Nora Roberts – The winning hand

The ninth book in the MacGregor series, published September 1, 1998.
Genre: contemporary romance
Cover: nice



In one extraordinary moment, Darcy Wallace was transformed from being down-on-her-luck into a millionaire sharing candlelight dinners with Robert MacGregor Blade. Mac was the most seductive man she ever met -- though he certainly wasn't the marrying kind. But Darcy was feeling lucky...So with searching kisses and aching vulnerability, the innocent beauty set about making the stubborn bachelor see that love was the biggest gamble -- and he was going to have to ante up!


Darcy Wallace had run away from her quiet life in a small town in Kansas, to escape a powerful man who did not take no for an answer. Darcy was tired of fighting him, he has caused her to loose her job as a librarian and to be evicted from her apartment. She will not go back to him with a hanging head and marry him and be his obedient puppet for the rest of her life. And so she packed her few possessions in her old car, and left, just going in the direction her car was pointed at.
Her bad luck continues when her purse is stolen, and her car breaks down just a mile outside of Las Vegas. She is hungry and tired and has only $ 9,31 left in her jeans pocket. Darcy has no plans at all, but she just leaves her car, and her suitcase in the boot, and takes the only important things she has with her: her tote bag with her notebooks and manuscripts. Walking in the desert heat is harder than she anticipated, but she just puts one foot in front of the other, vaguely wanting to stop for something to eat or drink but unable to do so. Until she actually reaches Las Vegas, the Strip. Her attention is caught by a huge statue of an Indian outside one of the big casino’s, the Comanche. Mesmerized by the chaos of people and sounds and lights, Darcy ventures inside, where a lot of people are playing slot machines. She doesn’t know anything about gambling, but how hard can it be? She could use her last few dollars for a meal, but one particular machine is calling to her. The Jackpot is $ 1.800.009,31 dollars, that has to be a sign, right? And so in a daze she feeds her last few dollars into the machine and pulls the handle. Upstairs, in the boss’ office, Robert MacGregor Blade is alerted to the strangely forlorn woman playing the Jackpot machine, and goes to check it out. With her last three dollars fed into the machine, Darcy pulls the handle again, watching in a daze as the stars and moons align in a pretty pattern, and the bells start ringing. She has no idea what is happening, but people are congratulating her, and then the statute of the Comanche warrior seems to come alive in front of her eyes, and she faints.

Mac is just in time to catch her, she weighs almost nothing, and he takes her upstairs to one of the luxury suites reserved for high rollers. The small woman in his arms looks exhausted and like she has slept in her clothes for a few days. When Darcy comes to her senses again, she has no idea what has happened to her, and Mac explains it to her. She has won the Jackpot, she is now a very rich woman, even after taxes have been paid, and the press will want to talk to her. Darcy shies away from all the attention, she doesn’t want anyone alerted to her, and have her ex-fiancée find her again. She also has no clue what she should do with all that money, and she agrees with Mac’s suggestion, to just enjoy herself first. Get pampered in the resort’s spa, visit the shops and of course, gamble some more so he can win some back from her.

Mac doesn’t really know what to do with this innocent from Kansas, she will be such an easy prey for all the con artists out there when they find out about her, he is determined to protect her as much as he can. He agrees to keep her name a secret for now, and he will arrange for his own uncle to act as her lawyer. Of course, when his parents get wind of what has happened, they will arrive at the Comanche immediately, and so does his grandfather, the famous MacGregor himself, when he gets a matchmaking idea in his head.



I had such fun time reading this book, I enjoyed every minute of it. Darcy is such a bright character, she enjoys all the new things she is experiencing to the fullest, and I was right there with her. I absolutely loved her joy in the simple things, her innocence, her luck in gambling and how she held her own against Mac. I loved her interaction with his family, how she longed to be loved like they did each other. She grew into her own, finally free of the restrictions of her upbringing, and the expectations of others. She is compassionate, kindhearted and bright. She is a normal woman, not a supermodel, not some incredibly talented or smart woman, just an average person. I related to her, and rooted for her. She took a gamble with her heart, and when Mac pushed her away, for her own good ofcourse, she did not collapse.

My only complaint was that she did not make him grovel enough in the end. This might very well be my favourite MacGregor book. It has been a while since a book was just so much fun to read, and I don’t mean over the top humor and snark, just pleasure.

10 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian