Kiss the Bride by Lori Wilde

place of my usual crew, I’ll be willing to waive my fee until after the house sells. All you would have to pay for are the supplies.”
    “Yes!” Lucia clapped her hands. “I love it. It’s the perfect solution.”
    “Are you sure your family will be on board? Especially the grandson you mentioned? It sounds like most of the burden will rest on his shoulders.”
    “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Trudie interjected. “His truck just pulled up in the driveway.”
    “Come meet him,” Lucia said.
    Her mind lighting up with ideas, Delaney followed Lucia back into the living room. She couldn’t wait to get started.
    Footsteps sounded on the front porch. A man’s voice rang out, “Nana, I’m here. Who does the swanky car in the driveway belong to?”
    Delaney was standing with her hands clutched behind her back when she realized Lucia and Trudie had slipped out of the room and left her standing there all alone.
    Where had they gone?
    She turned her head to look, but before she had much time to ponder this question, the door opened and Lucia’s grandson walked over the threshold.
    He drew up short the second he spied her.
    Their eyes met.
    Delaney’s heart stilled, and she felt a crazy, out-of-control sense of utter serenity.
    Together, they gasped in one simultaneous breath.
    “Oh, it’s you.”

Chapter 5
     
    W hat’d I tell you?” Trudie whispered to Lucia. “I knew it. They’re smitten.”
    “It seems like they already know each other,” Lucia said. “Imagine that.”
    They were secreted in the small closet underneath the staircase. Lucia looked at the shelves around her, crowded with memories. It hit her. This was going to be a huge undertaking, clearing out a lifetime of living. The closet door was open, giving then a great and completely undetected view of Nick and Delaney.
    Lucia had to agree, her friend was right. There was no denying the combination of surprise, delight, confusion, and distress on the young people’s faces as they stared at each other.
    “It’s the whammy,” Lucia whispered. “The way they are looking at each other is exactly the way I felt when I first saw Leo.”
    “Toldja.” Trudie giggled gleefully.
    “Delaney is so beautiful,” Lucia breathed.
    “And your Nicky is quite handsome in that rough,tough way of his. They’re going to give you the most gorgeous great-grandchildren.”
    “Let’s not put the cart before the horse,” Lucia said. “Remember, Delaney’s engaged to someone else, and Nick’s ego is still smarting over what Amber did to him.”
    “Yeah.” Trudie sighed. “There is that. But what’s a good romance without a little conflict?”
    As Lucia and Trudie spied on the couple, Delaney glanced from Nick to her wristwatch. She tapped the face of it, shook her wrist, and then looked again before holding it up to her ear.
    “Funny, my watch must have stopped,” they heard Delaney say. “Which is a bit strange because I had the battery replaced just last week. Could you tell me what time you have?”
    “Three thirty-five,” Nick replied.
    Lucia and Trudie stared at each other.
    “You hear that?” Trudie nudged Lucia in the ribs with her elbow. “Her watch stopped! Just like the clock with you and Leo. It’s a sign. There’s no doubt about it. Those two are fated.”
    Hope rose in Lucia’s heart. Could it be true? Was Trudie right?
    But Trudie must have spoken too loudly because Nick raised his head and glared in their direction. “Nana? Are you and Trudie hiding under the staircase?”
    “Uh-oh,” Lucia whispered. “Busted.”
    Seeing the pink-raincoat woman standing in his grandmother’s living room totally blew Nick away. He stared at her and she stared at him and he had no idea what to say or do next.
    And then he heard whispering and giggling frombehind the staircase and realized his grandmother and her best friend must be up to something. They’d tried to play matchmaker for him before, but it was beyond his comprehension