Lucky Chance Read Online Free

at the same time. It was like two sides of her playing tug of war, and neither side was winning. She wasn’t even sure she knew which side she wanted to win.
    Ignoring his question, she nodded to the spice bottles in his hand. “What’s that?”
    “My secret ingredients that are going to make sure I win this competition.”
    “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.”

    “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had scheduled bathroom breaks in that thing.” He joked and headed toward the door.

 
    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