Page 131 of First Bride to Fall
He bounded toward security and then veered off to a hallway section cordoned off by a rope. Nell was in the hallway hurrying toward her gate, her back to him.
Grant yelled with all the power and might in his lungs. “Nell Delaney!”
“Hey, you! Stop!” Three security guards were on him in an instant. Two had him around his chest and the third one patted him down.
“I’m sorry,” Grant said hoarsely. “It’s just my…” His heart sank. “Nell.”
Then a miracle happened.
She stopped and pulled something out of her purse. It was her phone.
She looked down and stared at the screen. Next, she looked up and glanced around.
“I’m sorry,” one of the guards said. “You’ll need to come with us.”
“Wait. Please,” Grant said, pleading.
Nell turned on her heel, scanning the hallway.
“Nell!” he called again, and this time she saw him.
Her face lit up all pink and rosy. “Grant?” she yelled. “What are you doing here?”
The security guards released their grip.
“I…” He glanced at the guards and their stony gazes. “I had to see you! We need to talk!”
“Oh yeah?” she called back. “About what?”
Other people around them had started watching. Airport workers and passengers in the security line stopped chatting to watch the scene.
Grant’s heart pounded harder than it ever had.
He really hadn’t thought this through. He wasn’t prepared.
“I need to ask you a question!”
“What question?”
Then he had an idea. “Will you go hiking with me?”
“Hiking?” Her shoulders sank, and the shoulders of all their onlookers did, too. This was clearly a disappointment to everybody. But not to Grant. He had a plan, and he needed to do this right.
“Yeah! Hiking.”
Her eyebrows rose, making her look extra adorable in her cute knit hat. She stared at his head.
“You’re wearing my hat.”
“I know, and I love it! And…” He drew in a deep breath and released it. “I love you, Nell Delaney. More than a million rainbows!”
The crowd collectively sighed.
All eyes turned on Nell.
She bit her bottom lip and blushed.
“I love you, too,” she finally said.
