect it to be successful. I never wanted to be a businessman.”
Our lips were close together again, as close as it was possible to be without touching.
“Oh, really? And what is it you want?”
“Haven’t I made that perfectly obvious?” Mal asked softly.
I swallowed. “I’m not always the most perceptive person on these matters. Especially when it comes to you. Maybe you’d better just tell me straight out.”
“You. That’s what I want,” he said.
Was this really happening?
I wondered. Because it seemed so incredibly unlikely. Yet Mal was standing here in front of me. And those were his hands firmly pressing on my hips. And that was his face—wait. There was something different about his face.
“Hey! You shaved!” I exclaimed.
Mal rolled his eyes. “I pour out my heart to you, and this is what I get in response? More commentary about my grooming habits?”
I brushed the back of my hand against his smooth cheek. “I’m not complaining. I like it.”
“I’m so glad,” Mal said dryly. But he was smiling. And despite the fact that my heart was pounding and Mal was standing so close that I felt a little dizzy, I managed to smile back at him.
“Sorry,” I said. “What I meant to say…I mean, what I want to say…is yes.”
Mal’s pale-gray eyes creased at the corners. “Yes? Yes to what?”
“Yes to everything,” I said. I leaned forward, tipping my face up to Mal like a flower bending toward the sun, and this time, I kissed him.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney Gaskell
is the author of five previous novels, including
Mommy Tracked
and
Pushing 30
. She lives with her family in Stuart, Florida. To find out more, visit her at
www.whitneygaskell.com
.
Sometimes the right book is just waiting for the right time to be discovered.
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Garden Spells
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Swim to Me
Thank You for All Things
Good Luck
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Also by Whitney Gaskell
PUSHING
30
TRUE LOVE (AND OTHER LIES)
SHE, MYSELF & I
TESTING KATE
MOMMY TRACKED
GOOD LUCK
A Bantam Discovery Book / November 2008
Published by Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2008 by Whitney Gaskell
Bantam Books and the rooster colophon are registered trademarks and Bantam Discovery is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gaskell, Whitney.
Good luck / Whitney Gaskell.
p. cm.
“A Bantam Discovery Book.”
1. Lottery winners—Fiction. 2. Life change events—Fiction. 3. Self-actualization (Psychology)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.A7854G66 2008
813'.6—dc22
2008032564
eISBN: 978-0-553-90577-9
v3.0