Dahlia Vale is a floater on the interstellar cruise liner Nebula Zephyr. She fills in wherever she’s needed and loves the life. She hopes she can land a permanent spot on the crew roster and she and her alien rescue pet Petal can secure their home aboard the ship. Then one night she gets called to take a waitress position in the casino and a high society guest decides she’s his lucky charm after winning huge at the roulette wheel by betting on her casual suggestion. Life becomes a whirlwind for Dahlia and she’s not sure she likes the attention. Fortunately her pet gave her a special token of good luck that she carries all the time.
Casino Manager Mike Remington isn’t happy to have an unknown floater assigned to the casino on such a big night but he’s impressed with Dahlia despite himself. He wants to get to know her better which is a challenge since he’s the boss but maybe the way to her heart is to help find answers for her ailing pet. Amidst preparations for an upcoming gaming competition Mike finds time to spend with Dahlia. But he’s got everyone from the interstellar mob to the upper echelons of society on the ship to deal with.
When Dahlia is endangered thanks to her reputation as a so-called ‘luck puller’ for the avaricious gamblers engaged in the championship games, she needs her own lucky charm and Mike’s help to avoid disaster. Can their growing attraction survive the chaos?
This 35K word novella first appeared in the Pets in Space® 10 anthology, which is no longer available. I have added 1300 words relating to the MMC’s backstory but there are no other changes..

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