Lucky Chance (3 page)

“Since we go way back, do I get to know what your secret ingredients are?”

He grabbed one of the shirts from the top of the bag and carefully rolled the bottles in it before placing them inside. “One is real vanilla bean.”

“What about the other?”

“Madd…” He caught himself before he called her by the nickname. “You’ll have to wait to find out. Not even my family knows that one.”

“As long as it wins this, you can keep your secret. Otherwise, you’ll have to reveal it.”

“I’d like to reveal more than just a secret.”

Wouldn’t we all.
Thankfully, she caught herself before the words slipped out of her mouth. After all, she was keeping the biggest secret of all. Not just from him, but from everyone. Secrets had a tendency to fester in the gut until a person thought they’d explode from it.

“Are you all packed? We should be going.”

“Just a minute.” He went to the hall closet and pulled out a black leather jacket. “It’s still cold in Denver at this time.”

“Very well, let’s go.” She glanced at the view one final time before she grabbed her planner from the table and his garment bag with his dress uniform.

“I can get that.”

“I’ve got nothing else to carry.” She draped it over her arm. “Do you want to catch a cab?”

“We’ll take my truck, and I’ll leave it at the airport for when I return.” He grabbed his bag and glanced at her. “I just realized something. What about your luggage?”

“This is only a long layover for me, so mine is at the airport. I didn’t even pack a carry on as I normally would so I didn’t have to lug it around town.” She nodded to her planner. “This was all I have to worry about and it rarely leaves my sight.”

Seven hours of traveling, and the very idea the first media appearance was only a few hours away, had Lucky on edge. The same nervous energy that coursed through him before a mission was bubbling within him now. He needed something to take his mind off it.

“You okay?” Madison questioned as he grabbed their luggage from the trunk.

“Fine.” He pulled her rolling suitcase from the trunk, and placed it on the ground before slinging his bag over his shoulder. “It’s nearly three in the morning, so we should get settled and get some sleep.”

“You don’t look like you could sleep.” She grabbed the garment bag and shut the trunk. “You’re nervous. Just like in high school when you had to give that speech. The big bad Marine is terrified of a little press…I never thought I’d see the day.”

“I don’t care to be singled out for special attention. I’ve done nothing that would warrant this…this punishment.”

She had begun to lead the way up the sidewalk to the two-story home in a small, family-friendly development, when she stopped and turned back to him. “You see this as punishment. That Sergeant Major Graves singled you out because of something you did. Whereas the rest of us see this as honoring a talent you have. There’s no reason you should hide the magic you do in the kitchen.”

“I only started this to bring a touch of home to us while we were away. I didn’t do it to be on some competition, or for anyone else to know about it.”

“Your reasoning doesn’t matter. You take ordinary foods and turn them into something divine.” As if realizing she wasn’t changing his mind, she added, “If you can’t do this for yourself, then do it for the wounded Marines this will benefit if you win. That alone should be the motivation you need.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A little over a year…”

“Enough.” He tried to keep the regret and sadness from showing in his voice but failed miserably. “It’s cold. Let’s get inside.”

She nodded, but didn’t move. “You might want to shove that memory aside, but it’s a part of you. A part of this. It’s part of why Graves chose you.” She slipped the door key from her pocket, and headed toward the front of the house.

“What does that have to do with this?”

She didn’t answer him at first, waiting until the door opened. She flicked on the entryway light, then turned to him. “Graves didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” He kicked the door shut and tossed his bag on the floor. He was tired of playing twenty questions, and he was tired of the whole situation. The next two weeks would be worse than any orders he’d ever had before.

“Private First Class Kyle Phillips.”

“Leave him out of this,” he snapped, trying to push the memories back into the depths of his mind.

“He’s the one who recommended you to Graves for this.”

“What?” Anger at not knowing threatened to spill out, but it wasn’t Madison he should be angry at. It was Graves, or even Phillips. Graves never mentioned it, not that it would have made much difference. After all, an order from a commanding officer was still an order, but it mattered to Lucky.

“I’m sorry, Lucky, I thought you knew.”

“Just forget it,” he snapped before reining himself back. “It wouldn’t have changed anything, but I’ll be damn sure to have a few words with them when this is all over.”

“It wasn’t so much his fault. His mother and my boss are good friends. She knew of Kyle’s service, and asked if he had any recommendations. That’s why he went to Graves.”

“I thought you didn’t know who the Marine was that you were meeting? If you knew Kyle recommended the person, you had to have had a name.”

She placed the garment bag over her suitcase, dug into her planner before finally finding a printout and held it out to him. “I didn’t know until we were on the plane, when I read the form I received before I flew to Virginia. That’s how I found out. I’d have told you, but you were trying to sleep. I didn’t want to bother you.” When he didn’t take the paper, she placed it back on top of the planner, and set it on the entryway table. “I only know what was in the paper, but there’s no wonder why he’d recommend you.”

“I don’t want to discuss it.” He snatched his bag off the tiled floor. “I need to get some sleep.”

“Take the bedroom at the end of the hall.” She nodded toward the stairs. “I’ll be in the one closest to the stairs if you need anything.”

“I take it you’ve been here.” He grabbed the garment bag before taking her suitcase as well. He didn’t want to have to come back downstairs for anything. He needed to put some distance between them, avoid that look of sympathy in her eyes.

