Page 73 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

I saw a pottery wheel with a note taped to it, so I plucked it off and unfolded the paper.

Just couldn’t pass up the chance to make sure you had something in here that I could mess around with while you work. You might have space outside the house now, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily, LouLou.

- Love, Crew

P.S. I can bring girls here, right, because a man doing pottery is sexy as hell!!

Laughing, I plopped down on the stool near the wheel, picturing Crew trying to impress a girl making an endless supply of ashtrays. Vili took the letter from my hand, glancing over it before he laughed too.

“Tell me, kitten, would this work?” Vili asked, gesturing to the note. “Is he lady killer of pottery?”

That had me laughing even harder, clutching my stomach. “God, no.”

“Who’s the lady killer?” Warrick inquired, snatching the note. “I mean, he has a point. Have you seen that movie? The one with that super-hot pottery scene.”

“Ghost?” Ulysses guessed. “Wait, wasn’t he dead the whole time?”

“No, that’s The Sixth Sense,” Yun-Sun corrected.

“Hold up,” I cut in, waving my arms like a referee. “Ulysses was right, the guy does die in the beginning of the movie, but he knows it. The other one Yun is talking about, no one knew until the end of the movie.”

“Huh, it’s been ages since I saw either of them,” Warrick mused aloud. “We should add that to the list of movie choices for movie nights.”

“I’m game,” I said, pushing to my feet. I grinned at the wheel again before exploring the space further.

Some of my favorite pieces were hung on the walls, but there was plenty of space for me to add more. Along one wall was a row of tall, empty metal-locking cabinets. I’m sure they were meant to keep whatever I was working on to be stored safely when I was gone for the night. When I came to a door, I opened it, assuming it would be more storage, but instead, I found a set of stairs.

“Hey, guys,” I called over my shoulder. “There’s more.”

When we entered this studio space, I’d noticed the ceiling was what you’d expect for a two-story building. It had me wondering if my parents had opened up that front half, thinking, like me, it would be the gallery. Making my way up to the second floor, I was greeted by the sight of an office space of sorts. There was a simple sitting area with a full coffee and tea bar as if it was intended to be a space to meet with buyers or artists.

All the furniture was white and of a simple style with no personality. While my family was trying to give me the basics, they knew I’d want to decorate things myself, which I appreciated. In a corner set apart and walled off with iridescent walls was an office, or what could be turned into one. Right now, it had a desk, chair, and shelving behind it, but everything, including the walls, could be moved to another location, allowing me the freedom to do as I pleased.

Hands rested on my shoulders, and a sweet, chocolaty scent spiced with cinnamon told me it was Ulysses. “Well, Rosie, it looks like we aren’t the only people who think your plan for the future is brilliant.”

Letting out a sigh, I leaned back into him, a little overwhelmed. “It’s too much,” I whispered.

“Why?” Vili asked as he stood in front of me. “Why too much, kitten?”

“All I have is a concept, and there’s no proof it will work,” I reasoned. “Anyone in the creative world knows choosing this for your living is always a risk. What if I do this, get people’s hopes up, and then it fails so miserably I have to close the gallery? Then not only have I failed them, myself, but my family as well.” Vili’s expression was understanding, but I could tell he didn’t agree with what I was saying.

Grasping my hand in both of his, he kissed the back of it. “Kitten, the only time you fail people is not even trying. Your family gave you foundation, a place to start, so now you must make it grow. Feed it your passion, shower it in determination, pluck out negativity, and trust the dream. It’s okay to have fear, it makes you wise, but it can’t take over the dream. This is the key… fear is good until it steals from you, but you have us. We won’t let it win.”

Turning my hand so it was palm up, he undid the band to my heart monitor and slipped it into his pocket. Confused, I watched as he pulled something out of his other pocket. It was a different monitor encased in silver with a band that had delicate-looking chains on it. In various spots on the chain was a heart with a letter stamped into it—one for each of my guys and a larger heart with what looked like a QR code etched into it.

“What is this?” I asked, even though it was obvious.

Vili kissed my wrist before releasing my hand. “Proof we are always here, kitten.”

“What he means is that we have been talking to Dr. Arbour. He alerted us to this new heart rate monitor technology. This isn’t approved here in Preidon yet, so Dr. Arbour got us in the final product trial,” Gareth explained.

Yun-Sun tapped the screen twice, waking it up. “Not only is it set to your specific thresholds, if it hits the danger range, an ambulance will be called, along with all of us getting notifications. That means it will give your exact location so the EMTs can find you, and we’ll know too. We all agreed it was important for you to feel confident being here and running this place once it’s open. This gives everyone peace of mind, and we hope it will do the same for you.”

“The QR code was my idea,” Warrick interjected. “It has all our numbers, what hospital to take you to, and to ensure Dr. Arbour is alerted about any situation. You’ve had to give up so many things in your life, but you deserve to have it all. We hope this will be a step in taking back some of the confidence others have stolen from you.”

Unable to hold back the tears from earlier, I sniffled, clutching my wrist to my chest. “Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me, not only because of the added protection but the trust my Alphas have in me.”

Arms wrapped around me as my pack converged into a group hug with me at the center, purring at the love and affection surrounding me.