by Amanda Tru
“Oh, no,” Mason groaned. “London, if I show up there again, those women will expect more than a hello!”
London laughed, deciding to have mercy on him. “Don’t worry, ‘Magic Mason,’ I’m not putting you on the entertainment schedule. I have an idea where neither one of us will need to darken the front door. We just need to stop at my parents’ house for a ladder—a big one.”
Still looking skeptical, Mason helped London load the dresses back into the car. By her estimates, they had less than an hour before the early sun began to brighten the eastern sky.
They stopped at her parents’ house for the ladder, but London soon realized that there was no way she could tie it on the roof of her small sedan.
“We’ll need to borrow Dad’s truck,” she said decisively. “I don’t want to wake them, but I know where the keys are. I’ll go grab them, and we’ll switch the ladder and dresses into the truck bed.”
Less than ten minutes later, they were back on the road with Mason’s lone remark, “Might as well add grand theft auto to tonight’s rap sheet.”
They pulled back up to Tristy’s house and saw that it was completely dark inside. The ladies must have finally called it a night, getting a couple hours of sleep before the wedding.
“I preferred it when they were awake and having a party,” Mason whispered nervously. “There’s nothing to cover the sound of us breaking and entering again.”
“I’ll be quiet,” London assured. “Help me carry the ladder back over to the same window from earlier. I left the screen off. I’ll climb up the ladder and crawl in through the window. Then you can hand me the dresses, and I’ll return them to the rack.”
Though obviously not excited about the idea, Mason didn’t complain. He helped carry the ladder and all the dresses to their positions and then gazed back up at the window.
“London, I’m not sure this idea of yours will work,” he finally whispered.
“Of course it will,” she assured.
“Even though you left the screen off, it will still take considerable strength and leverage to open the window from the outside. I’m assuming you didn’t leave the pane open.”
“No, I didn’t want bugs to get in, but I did leave enough space to wedge my fingers in to pull it the rest of the way open.”
“And then you’ll need to step across a decent amount of space between the ladder and the window sill. London, your legs aren’t long enough to make that leap without risk of falling. I can’t let you do that.”
London looked up, worried. That space in between the ladder and the window sill was a little more than she liked, but she didn’t really have a choice. The dresses needed to return to that room.
She was just about to tell him that she would get the job done with or without him, when Mason spoke again. “I’ll do it.”
“What?” London asked in surprise.
“I’ll be the one to open the window and climb into the room. I’m stronger, and my legs are longer. You can hand the dresses to me, and I’ll hang them up. It’s the safest way.”
London swallowed. “Mason, this isn’t your responsibility or idea. I don’t want—”
But he was already starting up the ladder. London watched him climb, anxiously taking the spotter position. Though he spoke under his breath, London could still clearly hear his muttered words.
“I can see the headline now. ‘Mason Bryce Falls from Ladder After Breaking into a House to Steal Dresses.’”
“There are worse ways to go,” London pointed out, unable to resist teasing just a little.
Mason only grunted in response and reached out to pull the window open wide. Then he carefully reached his leg from the ladder to the window sill.
London’s heart migrated to her throat as she watched him carefully transfer his weight and climb through.
Whew! He made it! Maybe all those action movie stunts did come in handy after all!
As he disappeared safely inside the room, London grabbed the large, zippered sack containing the wedding dress and climbed up the ladder. She reached across the open space, extending the heavy bag for Mason to grasp. Then she headed back down to retrieve one of the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Halfway up the ladder with the last dress, she saw a light flicker on downstairs. Hurrying up the rest of the way, she hissed into the open window. “Mason someone is awake! A light turned on downstairs.”
Mason immediately froze, staying in his same position by the rack of dresses in the darkened room. London realized he was listening. Then, he suddenly bolted for the window. “Get down!” he urged. “Someone is coming! I hear them on the stairs!”
London scrambled down the ladder, feeling it tremble as Mason mounted it before she was clear.
“But the dress!” London cried, realizing she still held the last garment bag in her arms.
Wordlessly, Mason reached down for it, taking it from London’s outstretched hands. She watched worriedly as Mason took the dress and reached across to shove the bag through the window. But he couldn’t quite get it all the way through, and part of it still hung out awkwardly.
Wringing her hands with worry, London watched Mason hold to the ladder with his hands and reach across with one of his long legs to push the bag through by repeatedly kicking it past the windowsill and into the dark room.
Seeing him comically jab with his foot would have sent London into fits of giggles except for the added stress of expecting him to be caught at any moment. When the tail of the bag eventually disappeared through the opening, Mason reached out, hefted the window shut and abruptly ducked.
Light suddenly streamed from the window.
With her hands shaking, London held the ladder steady while Mason scrambled down.
“Go!” he urged, his breath coming in short gasps.
London grabbed one end of the ladder while he grabbed the other, and they raced across the yard to the truck. London stumbled, trying to keep up with Mason and expecting any second to hear shouting and footsteps chasing them.
They slid the ladder into the bed of the truck, and London tossed Mason the keys. Without a word, he got in the driver’s seat and took off.
