by Amanda Tru
“Guilty conscience, huh?” Mason asked, quirking an eyebrow. Then, more seriously, he continued. “I’m sorry about not giving you notice. I’m never quite sure if I’ll get off. It’s always a last-minute thing. Plus, I like to surprise you and interrupt any crimes you are planning to commit.” He looked her up and down pointedly, taking in the full black that made her look like a burglar eager for a job.
London’s eyes narrowed, trying to think how best to get rid of him. She didn’t want a repeat of the scene with Adam.
When she didn’t respond right away, that eyebrow lifted again, and the corner of his mouth tipped up. “Whatever crime you’re committing, I want in.”
London blinked, startled. That was not the reaction she’d expected.
Hastily making up her mind, she tossed out the truth bluntly, figuring she might as well scare him away. “I’m not committing a crime, but I am breaking into a bachelorette party in order to steal some bridesmaids’ dresses. Well, not really steal. I fully intend to return them. I just need to borrow them for a bit.”
Mason looked at her steadily. “Ok, how can I help? Do I get to wear black, too?”
He didn’t even know the why behind her actions, and yet he was still prepared to jump all in with both feet.
“Can you be the lookout?” London asked. “I need someone to watch my back when I go in.”
Mason frowned. “That doesn’t sound nearly as fun as breaking and entering, but I can probably manage.”
They walked to London’s car, and Mason climbed into the passenger side without even asking to drive.
London scrambled to figure out what to say, but she still felt stunned. She couldn’t quite comprehend how his reaction could be so different from Adam’s. She felt so bothered by the difference that after several minutes of driving in silence, she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Aren’t you concerned at all? Some people might actually view our actions as a crime, and yet you haven’t even asked why I want to steal a bunch of dresses.”
“Why would I be concerned?” Mason asked, seeming genuinely perplexed. “I know you. I know you wouldn’t actually commit a crime. You said you intended to return the dresses. Anything you do is because you’re trying to help someone.”
London’s heart melted just a little. Whereas Adam had trusted the person she was years ago, Mason trusted who she was now. He didn’t need to understand her actions to have faith in her heart and motives. So much faith that he wanted to help in whatever endeavor she felt important.
Mason shrugged and continued lightly. “Besides, if we do get caught, we can insist on a joint trial, and I can try to get you off. I want to be wherever you are, even if that’s in court!”
London rolled her eyes, ignoring the heartwarming sentiment wrapped in humor. “You’re full of it, Mason.”
“Come on, London. You should already know that stealing a bunch of dresses from a bachelorette party sounds like a great adventure date to me!”
“It’s not a date,” London clarified firmly.
Mason crossed his arms and adopted a pout. “I’m not going to be the lookout unless it’s an actual date. A guy needs a little compensation.”
London couldn’t capture the small smile fast enough. “Fine,” she granted with seeming reluctance. “If you want to label it a date, go ahead. But only this once. Next time, we steal dresses, it’s definitely not a date.”
“Agreed!” Mason said gleefully.
London pulled up to a house, noting the number of vehicles lining the driveway and street. “Here we are. This is Tristy’s house. All of the ladies should be inside enjoying Tristy’s party. I’m hoping to sneak in through the back door. With the wedding tomorrow, the dresses should be in one of the rooms upstairs. I’ll grab them and then sneak back out. I need you to get close enough to the house so that you can hear enough to know if I’m in trouble. Like if someone starts to head upstairs, I need you to call to let me know.”
Mason frowned. “That’s a bit of a vague plan. What if the back door is locked? How am I supposed to get close enough to see and hear what’s going on?”
“Haven’t you done a few spy movies?” London challenged. “I thought you could handle it.”
“I’m not saying I can’t handle it,” Mason said, opening his car door and sticking a leg out in anticipation. “I’m saying I pegged you for a more accomplished mastermind.”
London smiled and got out of the car. “I like to trust my team with their own creativity.” She got out of the car and came around to meet Mason. “I recruit only the best.” Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, trying to convey how much she appreciated his help.
He stopped her before she pulled away. “Move that kiss a few inches toward the middle, and I’ll blindly follow you anywhere.”
London squirmed out of his embrace. “I don’t want you blind. I need you to watch my back, remember?”
London had parked down the street from the house and now scurried back with Mason following. Mason approached the front while London darted around back. Finding the rear entrance, she wasted no time in venturing up into the glow from the windows and grasping the doorknob with her hand. But it held fast, not consenting to turn even a fraction of an inch.
Frustrated, she crept back the way she came to the front. Reaching the shadows beside the front glow of the porch light, she spotted Mason’s shadow positioned right beneath an open window.
Fortunately, the heat of the day had cooled enough that the house’s inhabitants had opened the windows to welcome the night breeze. This enabled both London and Mason to clearly hear the chatter and raucous laughter coming from inside.
Knowing Mason had spotted her, she motioned to the front door, indicating her intention to try that avenue of access. She saw his sharp shake of the head, clearly telling her to not make the attempt. But she ignored him.
