She taps her chin and pretends to think about it. She isn’t fooling me. I can see her bouncing on her toes in excitement. Finally, she shrugs. “I guess.”
I grasp her hand and tug her next door. There’s a red ribbon in front of the door to the previously empty storefront, and Forest is waiting for us with the ceremonial scissors.
Ash narrows her gaze on me. “What’s this? What’s going on?”
I haul her into the alley between the two stores. “This is your big surprise.”
“I thought the whole ‘I love you’ was my big surprise.”
I snort. “Not hardly,” I say but don’t elaborate.
She wrenches her hand from mine to cross her arms over her chest. “Are you going to tell me what this big surprise is?”
“I’d prefer to show you.”
“This better not be you making big decisions without my input again.”
I cringe. Unfortunately, Ash notices. “I can see the future and, trust me, you’re in big trouble.”
Since her voice is full of humor, I decide it’s time to get the show on the road. I tag her hand and lead her to the front of the store where Forest is still waiting.
“Gosh darn it,” Petal huffs as she hands Sage a five-dollar bill. “I hate losing bets.”
Sage giggles. “You didn’t honestly think they were going to make love in a dirty alley, did you?”
I groan and speak to Forest in a loud voice to avoid hearing the rest of whatever the Gossip Gals are going to say. “We’re ready.”
“Ashlyn Dream West. Front and center,” he commands.
Ash shakes her head at me before joining him.
“Proud of you, baby girl,” Mr. West shouts while Mrs. West blows her a kiss.
Forest clears his throat. “If we can get this show on the road now?”
Mrs. West motions for him to go ahead.
Forest places Ash’s hand through one finger ring while he places his hand through the other. Together, they open the scissors and place the blades around the red ribbon.
“I now declare Bertie’s Recording Studio open,” Forest announces as the two cut through the ribbon.
The crowd cheers and pushes forward, but Ash is frozen where she is. I unclench her hand from the scissors and hand them to Forest before wrapping an arm around her waist and steering her toward the doors.
“Let’s go check out your studio,” I tell her.
“My studio?” she squeaks.
“Yep.”
We enter the building, and she gasps. The interior has been completely transformed into a place that invites creativity. Directly in front of us is the reception area. In addition to the reception desk, there are several black, leather sofas for lounging. Off to the side is a bar area with a coffee counter and a fully stocked bar. In the rear are two recording booths. Each booth has glass walls allowing anyone in the building to see inside the booths.
The booths are decked out with all the necessary recording equipment. I won’t pretend I have a clue what any of it is. I contacted a friend from my football days, and he helped me order what I needed. It’s all top of the line.
“This is crazy,” Ash whispers as she surveys the area.
I lead her to the furthest booth. “Let me show you how the interior looks.”
“I can’t possibly afford all of this. What is the rent on this place going to cost?”