Lucky

by Rachel Vail

  “Phoebe?”

  I turned. Luke exhaled, beside me. His hair was slightly gelled, pushed back from his forehead, and he was wearing a dark gray suit and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and black slightly shiny shoes. His full lips weren’t smiling. He looked hotter than ever.

  “Hi,” I managed.

  “I didn’t know if…I was hoping you were going to…You look…”

  And then I kissed him. I didn’t plan it; I just leaned toward him and was pressing my lips against his before I could think. His hand reached around my waist and pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and we kept on kissing. It felt so good. When we finally pulled away from each other, blinking, we both smiled. His hand slipped from my waist into my hand.

  “Hi,” he said.

  “Phoebe!” Gabrielle yelled, and I looked out toward the dance floor. She was standing in the center, looking absolutely stunning in a low-cut black halter dress and high heels, dancing with her boyfriend from camp. I waved. Beside her, Kirstyn was dancing with Zhara and Anne. They stopped.

  “Do you want to dance?” I asked Luke.

  “Yes,” he said. “But I think your friends want you first.” He pulled me back to kiss me again, soft and quick. “I’m so happy you decided to come.”

  “Me, too.”

  I walked out onto the dance floor alone.

  “You look great,” Kirstyn said.

  “Thank you, Kirstyn.”

  “You’re welcome.” She put her arm around me. I leaned down against her. It was a little awkward. I tottered a little on my heels. She turned me toward Ann, who was holding up a disposable camera. We both smiled as the flash blinded us.

  “Hey, Luke,” Kirstyn called to him. “Can you get a picture of the five of us?”

  “Absolutely.” He crossed the dance floor and took the camera from Ann.

  As Gabrielle, Zhara, and Ann wrapped their arms around us, Kirstyn turned to me and showed me her teeth. No poppy seeds.

  “You’re good,” I said, and bared my teeth at her.

  “You’re good, too,” she said.

  “Good?” Gabrielle asked. “Please! We’re the best!”

  We smooshed up all close together and smiled.

  About the Author

  RACHEL VAIL is the author of the Friendship Ring series and the Avery sisters trilogy, which includes the critically acclaimed LUCKY and GORGEOUS, as well as the novels YOU, MAYBE; IF WE KISS; DO-OVER; EVER AFTER; DARING TO BE ABIGAIL; and WONDER. Rachel is also the author of the picture books RIGHTY AND LEFTY: A TALE OF TWO FEET, SOMETIMES I’M BOMBALOO, and the series of early reader books Mama Rex & T. Rachel lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. You can visit Rachel online at www.rachelvail.com.

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  Novels by Rachel Vail:

  WONDER

  DO-OVER

  EVER AFTER

  DARING TO BE ABIGAIL

  NEVER MIND!

  IF WE KISS

  YOU, MAYBE: The Profound Asymmetry

  of Love in High School

  LUCKY

  GORGEOUS

  The Friendship Ring:

  IF YOU ONLY KNEW

  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE

  NOT THAT I CARE

  WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?

  POPULARITY CONTEST

  FILL IN THE BLANK

  Credits

  Cover photography © 2008 by Dan Saelinger

  Cover design by Joel Tippie

  Copyright

  LUCKY. Copyright © 2008 by Rachel Vail. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Adobe Digital Edition April 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-185824-6

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