Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
“L ook, baby, this is mommy’s studio.”
Millie held Franklin gently in her open palm. Her gecko glanced around the space, head tilting back and forth before he gave it an approving clicking sound.
“I knew you’d like it.”
She gently stroked the top of his head, earning her a smile. Normally she wouldn’t bring him out of the house, but she had a lot of work to do here today, and she’d been feeling extra lonely these past few days. She set his tank up on the card table in the back of the room.
If she was being completely honest, she also brought her pet along for moral support.
After she’d received Ace’s text last night agreeing to talk, she’d been a ball of anxiety. She hoped it was a good sign he was willing to see her. She hoped they could have a calm, rational discussion about what happened. She hoped they could repair what they broke.
And if they couldn’t, at least she had Franklin here to keep her from feeling all alone.
The door to the studio opened. Hopes rising, she turned, only to swallow her disappointment at seeing who stood in the doorway.
“Olive! Apple!” She made her way over to the women. “How nice to see you both, but I’m afraid we don’t open for another month.”
“We know, dear,” Olive said with a bright smile. “And we can’t wait to try out those…what did you call them?”
“Slings,” she responded.
“Ha!” Apple barked out a laugh. “Speak for yourself sister. We’re gonna break our fool necks if you ask me.”
Millie held back a chuckle. “I promise you, as long as you follow my instruction, no one will break anything.”
She’d been talking with the Blithe sisters during her weekly card reading sessions at their store about her aerial studio. They’d shown interest in what she was doing which gave her the fantastic idea to have a senior only class when she opened. The Blithe sisters had talked to their card group and now she had eight students signed up for the first session. And she hadn’t even opened yet!
Things were looking up.
Most things.
She glanced at the clock on the wall showing it was twelve-oh-three. No Ace. She tried not to read into it. A few minutes late didn’t mean anything. But her heart started to shatter with each passing minute he didn’t show.
“The ladies are all very excited about our class,” Olive said, coming over to pat her arm, but stopping when she spied Franklin. “Oh, what’s that, dear?”
She lifted her pet slowly, keeping him close in case the women got scared. Some people didn’t like animals that weren’t cute and fluffy. She had no idea why. Geckos were amazing.
“This is my gecko, Franklin.”
The women nodded politely but didn’t ask to pet him the way people usually did with dogs and cats.
“Reptiles are underrated pets,” Apple said. “I had a turtle once. Best man I ever had in my life. Never bothered me when I was watching my shows. Quiet. No fuss.”
Somehow the image of Apple with a turtle as a pet fit perfectly.
Olive patted her sister’s arm, as if the loss of the pet still affected Apple. Millie would believe it. Franklin wasn’t just a pet. He was her family. She didn’t like to think of the day she’d be without him.
“Now dear, we came in to tell you, you were right.”
She blinked, staring at Olive wondering what the heck she could have been right about, but coming up blank.
“About what?”
“The cards, dear.” Olive beamed. “You said I would find good fortune and guess what, the store was featured on the local news! We’ve had the best week of sales in years!”
“That’s wonderful, congratulations.” Remembering the card reading for Apple, she glanced over, wondering if her reading had been right too. She had to be honest when the cards said Apple would find her long lost love, Millie had wondered if she shuffled wrong.
“I had to admit I thought it was a lot of hogwash,” Apple said, her trademark frown tilting up ever so slightly into what some might call a smile. “But then when we were cleaning out the storage closet yesterday, I found Bobo.”
“Bobo?”
“Her teddy bear our mother gave her when she had to have her tonsils out as a child,” Olive explained. “She loves that bear.”
Apple nodded. “I do. Thought I lost him in the move during my second divorce, but he was with me all along.”
“That’s wonderful, I’m so happy for you both.”
People loved to dismiss her readings, but she found they were usually spot on.
The door to the studio creaked open again. Millie made a mental note to get some oil on those hinges. She glanced around the Blithe sisters to see a sight that made her heart leap in her chest.
Ace
“Alfa,” Olive said brightly.
“Ace,” Apple grunted out.
“Ladies.” He inclined his head, joining the group. “What brings you two here?”
“Just sharing our good news about our card reading with Millie here.” Olive pointed a finger at him. “You should let her read your cards, she’s very good. Both our readings came true.”
Ace smiled at Olive.
“She has read mine actually.” His gaze moved over to her, taking on a serious glint. “And I’m hoping it’s accurate.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. Did that mean he was here to try and fix things? Did he feel the same way about her as she did about him? So many questions and none of them she could get answers to until the Blithe sisters left. Normally she loved chatting with the surrogate grandmothers of Kismet, but right now she wished they’d leave so she and Ace could talk.
