Good Luck Charm: A Single Mother Romance

by Weston Parker

  “Jonah is a rare breed,” I said.

  “Those are the best kind,” Senna said knowingly.

  Epilogue

  Senna

  One Year Later

  I pinched my tongue between my teeth as I straightened out the wide-brimmed beach hat on the mannequin in my window display. Then, planting my hands on my hips, I stood back to make sure it was straight.

  It was impossible to tell from this angle. I marched outside and stood right smack in the middle of my window display, trying to see it through a customer’s eyes instead of my own.

  “It looks good,” Edith said, swinging out the shop door. “You’re overthinking it, Senna. Trust me.”

  I studied the hat. “I just don’t know if it goes with the rest of the outfit. Do you think it’s too much?”

  “No.”

  “You’re sure?” I asked, glancing at my friend.

  Edith crossed her arms and shook her head at me. “Overthinking.”

  “Fine.”

  She laughed and followed me back into the store.

  Our one-year celebration party was coming up in the next few weeks for our shops, which we had merged into one company six months into being in the new retail space. It hadn’t been all that difficult, either. Zach, who had more free time on his hands after taking the year off from working to figure out what he wanted to do with his career, helped make it happen. After a week of being closed for some quick construction work, we reopened, minus the wall between our two shops, opening up the floor to our new business—Lily Ladies.

  Lily had been flattered when we did all our new branding in elegant whites and soft grays with a chic rustic feel. Her name was written on every tag now, and she was our mascot, always in the store and making friends with the customers who returned time and time again for quality products and exceptional service.

  We were doing so well, we had been able to hire a full staff of six employees. Four full timers and two part timers. Edith kept her staff, and we hired three more girls.

  It was a dream.

  Although even in my wildest dreams before Lily Living even became fully realized, I never imagined having a boutique that would be so successful. I always figured I’d have a little shop and scrape by, and that would be fine with me because it was what I wanted to do. Now, we were pulling in more money than either of us had ever seen in our lives and selling nicer and nicer products as time went by.

  We were also still actively supporting other small businesses and local entrepreneurs. We sold handmade items from people in our area and left their business cards on our front desk. We hosted ladies’ nights every third Thursday of the month where we served wine and brought out new inventory for our VIP members to see first. On those nights, we also brought out the new merchandise by local designers, which included anything from homemade scarves to hats, bags, wallets, accessories, and of course, jewelry.

  People were milling around the shop as Edith and I snuck into the back room. It was nearly six o’clock. The store would be open until nine, but I had plans to be home for dinner. Zach was waiting for me.

  “I have to go, Edith. I promised Zach I’d fix him my famous curry soup. Lily heard me say it, and now she’s all excited, and you know how she gets when she has her mind fixed on something. Especially when it comes to food.”

  Edith gave me a knowing smile. “Like mother, like daughter. How are things with you and Zach?”

  I slung my purse over my shoulder and grinned. “Never better. He’s really stepped into himself the last six months. He and Lily together melt my heart.”

  I adored how Zach was with Lily. The two of them spent a lot of time together now that he had a bit more of an open schedule. At first, he’d been run down with responsibilities. He had a lot of stuff to take care of back in Orlando, like selling his condo and moving some of his stuff here to Texas. Now, everything had settled into a comfortable routine. He was looking into working again and starting his own company where he would represent small business owners like me who were entering deals with big corporations like Woodbury Enterprises.

  He’d done a one-eighty turn from where he used to be, and I was proud of him and excited to see how much he could help people who didn’t know how to fight for themselves. He was a powerhouse everyone would be lucky to have in their corner.

  Just like me and Edith were.

  “He melts my heart too,” Edith said. “I never thought I wanted kids until I saw those two playing with Barbie dolls together, but I guess I’ll have to find myself a man first.”

  “There are always sperm donors,” I suggested.

  “Yeah, I can barely take care of myself. I need a partner to raise a child.”

  “Fair enough.” I leaned in and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

  “I’ll bring coffee,” she said.

  “Excellent.”

  I left the store and waved goodbye to Trish, one of our new girls who was ringing up a customer. Then I hurried down the sidewalk toward the new love of my life, my brand-new Acura SUV. It was pearl white with chrome accents and much more luxurious than anything I ever thought I’d be able to afford. I got in and headed home, blasting my music the whole way and singing at the top of my lungs.

  Life was good.

  It was so good that sometimes I had to slow down and pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. The fact that my business was flourishing was one thing, but my relationship with Zach was icing on the cake, and I went through bouts of imposter syndrome where I wondered why I was the one who deserved such a great guy.

  Every time he realized I was getting down on myself, he’d shake me out of it and tell me I made him better, which was nonsense.

  We made each other better.

  I pulled into my driveway at six-thirty, a full half-hour later than I said I would be. I was sure they expected it. I was late more often than not these days because the store was so busy—and because I loved being there.

