Free Kiss the Bride by Lori Wilde Page B

in such a home where kids were allowed to spill and sprawl and their growth spurts were marked in colored pencil on the wall beside the back door.
    She immediately felt disloyal to her own family at such a thought. She’d had all the privileges the Cartwright money could buy. But that had included hired cooks and maids. She missed the boisterous camaraderie of cousins and siblings, of the numerous aunts and uncles andgrandparents that this house clearly boasted. The Vinettis had what Delaney had always longed for. A close-knit, extended family.
    “For sure,” Trudie said. “This is where the family congregates when they visit. And it can get pretty rowdy in here, with all the laughing and teasing and eating. Lucia’s an excellent cook, and she makes the best Stromboli you’ll ever put in your mouth.”
    “So what do you think?” Lucia asked. “What needs to be done? Can you give me an estimate for what this might cost?”
    “Just let me jot down a few notes.”
    “Sit,” Lucia invited. “I’ll make coffee and we’ll have some tiramisu I baked this morning.”
    Delaney sat, took her calculator and her notepad from her purse, and crunched numbers while Lucia served up espresso and the ladyfinger cake.
    Lucia settled in across from Delaney, anxiously pleating her apron with her fingers.
    “I have some good news and some bad news.” Delaney took a sip of her coffee. “Which would you like to hear first?”
    “Oh, definitely I want the good news first,” Lucia said.
    “You have a beautiful home. I can feel the love in every room. Once we get it in shape, it’s going to sell very easily.”
    “And the bad news?” Lucia gnawed her bottom lip.
    Delaney longed to tell her that there was no bad news. That this warm, welcoming home was absolutely perfect as it was. But unfortunately, in a competitive real estate market, that simply wasn’t the truth. “Trudie tells me you’re on a limited budget.”
    Lucia nodded.
    “In order to get the top asking price, I’m afraid you’re going to have to invest about twenty-five thousand dollarsin getting the house fixed up before we’re ready to start staging it.”
    Delaney saw the hope fracture out of Lucia’s face. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
    “Could you borrow it until the house sells?”
    “I was going to borrow the down payment for the Orchid Villa condo so I didn’t lose my chance at getting the unit across the courtyard from Trudie. I don’t have enough collateral for both loans,” she said.
    “Don’t give up yet. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Delaney reached across the table to touch the woman’s hand. And then she had a brilliant idea that would give both of them what they wanted.
    One of the programs on a cable home improvement channel,
American Home Design
, was running a contest to find the best home makeovers. The rules were simple. Send in “before” and “after” videos of your home improvement project. The winning entry would be selected for the most improved space. She had seen the advertisements on television, but she had never entered because she’d never made over a place with as much potential as Lucia’s.
    Now, with Lucia’s home as her ace in the hole, even if she just made the finals, it would take her fledgling business to a whole new level and launch her career. Thinking about the potential got Delaney excited.
    “Do you think your children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews would be able to pitch in to help you get the place ready?” she asked.
    “Oh, yes, yes. Especially my grandson Nick. He’s an undercover cop for the Houston Police Department, but he injured his leg on the job and he’s been off work.”
    “But can Nick do the work with an injured leg?”
    “What he can’t do, his brothers can.”
    “Good, good. Here’s my plan.” Quickly, Delaney told them about her idea for entering Lucia’s house in the
American Home Design
contest. “If your family can provide the labor in