Page 5 of First Bride to Fall
“For what?” Nell asked her.
“For finding alternatives.”
A light bulb went off in Nell’s brain. “Misty,” she said. “You’re a genius!”
“Yeah?” Misty appeared pleased. She scrunched up her lips. “Why?”
“What if we each give ourselves a chance to find someone better?” Nell asked, her excitement growing. “Our fated match. You know, true love.”
Grant was the only man she wanted. He seemed kind and intelligent and accomplished, owning a camping store right here in town. And boy, was he sexy. All she had to do was get him to notice her and then move things along from there. Assuming he was interested.
Her stomach knotted as she acknowledged the risk. What if she braved it and went after him, and then he sent her packing? At least then she’d know for sure that a relationship with Grant was off the table. She’d been too scared to learn the truth until now, but that was before this clock started ticking.
Misty clucked her tongue. “Yes! If any of us can do better than Aidan, we will.”
“That’s a very tight timeline,” Charlotte warned. “We’d each have to find ourselves a guy before October first. That’s thirty days.”
“Not justfindhim,” Nell said. “Pin him down.” Her mind took a flirty road trip that involved her pinning Grant to the ground, after they’d been play-wrestling or something. Their hearts would be beating…she’d look in his eyes…then maybe he’d make the first move and kiss her. Her pulse hummed.
Nell shook off the heated thoughts and scanned their faces. “I’m talking an engagement, and I don’t mean any kind of fakey one, either. It has to be authentic for any of us to get out of marrying Aidan.”
“Right,” Charlotte said. She glanced at Nell, then at Misty. “We’ll need accountability, so we know an actual marriage is planned.”
Nell spied a stack of old newspapers that they sometimes used as packing material when stowing things away. “How about an announcement in the Seaside Daily?”
Charlotte’s face lit up. “That’s perfect, Nell. Once it’s announced in there, there’s no turning back.”
Misty nodded. “Everyone in town will know. So.”
“So. There’s your accountability,” Nell concluded.
“Okay then,” Charlotte said. “How about we make a deal? Whichever one of us hasnotfound true love by September thirtieth—”
“Andbecome publicly engaged,” Misty put in.
Charlotte nodded. “And become publicly engaged—”
“Thenshe’llbe the one to bite the bullet and marry Aidan.” This all sounded reasoned out enough to Nell, but a small issue niggled at her. “But…what if we allfind alternate husbands by then?”
Misty shrugged. “I say after the first two of us get engaged, it’s game over.”
“Yeah,” Charlotte said. “The last sister standing is who’ll get to be Aidan’s bride. For the sake of the business.”
“And the family,” Misty added. “We’re doing this for Dad—and Mom.”
Nell held her breath, hoping they were doing the right thing. Then she recalled the distressed look on her mom’s face and the sadness in her dad’s eyes, and she was certain they were. Five years wasn’t an eternity. Not even for her, at thirty and the oldest. But losing their business and their home would destroy both of her parents indefinitely.
“Okay,” Nell said. “Then, we’re all agreed?” Her sisters viewed her askance, and Nell knew what they were thinking. Charlotte and Misty were counting on the fact that Nell would be the one to marry Aidan in the end. But all was fair in love and war, and she didn’t intend to go down without a fight. Her Prince Charming was out there, and while the odds of him being Aidan Strong were incredibly slim, the likelihood of him owning an outdoorsy store in Majestic was somewhat better.
She hoped.
“Agreed,” Charlotte said.
Misty’s eyes shone. “Agreed.”
She whipped out her phone and stared at Charlotte, who was ready. She slid Aidan’s card out from between the pages of the notebook she’d set on a shelf and read the number aloud while Misty typed it in.
Nell frowned. “Wait. What are you doing?”
