Good Karma (65 page)

“Okay, I’ll make a deal with you, God.” He
gripped the steering wheel and pushed his foot a little harder on
the accelerator, passing the exit to Merrillville and continuing
toward Chicago. “Maybe I misunderstood before. I’m not adept at
reading signs, and I know I kind of threw that one at you last
minute back there, but let’s try this again.” He sounded like he
was negotiating, not praying. Was this how asking for signs was
done? He took a deep breath and nodded to himself, determined to
see this through, even if he sounded like a negotiator instead of
someone desperate for another chance at the best thing that had
ever happened to him. “I’ll go back to Chicago. I’ll go back to my
life. But if I’m meant to be with her, bring her back to me. I
don’t care how or when.” He stared out the windshield at the
stretch of gray, double-laned pavement. “Well, I do care when. The
sooner the better, but I’ll take what you can give me.”

What was that old adage?
If you love
someone, set them free. If they come back to you, they’re yours
forever. If they don’t, they never were.
Well, he was setting
Karma free.

“If we’re meant to be together, God, then
bring her back to me. If you bring her back, I’ll know we’re
supposed to be together forever.” He needed a sign. One that came
from outside himself, because he couldn’t trust his own feelings.
His heart tugged him in one direction, and his head pulled him in
another. He was at odds with himself, wanting two things that sat
on opposite ends of the spectrum. His heart wanted Karma, but his
brain reminded him what listening to his heart before had gotten
him: a lot of pain and suffering.

So he released responsibility over the
decision altogether and gave it to God and the universe. Let fate
decide. That was best. That was easiest.

But what if God did bring her back and gave
his heart what it wanted? How would he get past his aversion to
long-term commitments, and how would the two of them make a
long-distance relationship work?

No! Stop thinking, Strong.

He forced himself to shut down the questions
whirring through his mind. His future was out of his control now.
This was how signs worked, right? Not that he’d ever believed in
all this kismet stuff before, but in principle, you asked for a
sign, put yourself into Fate’s hands, and went about your business.
If you got the sign you asked for, then everything else
automatically fell into place, one way or another, because you
wouldn’t have gotten what you asked for if it wasn’t meant to
be.

So he had sent his request into the universe
and returned to Chicago. Still, it hadn’t felt like he had done
enough. That was when he got the idea to tattoo “karma” on his
chest, right over his heart, thus branding himself as hers forever,
no matter whether God answered him or not.

He stared fondly at the fresh ink then pulled
up the picture he had taken of the two of them together in
Millennium Park. The one where she had been kissing his cheek while
they lay on the grass. He looked at that picture at least once a
day. He had been so happy then. Happier than he was now by about a
mile. Maybe ten. Hell, maybe a hundred.

He sighed, set his phone on the bathroom
counter, and grabbed his antibacterial soap as an ache set up shop
in his chest, right behind the tattoo…deep inside his heart, which
now belonged to Karma.

He carefully cleansed the tattoo, let it dry,
and then gently rubbed the ointment the tattoo artist had given him
over the glyphic symbols. He would care for this tattoo the way he
should have cared for the woman that was its namesake. And if given
the chance, and God saw fit to answer his prayer and fulfill His
end of the bargain, Mark wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

If Karma came back to him, he vowed to take
care of her forever.

Thank you for reading Good
Karma, book one of the Strong Karma Trilogy. An excerpt of Coming
Back to You, book two of the series, follows. But first, if you
enjoyed this novel, please take a moment to leave a review on the
site where you bought it. More than ever, authors rely on reviews
and feedback from their readers. I appreciate it.

Excerpt of Coming Back to You, coming winter
2014

Karma
sat in her car in Solar’s parking lot, staring at the diamond ring
on her finger. She had never seen the proposal coming, and yet,
yesterday, at her parents’ Labor Day cookout, Brad had surprised
her.

Everyone had just finished chowing down on
burgers, baked beans, and potato salad around the large patio table
when Brad had addressed her dad.

“Mr. Mason, I’d like to ask you
something.”

“Please,” her dad said, “Call me John.”

Dad liked Brad. At least he acted like he
did. Karma thought he was just happy that she’d finally moved on
from Mark, which was why he was overly welcoming when she’d shown
up with Brad. Her dad had heard about him for months, but this was
the first time he’d met him.

Brad offered a deferential smile. “John then,
I’d like to ask you something.”

“Sure, ask me anything.”

Across the table, her brother Johnny, who had
learned how to behave himself since last summer, bounced his
one-year-old daughter on his knee. She’d just awakened from her
nap. Johnny’s wife, Estelle, looked on. Both had been surprisingly
quiet and polite, but Karma knew the peace could only last so long.
Johnny would eventually show his ass again.