“Well, we don’t mean to keep you,” Olive said, tucking her arm into Apple’s. “We have an appointment to get to.”
Apple frowned. “No we don’t. Olive, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“Come now, Apple. These two have things to discuss.”
Understanding lit Apple’s eyes. “Oh right, the fight. You two fix whatever nonsense this is. Life’s too short to be mad at the person you love.”
With that the sisters left the studio, leaving her alone with Ace…and Franklin.
Silence fell over them. It was Millie who broke it first. She hated silence.
“Is that how it always is in this town? Everyone knows your private business?”
Ace chuckled, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Yeah, kind of. Apple and Olive always seem to know everything.”
Apple was the last person she expected to get relationship advice from, but the woman was right. Life was too short and love too rare to let it slip through your fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
Their apologies blurted out at the same time. She laughed softly along with Ace.
“You first,” she said.
He nodded, opening his mouth to speak. But his gaze caught on her hand, or more specifically the animal in her hand, and he frowned.
“What’s that?”
“This is Franklin.” She lifted him toward Ace. “My gecko.”
His frown turned into a smile of indulgence. “Of course you would have a gecko as a pet.”
A few months ago, she would have taken that as an insult, but she knew Ace better now.
Franklin lifted his head, tongue snaking out. He crawled to the edge of her hand. Ace held up his own hand for her pet, allowing Franklin to examine him. Shock had her jaw dropping when Franklin crawled right into Ace’s palm.
“Wow,” she gasped. “He normally doesn’t like strangers.”
“He’s cute,” Ace noted.
Still stunned by her animal’s behavior, she motioned to the back of the room. “We should probably put him back in his tank. He’s been out too long, and he needs his heating rock.”
Ace followed her back and gently put franklin down on the brown heated rock in the tank. They both moved over to the sink and washed their hands before turning to face each other.
“Millie,” Ace started. “I’m so sorry for the things I said the other night. It was unfair of me to put you in that situation.”
“No, I’m sorry,” She admitted. “You hired me to find the thief and then when I did, I refused to tell you who it was. I betrayed you and I said those awful things that aren’t true. You’re not heartless, Ace. You have one of the biggest hearts in the entire world. I was hurt and upset, but that’s no excuse for saying—”
“Hey, hey, hey.” He reached out, taking her hands in his. “It’s okay. I said some pretty shitty things too. You’re not na?ve. You have faith in people, which is something I lost a long time ago. Your hope and joy amaze me. I want that. I want to believe in a world that can be filled with goodness.”
Emotions clogged her throat, tears blurring her vision. “Ace…”
“I want to be with you, Millie. Without hiding anything. I want to laugh with you, to cry with you, to argue with you. I want it all because I love you and I never thought I’d be able to say that to someone, but I do. I love you.”
That did it. The tears ran down her cheek. Happiness poured out of her like a waterfall.
“I love you too, Ace.”
He pulled her into him, capturing her lips with his. She opened for him, reveling in the taste she feared she’d never have again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, squealing against his mouth when she felt his hands grab her ass and lift her up. She curled her legs around his waist, locking her ankles against his lower back.
“Wait, wait,” she said, pulling back much to both their disappointments. “Crap, we can’t, um, my rigger is coming in to install the pulley system in fifteen minutes.”
As much as she wanted Ace, being caught by Seb sounded mortifying.
“We can do a lot in fifteen minutes,” Ace bobbed his eyebrows.
She chuckled, glancing toward the door. “Show me what you got.”
He let out a low growl, bringing them to the floor.
“But maybe later tonight you could come back.” She gave him a teasing grin. “The straps were fun, but my friend Iz told me about this time her and her boyfriend had fun in a hoop.”
Ace blinked, brow furrowing.
“I don’t even know how that would work.” His smile turned devilish. “But I’m game to try.
She giggled as his hands started to divest her of her clothing. She couldn’t believe that she was here. In her very own studio, about to have her dreams come true and get the man she loved. It all felt too surreal. But she wasn’t going to question it.
“I love you, Millie,” Ace whispered as his lips caressed the side of her neck.
“I love you too,” she replied.
They would fight again, she knew. Life wasn’t perfect. But if you found a person willing to work together when times got hard, share the ups along with the downs, that was all you needed. And Millie had everything she needed and wanted, right here in her arms.
The End