The Marriage Jinx - Love in Abbottsville Book 1

A secret office romance and a dating jinx. What couldn't go wrong?

When Penelope Warner and her best friends made a pact after college to wait until they turn thirty to get married, she never thought they’d jinx themselves. But ever since they signed their names on the dotted line, their dating lives have been one catastrophe after another.

If that wasn't bad enough, her new boss is Lucas Abbott—her high school crush and the town’s most eligible bachelor—and the attraction she feels is definitely not one-sided this time. But he's not supposed to date employees due to a past family scandal, so what are they to do but keep things on the down low?

Now that the guy might finally be in Penelope's life, she's worried it will end in another dating disaster. But is the jinx their biggest obstacle or are deeper issues standing in their way?

The Marriage Jinx is a heartwarming romantic comedy with plenty of small-town charm, cute flirting, a little fake dating, swoon-worthy kisses, a secret office romance, a fun cast of characters … and a town turkey.

When I had arrived at work that morning, at the job I’d held for the past five years, I never thought I’d walk out five hours later with a pink slip and a cardboard box full of my stuff.

I didn’t want to go home to my quiet apartment and sit too long with my thoughts, so I texted the girls and drove straight to Abbottsville. I headed south along the highway, passing by familiar landmarks—the road that led to the lake where we swam as kids, the farm stand that had been there as long as I could remember, field after field, house after house. The closer I got to Abbottsville, the lighter I felt. Sure, I was sad that I’d lost my job, but I knew my girls would cheer me up.

A ding sounded as my low fuel light came on, so I stopped at the gas station on the outskirts of town to fill up. I pressed the button to pay at the pump, but nothing happened, and I jumped when a loud, garbled
voice came over the loudspeaker. I’m pretty sure Charlie Brown’s teacher had the microphone all the
way inside her mouth when she said, “Car ebo pee shy,” which I could only assume was, “Card reader broke. Pay inside.” At least I hoped that’s what she said.

I went inside to pay, and there was a line. Of course, there was. This was the gas station that always had gas for five to ten cents less than the others in town, so it was constantly busy.

I grabbed a Diet Coke and the local newspaper and started paging through as I waited in line. Most of the stories weren’t enough to capture my attention, but I liked browsing the births, wedding announcements, and obituaries, looking for familiar names.

I flipped through the pages and a headline stopped me: Fraud at Abbott Farm.

Abbott Farm was one of the most reputable companies in town, but they were good people as far as I knew. What kind of fraud had they committed?

I was two sentences into the story when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked back, and my stomach did a roundoff back handspring across a butterfly-filled meadow. Standing behind me was Lucas Abbott himself, co-owner of the aforementioned Abbott Farm. I whipped my head around, facing the counter, and my heart was suddenly in my throat.

“The line moved,” he said.

That it had. I tried to calm my racing heart as I took a step forward. I was so flustered by Lucas’s proximity that the newspaper I held slid from my grasp, and rather than catch it gracefully, my arm flailed and smacked at it, sending it floating down to land at his feet ... fraud article facing up.

I crouched down to gather it, and he did the same, sending his musky scent my way, which made me delirious in my attraction. I stole a glance at him. He was so perfect. Always had been. With his blond hair and chiseled jaw and those muscles for miles. I was suddenly a freshman crushing on the senior captain of the football team all over again.

His gaze was fixed on the article. “Good reading?” he asked.

My eyes met his, but I couldn’t seem to find my words. Instead, I fumbled as I gathered the paper, folded it haphazardly, and shoved it under my arm as I stood, again facing away from him. What was wrong with me?

“Do I know you?” he asked.

I turned sideways in the line and looked into his bright hazel eyes.

Find your words, Penelope.

“Doesn’t everybody know everybody in a small town?” I gave him a little smile.

He looked over my face and hair, his gaze landing on my nose and then my lips before he made eye contact again. “You just look really familiar.”

There was no way he’d recognize me from chemistry class all those years ago. I’d worn glasses back then and been in the middle of my awkward phase.

“I don’t think so,” I managed.

“Are you from here?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

He eyed me. “Did you go to Abbottsville High?”

“Getting warmer.”

The hint of a smile he gave me caused my knees to go weak. “Were you a cheerleader?”

I held in a snort. “Colder.” I was enjoying this game.

“We had a class together in high school, right?”

“War-mer.”

“Was it Spanish class?”

I chuckled. “Frio.”

He laughed at my use of the Spanish word for cold.

“I can help who’s next,” the cashier said.

I turned and stepped to the counter, trying to will away the heat that had flushed my cheeks during our
brief exchange.

“Twenty dollars on pump one, please. And these.”

I set the newspaper and Diet Coke on the counter. The cashier rang me up, and when I opened my purse, my heart skipped a beat. Where was my wallet? I frantically pulled things out of my normally organized purse.

“I’m sorry.” My cheeks warmed as I glanced at the cashier.

“Is everything okay?” Lucas asked.

“It’s got to be in here somewhere,” I muttered, my pulse quickening.

I pushed the pop and newspaper aside and emptied the contents of my purse onto the counter, and then it hit me. I had taken it out last night when placing an order online. It was probably still sitting on my end table in the living room. It was so not like
me, and my hands were shaking from how flustered I was.

“This day,” I grumbled as I put everything back into my purse. “I’m sorry. I left my wallet at home. I’m going to have to call someone.”

Lucas stepped forward and handed the cashier his card. “I’ve got it.”

My eyes met his, and his smile made my cheeks warm again.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t accept.”

“It’s not a problem. Just pay it forward to someone in the future.”

My heart warmed at his kindness and generosity. “Thank you. I can pay you back. Really.”

He waved his hand at me. “Not necessary.”

Our eyes met again, and I swear, my stomach decided it was in full-on gymnastics training with all the flips it was doing. I wanted to grab the front of his very form-fitted, muscle-emphasizing, long-sleeved T-shirt and tug him to me. He deserved my gratitude ... in the form of the best kiss of his life.

My phone rang, yanking me away from his stare and out of my daydream, and the cashier handed me my receipt.

“Next!”

I grabbed my pop and pulled my phone out as I moved toward the door, glancing back at Lucas once more to see if he was watching me, but of course, he wasn’t. Why would he?