Brad took her hand and squeezed. “I’ve been
dating your daughter for six months.” He paused as she turned and
gave him a quizzical look. What was he doing? “I love her very
much, and, with your permission, sir, I’d like to ask her to marry
me.”

Thud! Marry him?

Her mom uttered a soft squeal and covered her
mouth as her eyes lit up. Johnny stopped bouncing his baby. A slow
grin spread over her dad’s face as he clasped his hands under his
chin.

“Brad, I can think of
no one better
to
marry my daughter.” He pointedly met her gaze, his meaning clear.
He was ready for the Mark Strong chapter of her life to be
officially over. Marrying Brad would guarantee that.

Brad pulled a diamond ring from his pocket,
scooted back in his chair, and got down on one knee. “Karma, with
your dad’s blessing, and in front of your family, I’m promising my
love to you.” His whole face beamed as he poised the ring at the
tip of her finger. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?
Will you marry me?”

She stared at him. She felt her hand in his.
Everything about this moment was perfect, and she glanced around
the table at her family. This was what she wanted, right? She
wanted to be married. She wanted a husband, a family, and a life
where she was no longer alone.

As she took a deep breath and nodded, a tiny
niggle of alarm vibrated in her soul. She brushed it aside, forcing
herself to leap forward rather than stay rooted in the past.

“Yes, Brad. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He slid the diamond onto her hand and hugged
her.

She was engaged. She was striding forward,
furthering herself a little bit more from her memories of Mark.

Her phone chiming inside her purse broke her
from thoughts of yesterday, planting her back inside her car,
sitting in Solar’s parking lot.

She quickly gathered her purse and bag and
hopped out. She’d sat so long recalling Brad’s proposal she was now
officially late.

Oops.

She rushed up the sidewalk and into the lobby
as her phone began ringing again.

“Good morning, Nancy,” she said, rushing past
the reception desk. As she took the stairs to the second level, she
fished through her purse for her phone.

At the top of the stairs, she finally pulled
her phone free and checked the screen.

Lisa? Why was Lisa calling her?

Darting down the hall to her desk, she
slapped her phone to her ear. “Lisa, what’s up? Sorry it took so
long to answer. I’m running late. God, I need to talk to you.” She
had yet to tell Daniel and Lisa that Brad had proposed.

“Karma! Will you shut up! I need to tell you
something.”

Sheez! What was up with Lisa?

Karma dropped her bags on the floor at her
desk and booted up her computer. “Fine. Sorry. What?”

At that moment, the door to Don’s office
opened.

“Ah, there she is,” Don said, gesturing
toward her.

Lisa was still talking in her ear. “Karma,
don’t freak out, okay, but…”

Everything fell into slow motion. The earth
slowed to a near standstill on its axis. Lisa’s voice sounded like
she was talking through molasses. And Karma was sure her chin must
have hit her desk as her mouth fell open.

“Mark’s here!” Lisa said. “In Don’s office.
Right now.”

Karma almost dropped her phone as her gaze
met Mark’s for the first time in a year.

“I know,” she murmured and hung up.

And just like that, in the time it took for a
light to come on once the switch was flipped, all her efforts to
get over him during the past year faded in a blink.

He was back. Mark was here.

About the Author

Donya Lynne is the author of the award winning All the King's Men
Series. Making her home in a wooded suburb north of Indianapolis
with her husband, Donya has lived in Indiana most of her life and
knew at a young age that she was destined to be a writer. She
started writing poetry in grade school and won her first short
story contest in fourth grade. In junior high, she began writing
romantic stories for her friends, and by her sophomore year, they
had dubbed her
Most Likely to Become a Romance Novelist
. In
2012, she made that dream come true by publishing her first two
novels and two novellas. Donya has many more novels and novellas
planned for years to come.

Books by Donya Lynne

All the King's Men Series (in reading order)

Rise of the Fallen

Heart of the Warrior

Micah's Calling

Rebel Obsession

Return of the Assassin

All the King's Men - The Beginning

Strong Karma Trilogy (in reading
order)

Good Karma

Coming Back to You

Full Circle

Hope Falls Series

Finding Lacey Moon (can be read as a
standalone)

Standalone M/M Titles

Winter’s Fire

Collections and
Anthologies

All the King’s Men Vol. 1 (books 1-3)

All the King’s Men Vol. 2 (books 4-6)

Whispered Beginnings - A Romance Sampler

Coming Soon

Voyeur (contemporary erotic standalone)

Bound Guardian Angel (AKM book 7)

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@DonyaLynne

If you'd like to email me:
[email protected]

Website:
www.donyalynne.com

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