Marcie and Leo

It was during breakfast that Marcie reminded me of something she said during our morning festivities.

"You did hear me when I told you Aubrey wanted you to give her away, right?"

I looked at her from my plate. I heard her but was distracted by Marcie. It was then she looked at me and smiled.

"She asked me about it, and I told her I'd talk to you. I figured I'd persuade you my way," she said with a wink.

I smiled.

"I love the way you persuaded me, Sweetheart."

As we finished breakfast, there was a knock at the door. I walked over to answer when Aubrey walked in. She looked at me with panic on her face. Then when she saw Marcie and immediately walked over to her before she started speaking.

"I'm getting nervous," she said.

Marcie hugged Aubrey and gave me that look to leave them alone. I chose that moment to walk over to the recliner to start checking my emails. I was distracted for a while, occasionally hearing both laughter and sobs as I did. It was when I felt a presence before me that I looked up. There stood my assistant with her hands on her hips.

"Did Marcie talk to you?" she asked.

I nodded my head.

"Did you give her your answer?"

I looked at Aubrey before I spoke.

"I wanted to hear it from you."

She looked at me in surprise.

"Why?"

"Because as much as Marcie is my new life partner, I always thought it was easier for us to converse about things. After all, you're like the sister I never had and have been in my life longer. So, why do you want me to play that role?"

Aubrey looked at me before she turned to Marcie.

"Didn't you butter him up?"

Marcie winked.

"More than I am going to tell you."

They both shared a little giggle before she looked at me again.

"Because my parents are gone. Because I need you there for the ceremony. Because I trust you."

I looked at her for a moment before I answered.

"I will, of course. After all, I am trusting Wes to be a good partner for you. Regardless of what that means to you."

Aubrey paused more a moment before I saw her cute smile cross her face. She then bent down and kissed me on the forehead. Marcie then followed up by kissing me on the forehead as well. It was then both ladies giggled again. I looked at them perplexed before Aubrey pulled a compact out her purse to show me the lipstick stains on my forehead. I started laughing with them before Marcie grabbed a towel to clean it off.

It was three days before the ceremony which meant two days before I was to give Matt my decision. I was still thinking about it when I saw an email from Janet. I started to read it and noticed it shared some of the details of the sale. As Matt told me, we would be getting a share of the profits. He didn't mention that it would only be for ten years from the date of sale. This was a minor detail. I have a good personal accountant who had been diligent with putting a portion of my wages in different investments. I had not been paying attention for a while since Missy died. I sent him an email asking him questions. When he started to share the results, I was a bit surprised. It was then I looked at Marcie as she was finishing up her discussion with Aubrey.

"Are you almost done, Sweetheart?" I asked.

"Yes, Boss," Aubrey answered before both ladies laughed again.

It was then she started towards the door.

"I will see both of you tomorrow. There will be some last-minute details all four of us are going to need to discuss. Oh, Leo, you're off the hook for keeping Wes busy. One of his co-workers is doing the honor."

As she walked back next door, I looked at Marcie.

"She initially was thinking on making you stay next door while we worked on her hair and makeup like when we did ours."

I started to remember how it was kind of last minute that I was moved next door so the girls could work on Marcie. I smiled remembering Wes wearing Aubrey's fluffy robe. I started smiling when Marcie noticed.

"You're smiling awfully cute, Leo."

"Just memories. Let's just say it's a good thing you and I never shared clothes."

She looked at me funny before she followed me into the bedroom. As I pulled out a dress shirt and a pair of dark jeans, she had a look of concern on her face.

"Are you going somewhere, Leo?" she asked.

"Actually, I wanted to go somewhere classy with my good girl if that's okay."

She looked at me for a moments before she smiled.

"How classy?"

"Your choice."

She then walked over and pulled my jeans. I looked at her in protest before she laid down a pair of slacks.

"The classy places have a dress code, Sweetheart."

I smiled as I started to undress before she shook her head.

"We need to wash that sex off of us, Baby."

I disrobed and hobbled into the shower to turn on the water before she opened the door and walked in with me. I looked at her and smiled mischievously before she grabbed the loofah.

"Is this going to be a lunch or dinner conversation?" she asked as she squeezed the body wash.

"Conversation?" I asked.

She gave me a more serious look.

"You want to talk to me about the sale. I'm not sure if it's a decision conversation or you are looking for my input. Based on you wanting classy, I am thinking there will be some buttering up involved. "

Having a momentary lapse in judgement and a brief episode of memory failure, I grabbed my loofah defeated and started to scrub. There are times I feel like a genius. This was not one of them. It was when I felt her hand squeezing my butt that I looked and saw her smile. Then she leaned in for a kiss under the cascading water.

Getting dress was less frisky before we were driving to the French restaurant she liked. As we were seated, she looked at me with interest.

"Do you feel like driving home tonight, Romeo?" she asked.

I smiled as she proceeded to order a glass of wine to have with her meal.

"So, what are you thinking?" she asked.

"I am not sure. On one hand, it sounds like a great opportunity. Not having to work. Maybe following some other interests. On the other hand, it's all I know. Well, it was. You've helped me learn to relax more, Sweetheart."

She smiled at that remark.

"Mitchell didn't want to retire. He was a workaholic. So, when he was forced out, he felt useless. You, at least, know that you can find things that interest you to keep busy. It's not going to be sex every morning, but waking up with you still feels wonderful."

"I understand that. I just wish..."

"Leo, they ran alright while you were grieving Missy. It'll be up to the new owners to keep it going. I doubt they are going to let you off the hook. Maybe you can be on retainer as a consultant."

"That's a thought. Meanwhile, it looks like the food is almost here."

"I agree," a familiar voice said.

I turned and saw Pierre with his wife and sub in tow. I stood up carefully and hugged him before hugging the ladies as well. Pierre then introduced Marcie to his wife, and they sat down with us. By then, the wait staff was bringing both of our dinners and a bottle of wine before Pierre started talking.

"I was surprised to see you here, Leo. I thought your anniversary wasn't for a couple more days."

"It is. It's just my assistant is getting married on it."

Pierre looked at me.

"Your beautiful assistant who was Missy's Maid of Honor?"

I nodded.

"Bella, are you going to help her out this time like she helped you last time?"

Marcie took a moment before she smiled.

"She asked me to. We have almost everything set up except for one item."

It was then that Pierre pulled out two boxes. I almost laughed before Marcie looked at me.

"Leo, you didn't."

I was about to confess when Pierre spoke up.

"Actually, it was the new groom. Leo gave him a recommendation for him to see me. He did the legwork. He was going to show his new bride tomorrow night. That's when I emailed Leo since I was going to be out of town this weekend. He volunteered to deliver them."

Marcie looked at me.

"Did Wes pick out the designs?"

"Partially. Aubrey had three ideas for hers. He grabbed all three and took them to Pierre. I may have helped with some sponsoring?"

Pierre smiled.

"Leo's always been a behind the scenes kind of guy. Did he mention how he helped me get the clientele to move to my new location? He's a big reason I can do what I do."

The afternoon continued as we shared stories and enjoyed ourselves before Pierre begged off with his girls in tow. As we headed towards the car, I made sure the rings stayed in my grip until we reached the car. Marcie wasn't too tipsy, but I drove us home. As we neared the house, I called Wes to let him know about the rings. He sounded happy before he invited us to the classy burger spot the next night to finalize everything. As I escorted my bride into the house, I was nowhere close to deciding. I was hoping the next day would help me make my decision.