“I was here two weeks ago to check out rental properties. Each contestant has their own rental with a chef’s dream kitchen where they’ll be staying with their handlers for the next two weeks. Being that I picked them out, I assigned the nicest to myself. There’s even a hot tub on the deck if you’re interested. A small work space for me and a kitchen that I hope will suit your needs.”

“I’m sure it’s more than I’m used to. The cooking supplies were extremely limited when we were deployed.” With one more glance at her, he took the first step to the second floor.

“I can take my bag,” she offered, but he was already a quarter of the way up.

“Don’t worry, Maddie, I won’t open it and look at all your sexy lingerie. I’ll be a gentleman and place it in your room.”

“I’d never expect anything less from you.”

After depositing her suitcase in her room, he headed farther down the hall to his room. The door was open, revealing a large, king size bed. The solid cherry wood headboard made it seem more imposing than it was, drawing attention to the warm blue accent wall behind the bed. The deep blue comforter reminded him of Ace’s dress blues, only this had a sliver threading creating panels within the blanket.

He dropped his bags on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed and took in the rest of the room. There was a dresser, and what he assumed was a closet, on the same wall as the entryway. To the left was an adjoining bathroom, but it was the window that caught his attention. In the daylight, the large window would provide a stunning view of the mountains he’d noticed on the drive, but now he could only see darkness.

“If only this was a vacation instead of an assignment, I might actually be able to enjoy the mountains. Such a change from Virginia Beach,” he mumbled to himself as he began to strip out of his clothes.

He crawled between the sheets in his boxers, and was no longer able to push the memories away. In a semi-conscious decision, he decided to reroute his thoughts to Madison instead of recalling Kyle, which would only lead to doubt and rage. He let his eyelids drift shut, and the memories flooded back.

Two days before he was due to report to boot camp, they’d been curled up in bed at a small bed and breakfast two towns over. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to talk her into it, but there they were.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and they had spent the night in each other’s arms. Neither of them had slept, as if they didn’t want to miss a moment of their time together. Four years dating, but friends for even longer, and yet every day had felt new and exciting. He wanted that, and he wanted her. While many of their friends had been thinking about college, and the careers they’d have, he was thinking that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. His plan had been to propose to her, but the moment had been so perfect he remembered not wanting to move from where he was, with her wrapped around him, to get the ring.

“Lucky…”

“Hmm.” He teased his finger along the curve of her spine.

“I love you.”

“Mmm.” He tipped her head up toward him. “Maddie, you’re the only woman for me. I love you, too.” He started to kiss her when she pulled back just enough to stop him.

“Wait, there’s something I need to say. Something I’ve wanted to say, but I wanted this time with you first. It’s selfish, but I wanted to remember us like this.”

“Remember us? What are you talking about? We’ll be together soon.”

“I’m leaving for college in two weeks, and things are going to be different. We’re not going to see each other. We’ll be living different lives.”

He wasn’t sure he liked where this was heading. “Maddie, we’ll get through it. It’s only for a little bit, and then you can join me once I have my duty station. You can continue with college wherever I’m stationed. I thought we discussed this.”

“We did, but things have changed.” She got out of bed, slipped into a long t-shirt, and went to the window. “I think we need to take a break.”

“A break?” He shot up out of bed, but didn’t go to her. After the night they’d shared, she wanted a break.

“I love you, Lucky, and I always will, but I think we need this. You can go to boot camp, and I can begin college.”

“This is because I joined the military, isn’t it?” When she remained silent, he grabbed his jeans and slipped them on. “I wouldn’t have joined the Marines if I knew it meant losing you.” Even as he said it, he knew it was true. She was more important to him then his desire to serve his country and follow in his family’s footsteps. She was the woman he wanted by his side, and a love like that wasn’t something to pass by, no matter how young they were.

“This is what you’ve always wanted. The Diamonds are a military family, and have been for generations. Look at Ace. He swayed from the path by becoming a Navy SEAL, but that doesn’t change the fact that the military life is a part of each of you. I’d never ask you to give that up.” She turned toward him. “Even so, that’s not the reason. Our lives are changing and we need to make sure this is what we want.”

“I already know you’re what I want. I fell in love with you when we were children, and I’ll never stop loving you.”

“Don’t you see?”

“See what?”

“We’re all we’ve ever known. You were my first boyfriend, the first guy I kissed, and the first one I’ve made love to.”

“I don’t see the issue there.” He slipped his shirt on and sat down on the bed to put his shoes on.

“I don’t want there to come a day when either of us regret not having time apart.” She rubbed her hands down her arms. “I’m not saying I want to be with someone else, because I don’t.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“Because…” She paused as if she wasn’t sure why. “I don’t want this to happen once you’re at boot camp. You don’t need to receive a letter telling you this, so I’m doing it now.”

“Your timing is impeccable.” He grabbed his jacket, and as he stuck his hands into his pocket, the ring box brushed against his fingers. “After the night we had, now you want to break up.”

“I’m doing this for both of us, but also to protect you. Let’s just see what happens.”

“Yeah, let’s.” He stormed from the room, thankful they had driven there separately.

“I’m sorry, Lucky.”