Page 129 of First Bride to Fall
Misty looked up from the register with wide hazel eyes. “You’re wearing Nell’s hat.”
Charlotte came out of the kitchen. “Grant? What’s going on?”
“Nell,” he said, breathless. “Is she here?”
“No,” Charlotte said. “I’m afraid you’ve missed her.”
Grant clenched his fists. “Where?”
“The airport,” Misty said.
“How long ago?”
Lucas answered. “About an hour.”
Nell’s parents approached him with rapid steps. Mrs. Delaney gasped. “You’re here for Nell?”
Grant swallowed hard. “I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Mr. Delaney walked toward Grant, pulling something from his pocket. It was Nell’s flight itinerary. He handed it to Grant. “Go, go!”
Grant nodded, his heart pounding. “Thanks.”
“Drive safely!” Mrs. Delaney called as he dashed out the door.
…
Nell rolled down her back seat window and leaned out of it. “Don’t you think we should call for backup or something?” The sun had just peeked over the horizon, sending orange and purple hues across the sky.
Her driver crouched by her back tire, a lug wrench in his hands. “No, miss. I’ve got this.”
He’d been saying that for the past twenty minutes, and she needed to get to the airport soon to check in on time. She stared at her phone, becoming more anxious by the minute. Fortunately, they’d only been on Route 1 when they’d had this flat tire, moving through slow fall beach traffic. They’d pulled off on a lonely stretch of road with towering ocean cliffs on their righthand side. The ocean crashed and churned below them.
Nell sighed and texted her sisters.
Flat tire. Ugh.
Hope I make my plane.
Seconds later, her phone dinged.
Message failed.
Lovely.
Okay, fine. Maybe she should document this to show Charlotte and Misty. They’d probably think it was funny. The many misfortunes of Nell.
She angled her camera out the window and snapped a pic of her driver holding a spare tire. “You’re not going to post that?” he asked. “Lady, I’ve got kids.”
What was that supposed to mean? That no one would take his service if they knew he’d had one random flat?
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m just texting my sisters.”
“Good.” He got back to work. “Because I don’t need any bad reviews. I need all the business I can get.”
Nell shook her head and tapped her camera app. The driver pic loaded, but so did a few others next to it. Her heart seized up. Including the one of her and Grant by the waterfall.
Had he opened her gift yet? Would he be hating her—or loving her—right now for thinking of him? Whatever he thought, she hoped she hadn’t made things worse. But, when she’d started packing for London, she’d come across the hat and knew she had to do something. This was her last chance to tell Grant how she felt. How she had felt about him for the past fourteen years.