Stepping out from the shadows, she lightly ran up the front steps and grasped the knob. It turned in her hand. Carefully, she twisted, keeping steady, even pressure as she slowly pushed the heavy wood door inward, hoping to avoid any screeching to announce her arrival.
With one final glance at Mason crouching in the bushes, she slipped inside and slid the door shut behind her. She flattened herself against the door, listening to the ladies’ voices in the living room to her right. Music played, and it sounded like the party was in full swing.
She carefully peeked around the corner of the entryway, trying to determine where everyone was positioned. The stairs were a straight shot in front of her, but if she made the dash, she’d be fully visible for a couple of seconds as she sprinted up the stairs.
The bridesmaids clustered in the center of the room, and it looked like they were playing some kind of game that involved rolls of toilet paper. More importantly, their backs were to her.
With a deep breath, she lunged for the stairs, her feet pumping up the steps like a cartoon on fast forward. Heart pounding, she reached the top and didn’t stop to await any cries that she’d been seen. She hurried to the first door, swinging it open and assessing whether it was a likely candidate to contain the dresses for tomorrow’s wedding. She found an office and a spare bedroom with no desired results. On her third try, she opened the door to find a rack of white garment bags gracing the center of a room. To her relief, she noted the bags were labeled with “Snow White Bridal,” and a quick zip up and down confirmed a yellow dress inside.
After verifying the identity of the dresses, she turned the lights in the room off, preferring to work in the dark rather than risk being spotted. Returning to the silver rack mounted on wheels, she gathered up the four bridesmaids’ dresses into her arms.
Ugh! Looking down at her load, she realized there’s no way she could get all of the dresses downstairs without being seen, and there’s no way she wanted to try for a second trip. Looking around desperately for a solution, her gaze landed on a window, and an idea began to form.
She walked through the darkened
room to where the moonlight spilled through the window. With a grunt, she slid the pane open. Using the flashlight on her phone, she located small pulls, which she used to remove the screen from the frame.
Assuring herself of her plan, she took out her phone and dialed. When the line picked up, she whispered, “Mason, I need you to come around the west side of the house. I’ll flip the light on and off so you know which window is mine.”
Mason didn’t respond, but she could tell by the small grunts and increased breathing pattern that he was complying. She strode back to the other side of the room. Waiting about ten seconds, she reached for the light switch and quickly flipped it up and down.
“I see you,” came the breathy whisper.
Returning to the window, she stuck her head out the open space and bravely looked down. A shadow far below moved, disengaging itself from the rest of the black, and she knew Mason waited below.
“I’ll toss the dresses down to you. You just need you to catch the falling garment bags.” London picked up the first bag.
“What? I’m not sure—”
London tossed the dress out the window.
“Oomph!” Came the sound over the phone. “Got it.”
“Good,” London responded. “Here comes another one.”
Within about two minutes, all four bridesmaids’ dresses took the plunge out the window. London started to leave, but then spied one more dress shadowing the rack.
I’ll need that one, too! Quickly grabbing it, she sent it sailing out the window with a last-minute cry for Mason to catch one more.
While she quickly adjusted the window pane back in place, she gave her next instructions. “Now I need you to go back around the front and listen to make sure the coast is clear. Call if there’s a problem. Otherwise, I’m coming back out the front door.”
Finishing, she exited the darkened room, closing the door softly behind her and tiptoeing back to the stairs. She took the first two steps and froze at the sensation of the phone buzzing in her hand. She put it up to her ear.
“Abort!” Mason cried. “They’re coming!”
London suddenly realized the voices were getting louder. Her panicked eyes shot to the window where she knew Mason was stationed. She turned to run back up but knew she wouldn’t make it. Her gaze caught movement as they entered the front entryway, heading for the stairs.
She couldn’t move her feet fast enough back up the steps and through one of the closed doors in the hall. Instead, she stood in their direct line of sight with no place to hide.
London took a deep breath and held it, expecting to hear screeching.
Tristy’s blonde locks approached the stairs.
Knock, knock knock!
The loud, insistent pounding on the front door drew the attention of Tristy and the others, and they didn’t once look to the top of the stairs.
London wasted no time in sprinting up the steps and sneaking into the nearest room.
With the door still open just a crack, she heard Tristy swing open the front door and gasp.
“Hi!” came Mason’s strong, masculine voice. “I heard someone is getting married and thought I’d stop by to say hello!”
Ear-piercing shrieks of delight filled the house.
“Mason Bryce!” Tristy squealed. “You got Mason Bryce to be my stripper!”
London’s eyes flew wide, and she longed to see Mason’s face. What had she gotten him into?
“Um… no!” Mason said quickly. “I’m not the entertainment. But I’m happy to take a few pics and sign autographs.”
With only slightly less enthusiastic squeals, the ladies apparently pulled Mason into the living room. At least, it didn’t sound like they were quite so close from where London hid.
Cautiously, she opened the door wider and stuck her head out to be sure. If Mason was distracting the ladies, he did it so that she could escape while their backs were turned.
