The doorbell ringing startled Rebecca and she looked down the hallway towards Marcus’ bedroom. They’d moved from her small cottage to his massive house high up in the mountains. Not many people knew about this place and the security at the bottom of the hill stopped people from accidentally straying up the driveway.
So the doorbell ringing without any advance notice from the guard was strange.
Almost as soon as she thought that, the phone rang, indicating that the guard was calling up to the house. She lifted the phone before she answered the door.
“Ms. Freeman, I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought this visitor would be okay.”
Rebecca smiled at the phone. He was a veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, loving his new life as a well paid security guard for Marcus. It wasn’t one of those boring assignments though. The four guards, who rotated shifts twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, were always on alert. Several times a week, someone tried to sneak into Marcus’ house, wanting him to listen to their music, to promote their band or just ask a favor.
So when Brian let her know that someone safe was on the way up, her shoulders instantly relaxed. “Thanks Brian,” she said. “I’ll send some cookies down to you in a few minutes. Fresh out of the oven.”
“Much obliged, Ms. Freeman.”
She hung up the phone as the front doorbell rang again. She could hear the shower going, indicating that Marcus was still busy. She smoothed her hands down the front of her apron as she walked to the front door.
But even as she opened the door, Rebecca still had no idea who the woman was. Standing on Marcus’ front stoop was a woman with grey hair and a cowboy hat, wearing gloves and a long trench coat, leaning on a cane.
“Shh!” the woman said as her hand trembled on the head of the cane. “Just close the door behind me.”
The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Rebecca couldn’t place it.
She closed the door, although clearly, something strange was going on.
“How can I help you?”
Rebecca froze with shock as the woman stood up and whipped the grey wig off her head, tossing it onto the floor to reveal the copper hair underneath. The gloves were torn off and the trench coat landed on the floor by the wig. “Whew! It is hot out there!” Delilah…or Lila Jamison said, a huge smile on her lovely features.
“Rebecca? You’re here?” Those blue eyes looked around, then back to Rebecca’s stunned face. “Does that mean that you and Marcus finally admitted how you both feel?”
Without waiting for an answer, Lila screeched and jumped up and down, clapping her hands with delight.
It still took Rebecca several moments to realize that the grey haired woman who had just walked into Marcus’ house was none other than Delilah James in disguise; she’d gained enough weight to smooth out the features in her face, softening her look and making her appear even more beautiful!
“I’m sorry…?”
Lila danced around, still clapping her hands. When Marcus hurried into the foyer, obviously buttoning his jeans and fully prepared to defend Rebecca, Lila squealed again.
“I knew it! I just knew it!”
She finally stopped dancing and stood very still, her eyes moving from Rebecca’s shocked expression to Marcus’ harder one as he moved over to wrap his arms around Rebecca’s waist protectively. “It’s true! Oh good! I thought I was going to have to drop a few hints to the pair of you!”
“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked, unconsciously leaning against Marcus.
Lila’s blue eyes danced merrily. “I came here to personally deliver this,” she said, pulling an expensive looking envelope out of the trench coat’s pockets.
“What is it?” Marcus asked, taking the envelope but looking at the other woman curiously.
“A wedding invitation!” she exclaimed excitedly.
Marcus’ eyes snapped up quickly. “Who is getting married?” he demanded.
Rebecca’s heart was beating wildly. He’d just proposed to her last night. How could Lila…?
“I met a man in Montana! Can you believe it?”
Rebecca and Marcus looked at each other and she could tell that he’d been wondering the exact same thing that had flashed through her head.
“The thing is, we want this to be a private wedding, but you both have to come. You were both instrumental in making sure that I had time in Montana to recuperate and get healthy again, so you have to be there and help us celebrate.” She clasped her hands together, looking at both of them. “Promise me that you’ll be there?” she pleaded.
Marcus gave Rebecca a tiny squeeze as he looked into her eyes. With a slight nod, she gave her agreement and he turned back to Lila. “We’ll be there. When is it?”
Lila clapped her hands together once more. “In two weeks. And I can’t wait for you to try these pancakes! They are the best in the world! Oh and I’ll introduce you to my pets Rocky and Duke! Duke looks ferocious, but he’s just an old softy. He takes care of Rocky and the little ones, so ignore all of his growling.” With that, she grabbed the grey wig and pulled it over her copper locks once more, then fitted the cowboy hat back on and swung the trench coat over her shoulders. With a wink in their direction, she said, “I want an invitation to your wedding too!” And with those words, she was out the door again.
Marcus and Becca stood there, still reeling from the whirlwind that was Lila Jamison.
Finally, Rebecca turned slightly so she could see Marcus’ equally confused expression. He ripped open the invitation and peered at the names.
Rebecca peered over his shoulder. “This says she’s marrying a man named Sam.”
“Who the hell is Duke?”
Rebecca shrugged her shoulders, equally confused. “And did she actually say something about pancakes?”
Marcus rubbed a hand over his unshaven jawline. “Pancakes.” He shook his head.
“I have cookies in the oven.”
Marcus looked down at her, then at the invitation. “I’ll bet they taste better than pancakes,” he laughed.
Rebecca led him back into the kitchen. “I don’t know. Lila said something about the ‘best pancakes in the world’, so we’ll just have to compare.”
Marcus threw back his head and laughed. “No way is Delilah James eating pancakes. Not in this lifetime.”
Rebecca silently agreed with him, but since he lifted her up and set her down on the marble countertop, she didn’t really care about pancakes or the beautiful red-head, or even her cookies at the moment. Her whole focus was on Marcus and the way his hands were moving along her body.
“Goodness, I love you.”
His only response was to slide his hands up underneath her tee shirt, showing her with actions how much he loved her back.