  I hopped out of the vehicle, slammed the door, and rushed up the driveway, fishing my keys out of my purse. I unlocked the door, flung it open, and announced, “I’m home! Sorry I’m late. The store was hectic, and I had to finish a window display, and we had a late delivery of new merchandise and I—” I slammed my mouth shut.

  All the lights were off, but it wasn’t dark.

  The kitchen, living room, and dining room flickered with warm amber light from nearly a hundred candles that were lit on every surface. My eyes were drawn to my feet, where I noticed white petals—lilies—scattered all around the floor.

  “What is this?” I whispered.

  “Welcome home,” Zach called to me.

  I lifted my head and spotted him and Lily sitting at the dinner table. It, too, was covered in candles and more lilies. These ones were placed in tall vases full of shimmering water.

  I licked my lips. “What on earth?”

  “Come here,” Zach said, getting to his feet.

  He was dressed in a black suit, and he looked as handsome as ever. Lily was dressed in a white dress that I couldn’t remember buying for her. She watched me walk toward them, her cheeks stretched in a grin.

  My footsteps were silent as I walked across the path of lily petals.

  Zach adjusted his glasses on his nose, stepped forward, and held out his hand to me. I reached out, and when his fingers grazed mine, he dropped to one knee.

  I drew in a sharp breath.

  Part of me had known this was coming at some point, but I hadn’t foreseen it happening so soon. Even though a little voice had screamed “something is happening” in the back of my head when I opened the front door, I hadn’t quite put two and two together that this was it.

  The moment I’d been dreaming about for months was here.

  Zach smiled up at me as Lily twisted around in her chair to watch.

  “Senna,” he said, his voice low and soft. “It’s been a long road to get here, but we made it in one piece. All three of us.”

&nb
sp; Lily leaned in. “Zach and I have been talking. We think it’s time to do something big.”

  “Really big,” Zach said.

  “So big it scares us.” Lily grinned.

  “We’ve been planning this for a while,” Zach said.

  Lily nodded. “A long while. But now the time has come.”

  “For me to tell you what’s in my heart,” Zach finished.

  Tears were already in my eyes. “Did you two rehearse that?”

  Zach chuckled. “Every day for the last two weeks.”

  I laughed, and my tears poured down my cheeks. Lily’s smile was bigger than I had ever seen it.

  Zach ran his thumb over my knuckles. “Senna, you make me a better man. I have been so lucky to wake up next to you every morning for this past year. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I want to spend every day of the rest of my life waking up to see you when I open my eyes. I want to spend every day making you laugh, making Lily laugh, and keeping you both safe. I want to fight your battles with you, not for you, and I want to do everything it takes to give you what you both deserve. If you’ll have me, that is.” He reached into his pocket.

  My heart fluttered in my chest. I covered my mouth with a shaking hand and wished my tears weren’t blurring my vision as he held up a blue velvet ring box. With a flick of his thumb, he popped the lid open, and a giant, dazzling ring winked at me, catching the light of the candles all around us.

  It was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.

  “Senna Alexandra Camden, will you marry me and make me the happiest man on earth?”

  I nodded vigorously. “Yes! Yes! Of course!”

  He plucked the ring from the box and slid it on my finger. I didn’t bother holding it up to look at it. Instead, I ignored the foreign feeling of it on my hand, dropped to my knees, and planted a wet kiss on his lips. Then I wrapped an arm around him and held the other open to Lily, who hopped off her chair and joined our family hug.

  “I’m so happy,” I whispered, sniffling all the while.

  “Me too,” Lily said, nuzzling her cheek into Zach’s chest.

  He hugged us both tighter. “Me three. You’re my girls, and I love you both.”

  Lily sniffled. “We love you too, Zach.”

  I leaned back and stroked his cheek. “I guess we’re stuck with you now.”

  Zach threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good,” I said, pressing another sweet kiss to his lips as Lily wriggled out from between us, telling us to get a room. I chuckled. “Who would have thought that the man who didn’t stand a chance of buying my business from me would be the same one I married?”

  Zach kissed the tip of my nose. “I’m glad you gave me a second chance.”

  “So am I,” I whispered, closing my eyes to rest my forehead against his.

  It was the perfect moment, even with Lily making disgusted sounds in the background.

  Zach chuckled and cupped my cheek, stroking a stray strand of hair away from where it had gotten caught in my eyelashes. He smiled. “I never thought I’d find such a beautiful good luck charm. I’m the luckiest man on earth.”

  I smiled. “I still can’t believe I fell in love with a suit.”

  The End

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  About the Author

  Hey there. I'm Weston.

  I'm a former firefighter/EMS guy who's picked up the proverbial pen and started writing bad boy romance stories. I co-write with my sister, Ali Parker as we travel the United States for the next two years.

  You're going to find Billionaires, Bad Boys, Mafia and loads of sexiness. Something for everyone, hopefully. I'd love to connect with you. Check out the links below and come find me.

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  Copyright © 2019 by Weston Parker

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.

  First Edition.

  Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art

  Editor: Lori Hawkins