Only after several blocks and repeatedly checking behind them did London finally speak. “Thanks for driving. I didn’t know if I could keep hold of the wheel with as bad as my hands were shaking.”
Mason looked over and winked. “I knew that evasive driving training I did for that spy movie would come in handy at some point.”
“Oh, I hope not!” London cried, taking another urgent peek behind them. “Who was up there in the room?” she asked, trying to estimate the likelihood of someone pursuing them after all.
“I didn’t stay around to conduct an interview!” Mason replied smartly. “I think whoever it was heard me shut the window. I saw the door open and ducked my head right before the light flipped on.”
Lost in her own thoughts, London kept mostly silent the rest of the way back to her parents’ house.
“Am I giving you a ride back to my place?” she asked once they’d delivered the ladder and the truck to their original locations. “Do you have a rental car there?”
“Yes, please,” Mason said. “I need to head back to Brighton Falls to catch a flight in a few hours.”
“Already? But you just got here!”
Mason held up his phone and tipped it to and fro. “After I arrived last night in Brighton Falls, I got a call from my agent saying he had arranged for a meeting with a producer I’ve been in negotiations with. The meeting is today, so I need to get back. It’s a pretty important project.”
London nodded. “I understand. Thank you for all of your help. I know it wasn’t exactly what you signed up for.”
Mason nodded and stifled a yawn, which made London feel even worse. Not only had he stayed up all night to help her, but now he had to go to an important meeting on no rest.
Unsure what to say, London got in her car and silently drove both her and Mason back to her ap
artment. Mason didn’t say anything either, which only made her more concerned. Here she’d been expecting him to make a pass as “payment” when this adventure concluded, and she knew she wouldn’t rebuff him. He’d been amazing in every way, and she wanted to show him how much she cared and appreciated him.
Yet, now he didn’t even seem to want to speak to her!
They both got out of the car, and London hurried around to meet him.
With a quick breath, she flung out the question that she couldn’t seem to shake. “Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad?” Mason asked, his brow furrowing.
“I know this project wasn’t exactly what you expected.”
Mason’s tired face gentled with a soft smile. “London, I don’t anticipate life with you to be at all what I expect, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was happy to help because I knew this was important to you. That made everything worth it to me.”
“Does it rank anywhere in the top ten best dates?” London asked, slanting a coy look his way.
“Oh, top five for sure.”
London sighed, the merriment draining away. “Mason, I feel like a horrible person. Here you are amazing, and you do such amazing things for me.” She reached her hand out, indicating the whole Mason Bryce package from head to toe. “Yet I can’t…” her hand dropped in frustration. She didn’t even know how to finish that sentence.
“I know, London,” Mason said with only understanding and acceptance in his blue eyes. “Until God tells you He made our hearts for each other, I’ll wait, ready and willing to show you that truth in every way I can.”
He reached up to her face, trailing a finger softly along her cheek, ending in a feather-light touch on her lips. “As much as I’d like to kiss you, I want you to know that simply spending time with you, whatever crazy scheme you come up with, is more than enough payment for me.”
His hand dropped, and he smiled. “See you later, London.”
Feeling completely bereft, London watched him drive away and wished for the comfort more “payment” would have provided. What made it worse was the conviction that one day, he would tire of her reticence and wouldn’t come back. And she wouldn’t blame him at all.
It would be entirely her fault.
“London, thank goodness you’re here!” TeraLyn greeted her as soon as she stepped through the door of the bridal shop. “I need to speak with you right away. I tried to call you. Repeatedly.”
London looked at her friend in concern, noting how flushed and agitated she seemed. Something must really be wrong.
“I’m sorry. I had my phone off. I had a late night and only got a few hours of sleep before coming in. What do you need?”
TeraLyn looked around nervously, spotting her mother busily conversing with a client.
“Hello, London, dear,” Rhonda called cheerfully. “So glad to see your pretty face this morning!”
London waved, “Hi, Rhonda.”
TeraLyn waited until her mother turned back to her client, and then she gestured for London to follow. Scurrying to London’s side of the store, she only stopped and turned around.
“London, she knows!” she rasped out, her eyes wide with fear.
Not again!
“Who knows what?” London asked wearily, convinced TeraLyn must be over-reacting.
“Mom knows what you did last night, and she’s very, very angry.”
London paused in shock, wondering how that could possibly be true. Rhonda had just given her a friendly morning greeting that contained no trace of any ire.
But with Rhonda, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, she reminded herself.
Before London could ask for clarification, TeraLyn continued, spilling the words out like thousands of tiny beads one had no hope of ever retrieving. “Tristy called first thing this morning. Mom was so upset that she checked the security feed from the store last night. Did you know we have security cameras? I think she suspected you must have something to do with it. Then she saw you with a guy carrying a bunch of garment bags into the store. Hours later, the feed shows you leaving with the same bags. Oh, London, I’m afraid she was so angry, she did something terrible, and I don’t—”
“Slow down, TeraLyn,” London urged, putting her hand up to halt the flow of words so rapid, keeping up with any kind of understanding became a struggle. “You said Rhonda was angry, but what about Tristy? Was she upset when she called?”