Creeping forward, she confirmed that the area between the stairs and the front door was now cleared of Mason’s adoring fans.
With heart pounding, she tiptoed down the stairs and out the front door. Though tempted to take over Mason’s hiding place under the window and listen to the drama unfolding inside, she resisted, knowing that at any minute, Mason could come out making a run for it. Quickly she gathered up the dresses from where Mason had left them in the yard. Though it took two trips, she secured them in the car without further incident.
Though tempted to eavesdrop again, she instead decided to wait in the car, providing Mason with a quick getaway if needed.
Five minutes waiting turned into ten, and guilt caught up with London. Mason had sacrificed himself to get her out of the house. Now, who knew what he was being subjected to in there with multiple women already half in love with the hot movie star from the country’s current box office hit.
Her mind tumbled through plans of potential rescue operations, but the only one that held any merit was to march into the house and confess what she’d done. She placed her hand on the car door handle, ready to wrench it open and head back in for the rescue when the passenger door whipped open and Mason clambered inside out of breath.
“Go!” he urged, his face strained with the worry of someone who thought he was being chased by a flock of small, yapping dogs.
Not needing any more explanation, London immediately pulled out and stepped on the gas.
When Mason’s breathing slowed, and they were almost halfway to the bridal shop, London finally ventured. “What happened? How did you finally get away?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mason gulp, and a frightened look crossed his face in an expression she’d never seen before.
“I managed to sneak away when they were distracted,” he explained. “No one saw me go.”
“What were they so distracted about?”
Mason paused, then admitted reluctantly. “The real entertainment arrived.”
London grunted, trying to hold in the laughter, but it was no use. The stress of the mission brimmed over the edge of her control, and for the next few minutes, she almost couldn’t drive due to the great waves of laughter bending her over the steering wheel.
London finished the seam and held it up for inspection. She thought about waking Mason up to ask his opinion, but he was sleeping so peacefully on the shop floor beside her that she didn’t want to disturb him quite yet.
She checked the time, seeing that she needed to hurry with her last project. She’d already finished with all four of the bridesmaids’ dresses, which didn’t leave her much time to get everything back to Tristy’s house before daylight.
She hurriedly removed Tristy’s wedding dress from the bag and laid it on her work table. The other dresses had been relatively easy with the only difficulty lying in her lack of measurements. But she’d brought up the photos of the bridesmaids on her phone. Through careful study, she estimated the measurements of each of the women, and though not an exact science, she hoped and prayed she’d gotten them close enough.
However, touching the wedding dress was risky. If she did this wrong, she could completely ruin the entire dress. But it was the only way. She’d thought through this endeavor as if playing a game of chess. The only way to get a checkmate was to entrap the queen.
With a deep breath, she made the first cut in the fabric. After that, there was no going back. London worked quickly, letting her fingers expertly fold and sew, creating art in the form of a dress.
Lord, I’m worried about this, London prayed as she worked. My heart is in the right place, but I didn’t ask permission to do any of this. In fact, I’m certain I wouldn’t get permission, and yet here I am doing it anyway. I really don’t know how You feel about helping people even when they don’t want help, but I’m still asking You to work it all out. Please bless my efforts. If there are consequences, help me deal with those, but most of all, please bring something good out of my work—not necessarily something good in my eyes or the eyes of the women involved, but so
mething good in Your eyes.
Mason groaned and turned over. “Are you almost done, London?”
“Almost,” London replied. “Five more minutes.”
Mason’s breathing evened out once again as he fell back into a light sleep. Though she worked steadily, every once in a while, she’d glance his way, seeing the handsome movie star curled up on the floor of a bridal shop with a bagged crinoline as a pillow. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and London couldn’t help but admire his rugged good looks. More heart-melting than his physical appearance, however, was the knowledge that he was here for her.
He’d agreed to her crazy idea of stealing dresses the night before a wedding. He’d helped her every step of the way. And when she should have been caught, he’d stepped in and sacrificed himself, crashing a bachelorette party to protect her. Now, he’d spent all night on the floor, getting only a few moments of sleep in order to be with her while she worked.
“Done!” London announced, calling up Mason’s groggy head to inspect her work. “What do you think?”
“I think it looks like a wedding dress,” he answered vaguely. “I didn’t see the before picture, but it doesn’t look like you destroyed it.”
“Well, that was part of my goal, so I’m glad I succeeded in that area.”
“What’s your plan now?” Mason said, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. “Are you planning to call the bride in a couple hours and tell her the dresses are here?”
“No,” London replied calmly. “I’ll take them back to Tristy’s house and get them back on the rack in that bedroom. That way, no one will know anyone was there until they try on the dresses and find out a fairy godmother has been at work!”
“London, you can’t be serious,” Mason moaned, rubbing a hand wearily over his face. “How will you get them back into the house? You almost got caught last time. You only got the dresses out by dropping them out the window. You can’t exactly heft them all up the stairs with no one noticing.”
“Well, I didn’t anticipate doing it all myself!” London answered, looking at him pointedly.
