Page 183 of Grand Love

“You opened it already?!” she complains, readjusting a sleepy Ellis on her hip. He looks around at us, confused.

“Turn it over!” Lucy tells me.

I flip the paper.

Where lay the keys is where she found her passion.

“Eh?” Megan wrinkles her nose, not understanding.

I look at Lucy, unsure. “My old studio?” I guess.

A smile takes over her face. “Come on, Vin is waiting, and you need to get changed.”

Lucy dresses me in what she considers the perfect outfit—yoga pants and tank. The thought of going to the studio has my stomach twisting. I have no idea what Mason has planned, but I presume this is all part of his elaborate ‘date’ he is yet to give me. I’m excited but extremely apprehensive as I slide into the Audi.

“Hey, Vin. You going to tell me what’s going on?” I ask, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

“Nope.”

I roll my eyes and pull on my seat belt. Megan has taken Ellis back to hers. Apparently, it’s all a part of the orders she was given. “Well, I hate this. I don’t want to be a brat but it’s the worst kind of a date.” I wring my hands in my lap, hating not knowing what’s going on.

Lucy and Vinny both laugh, eyeing each other in the mirror. “Go with it, love.”

We pull up to my old studio minutes later, and instantly I feel a pang of sadness as I look up at the new signage. Lucy jumps out of the car, her excitement not slowing her down. I look over my shoulder at Vinny when he places a hand on my shoulder.

“I know he wanted this to be a surprise, but he doesn’t always think things through before he does them—”

“Vin.” I sigh, my nerves ramping up with his admission.

“Just remember that he only does what he does to make you happy, that’s his only driving force. Do one thing for me today, please?”

“What?” My stomach twists at the idea of what he might’ve done.

“Remember that you deserve everything that comes to you. You’ve worked hard, you’ve endured more than you ever should have—the both of you.” He gives me a reassuring smile. “And you’re entitled to what he wants to give you.”

My eyes well as Vinny’s words sink in, and I twist in my seat to pull him into a tight hug. “God, Vin, I’m scared.”

“You shouldn’t be. I’m thrilled for you.” His eyes hold so much sincerity and pride it makes a warmth spread through my entire chest, giving me all the confidence I’d need to take on the world.

“Thank you,” I mumble into his shoulder. “For everything.”

“You don’t ever have to thank me.” He nods to Lucy who is waving her hands at me through the car window. “Go on.”

I step from the car and walk to the gym doors, frowning when I see that the inside is under construction.

“It’s going to be a bakery! It was a printing house for most of last year but then it sold. If it has a café, we’ll have to check it out!” Lucy pulls out a set of keys, unlocking the door.

“You have a key?” I ask, looking around, feeling like a criminal for no reason.

She grins at me over her shoulder as she rattles the key in the door. “You have a man who knows how to get what he wants,” she tells me, grasping me by the hand and pulling me through the door.

I swallow past the lump that seems to be lodged in my throat as I follow her up the steps at the back of the room. I should be excited—it’s my studio. But something in my gut makes me hesitant. It feels tainted. Everything about the studio was a twisted lie, and I never had a chance to come back here. It was ripped out from under me.

“You’re sweating!” Lucy frowns, swiping her thumb over my brow and wiping it on her jeans. “Trust me, okay?”

I nod. My teeth ache as I clamp them together. I peek around the door as she starts to open it.

“It’s exactly how I left it,” I murmur, walking past her and into the studio.

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