“No, not at all,” TeraLyn reported, seeming surprised by the question. “In fact, she was actually calling to thank Mom. She said she didn’t know how Mom managed the magic, but she loved her wedding dress and the altered back so much better.”
“What about the bridesmaids’ dresses?” London asked cautiously.
“Oh, she wasn’t too pleased about those, but the other bridesmaids were. Tristy was excited enough about her dress that she seemed less interested in the alterations to the bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“Whew! That’s such a relief.” London said, feeling that any consequences would now be completely justified. Her plan had worked! Granting Tristy’s wishes for a “more dramatic back” on her wedding dress had, in essence, purchased enough favor to compensate for any negativity she might feel toward the beautifully-altered bridesmaids’ dresses.
“But, London, Tristy isn’t the problem. Mom is!” TeraLyn insisted, her alarm not waning in the least. “I think she did something to get back at you.”
“What do you mean?” London asked, suddenly feeling a little sick.
Her face crumpling in anxiety, TeraLyn reported breathlessly, “After she found out for sure it was you on the security feed, I tried to defend you, saying you’d done no harm but had only helped. She wouldn’t listen to me, saying that you’d sabotaged her. She even started crying and sent me away to leave her alone. But I snuck back and watched her going through your things. After looking at a notebook on your desk, I saw her make a call, but I couldn’t hear what she said. London, I know she did something!”
Wasting no time, London hurried over to her work area and carefully inspected everything on it, confirming that her things had, indeed, been rifled through. Everything was in different positions and spread across the table without care at subtlety. With her hands shaking, she reached for her schedule. At the sight of the spiral pad open to today’s date, a wave of dizziness flooded over her.
No, no! This can’t be happening! Yet, in her gut, London knew it was already too late.
She usually kept her schedule with her at all times. It contained her calendar and all of her notes on all her current projects. However, since she’d worked throughout the night, she didn’t see the point in taking the notebook with her when she’d be back in just a few hours.
If it had been open to any other page, London could have handled it, but not today.
“TeraLyn, look what’s on my calendar for today,” London barely managed to whisper, shoving the notebook her way.
TeraLyn’s eyes grew big. “No, she wouldn’t.”
London watched the emotions play across her face as she went from denial to the horror of realizing that Rhonda had already done the unthinkable. Her breath came in short gasps as she rapidly started hyperventilating. “What am I going to do? The wedding is this evening. I need to leave to finish setting things up right now. London, I’ve been working for weeks on this! But if she told—”
“It will ruin both of us,” London completed hopelessly. “And I don’t think the ‘if’ is really a question.”
TeraLyn shook her head. “No! There has to be something we can do!” With sobs catching in her throat, she ran through the store directly to her mother, who was still helping some clients.
She inserted herself in between them and boldly interrupted. “Mom, I know you looked through London’s planner. There was an entry for today that gave a location for the wedding for a certain client. It also listed the clients’ names. Did you tell anyone about that wedding?”
“Why, yes,
I did!” Rhonda admitted enthusiastically. “I called all the media sources I could think of, both here and in Brighton Falls. Isn’t it exciting? To think that two such well-known celebrities are tying the knot right here in Crossroads!”
“Mom, you didn’t!” TeraLyn wailed. “You’ve ruined everything! They were holding it here to be private. It was to be a secret location.”
“Nonsense, this is too good of an opportunity for the community. Can you imagine the amount of business an event like that can bring to Crossroads? Besides, celebrities like them deserve to have an event as big as they are. Just watch, Crossroads will come through. We’ll give them a proper wedding and be on the covers of magazines all over the world!”
“But, Mom, that isn’t what they wanted! They only came to Crossroads because of the promise of secrecy and discretion.”
“TeraLyn, just stop. I don’t even understand why you care so much. They are London’s clients. I’m sure she can deal with it.”
“They are my clients, too!” TeraLyn replied loudly, angry tears running down her cheeks. “I’m the wedding planner. I’m the one in charge of the wedding location, and it’s my fault if everything falls through. You shouldn’t have meddled!”
Rhonda shook her head. “No, it’ll be London’s responsibility, not yours. Meddling with other peoples’ clients is familiar territory for her.”
“No, Mom, London has only acted to help people. You acted to get revenge and hurt people. Now you’ve hurt me and killed my business dream before it even got started. You can’t undo the damage you’ve done.”
Rhonda sniffled, her face taking on a bright red hue. “How can you say that to me, sweetheart? I was only trying to help the community.”
The other clients who had been watching the drama with wide eyes now came to Rhonda’s rescue and wrapped her in hugs. “Can’t you see how cruel you’re being?” one of the young women said, glaring at both TeraLyn and London. “And all because she thought she was doing a good thing for Crossroads.”
The other woman confirmed. “TeraLyn, I can’t believe you’re talking to your mother this way! She is the sweetest, most generous woman in all of Crossroads. She would never do anything vindictively.”