Page 76 of Royal Agenda

“I don’t know.” Nancy lifted both her shoulders and her palms. “I was hoping you all would help me figure out what to do.”

“Where is he planning this surprise wedding?” asked Walt. He knew all the nooks and crannies of the Cove.

“International waters,” Nancy replied.

“Sounds fishy,” Harry said.

Winnie elbowed him. “That was punny.”

Nancy turned to Don. “You know Ryker and his friends best. What do you think?”

He stood up and said, “I need to make a phone call.” He walked out of the room.

Polly tilted her head. “What do you think, Nancy? She’s your granddaughter.”

Nancy fiddled with her yellow legal pad. “My logical side says to tell Ryker to ship out and leave my granddaughter alone.” She sighed. “But my intuition says that this is the right thing for Grace.”

Polly nodded, encouraging Nancy to keep talking.

“With Elizabeth, I would hold fast to logic. But with Grace . . . It seems intuition is her guide. How can I ignore mine when it comes to her?” She glanced from face to face, each one waiting for her to make the decision.

They were not going to push her one way or the other. Which was good of them but also—she wanted someone to tell her what to do because it felt like she was swimming without a life jacket.

Don stepped back in—his phone in his hand.

“Well?” she asked.

He looked down. “It’s a legitimate proposal.”

“Okay then. Umm. I need a second.” Nancy closed her eyes and went still. The air conditioning hummed. No one moved. In the silence and stillness, a sure feeling came over her. She popped open her eyes. “Let’s kidnap Grace.”

“Whoop!” Harry threw his hat in the air.

Polly clapped.

Rosa lifted her arms and shook her hips.

Samantha grinned.

“This isn’t our first wedding, folks,” she referenced Julia’s and Logan’s wedding disaster that they’d stepped in and saved. “We can do this if everyone helps out. I don’t want to just kidnap her and have her show up–I want her to arrive in style.”

“What did you have in mind?” asked Rosa.

“Samantha, do you have the photos?”

“Right here.” She pulled them out of her folder and laid them on the table. Everyone crowded in. “These are vintage wedding dresses from the 1920s.”

“They look like those bohemian dresses at Leather and Lace,” said Polly.

Winnie nodded. “I don’t have time to sew this. It’s too much.”

“I know. We need to find one like this. Spread out, scour the local thrift shops and online marketplaces. Someone out there has to have a dress for my girl.”

They all turned to Harry. “It could take all day.” He scratched his jaw, and then he looked up, his eyes sparkling. “But I know where we can start.”

Nancy glanced down the length of the table and noted Samantha’s creased forehead. “Samantha, thank you for the pictures. I think we can handle it from here.”

Samantha laughed with relief. “My day is packed. I’m off to make piñatas.” She gathered her laptop and ran out of there as if her skirt was on fire.

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