“I get it. Maybe you can make a trip to the mainland. They set me up with a sick pad, and there’s a guest room just waiting for you. Bring your caretaker.”

I would’ve loved to take Shay to Seattle. Maybe take her to a nice restaurant or to a concert or gallery show. Have her meet Carson. But I doubted she was anywhere near ready to take that step. “I’ll try to figure something soon.”

“No rush. But, Brody?”

“Yeah?”

Carson’s expression had lost every bit of his typical cocky humor. “Watch your back, okay?”

“I will.”

I hit end on the call and dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink. Just talking about Shay had made me itch to lay eyes on her. I pulled on my boots and started down the path away from the main house. She wasn’t by the coop or in the greenhouse. I started towards the beach, thinking that she might be getting in a workout, but stopped when I heard music coming from the new studio.

Hunter and his team had finished the project and had helped me haul an endless number of boxes into the space. But I’d yet to unpack. No part of me burned to put the new space to work.

I moved towards the strains of an orchestral piece I didn’t recognize. Pulling open the door, I stepped into the space and froze. It was completely unrecognizable from the disaster it had been the last time I’d stepped inside.

The wall of windows facing the sea let in a morning light that would’ve made every artist salivate. On either side of the windows were walls for storage. One had two long desks with built-in drawers. Bookcases and cabinets that had been empty three days ago lined the other. Now, my books and supplies filled them.

As I stepped forward to survey the shelves, I couldn’t help but laugh. Shay had organized all of my books in alphabetical order by author name and arranged my spray paint in a perfect rainbow. I’d never had this kind of system in my life. My studio spaces had always been carefully controlled chaos.

I turned to the back of the space to see that the small kitchen was stocked, as well. Pulling open the fridge, I found all of my favorite beverages and a few snacks I liked. I turned to head up the stairs that led to a loft space I’d eventually use for an office but stopped when I saw Shay coming down them. Her hair was piled on the top of her head in some sort of crazy bun. And even though it was still chilly outside, she was stripped down to a tank top.

She let out a small squeak of surprise when she saw me standing in the kitchen. “Dammit. I wanted this to be a surprise.”