“It’s in the guest room.”
“Ace. That’s not a hint.”
With a chuckle, he retorts, “Yes, it is. I could have said the garage. Or outside.”
I huff at him. “Anythingcould be in the guest bedroom.”
“Not a car. Or a boat.”
“Would you get me a boat? Really?”
He gives me another of those shy looks. “If you wanted one.”
“I don’t,” I assure him. “And I already have a car. A perfectly nice one.” Something occurs to me. “Maybe I could see the one you’re working on? The Mustang?”
Pleasure pinks his cheeks. “Of course. Any time you like.” Then we reach the guest room, stopping in front of the closed door. “I want you to close your eyes,” Ace says. “Just for a second. For the big reveal.”
It’s been a long time since someone surprised me with anything; not since Christmas Eve five years ago, when Wells gave me a vintageTransformersfigure after hearing how the show was part of the reason I got into robotics. I still have the figure, tucked in the back of my closet because it was too hard to look at it and remember that night.
But now… I’m wondering if that was the right decision.
Maybe I’ll take it out when I get home.Put it on a shelf, so I’m reminded of all the things I loved about Wells, instead of trying not to think about him at all.
“You don’t have to close your eyes if you don’t want to,” Ace adds. “If it makes you uncomfortable. I didn’t think.”
Blinking away the burn of tears, I reply quickly, “No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” In emphasis, I squinch my eyes shut. “All ready.”
There’s a silent pause before I hear the distinctive snick of the doorknob opening. Ace loops his arm around my shoulders and nudges me forward a few steps. He exhales before saying, “Okay. Open your eyes.”
In the moment before I do, my heart flutters. I know it can’t be anything bad, but?—
As soon as I open my eyes, I gasp.
It’s not a gift.
Not a miniature boat.
Not anything I could have imagined.
Because it’s not a gift, not in the traditional sense. It’s my workshop, perfectly replicated right down to the whiteboards tacked on the walls and the little fridge I keep my energy drinks in. And there, on the table in the center, is my current project; the one I’ve been so disappointed not to be able to work on.
“My workshop,” I gasp. “How?”
Ace follows my gaze before turning to me. “I took lots of pictures,” he says. “So I could make sure everything went in the right place.”
“But… How did you get it all here?”
“I asked Indy and Webb to help. While we were still in Seattle, I took all the photos. And they went to your place yesterday to collect everything. Then I arranged it all while you were at Bea’s.”
“But…” I’m too surprised to say more.
“I picked up the special project before we left Seattle. Once you agreed to come back to B and A. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone else about it, so I wanted to get it myself.”
I look around the room again, taking in all the little details. The magnets arranged just so on the fridge. The vintageVoltronfigure my dad gave me for my tenth birthday. The ridiculously expensive coffee maker Annaliese sent me last Christmas that rivals anything I’ve seen in a gourmet coffee shop. “Ace. It’s amazing. But… I can’t work on anything right now. Not with my hand?—”
“I thought I could help,” he interjects. There’s a hopeful note to his voice. “Like I did before. We could work together. You said it makes you feel better. Having your projects to work on. Now you can.”
Emotion brings a lump to my throat. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
