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“Not giving away all my secrets.” Wayne's voice was quiet, almost uncertain. “Wanted to surprise you.”
She was out of the truck before he finished speaking, walking toward the barn, fearing the signs might disappear if she moved too fast. They hung next to the large barn door, each letter carefully forged, the dark iron declaring in permanent metal that this space belonged to both of them.
“Jess Hartley Glass Works,” she read aloud, reaching up to trace the letters. The metal was cool under her fingers, permanent and real.
Wayne came to stand beside her. “Thought it was time to make it official. This is your space too. Always has been, really, but...” He gestured at the signs. “Now everyone knows.”
“You made these.” Jess turned to look at him. He was watching her with that expression she'd come to know so well—vulnerable and hopeful and trying to hide both behind practicality.
“I love them,” she managed. “I love them so much I might actually cry, which is ridiculous because they're just signs—”
“They're not just signs.” Wayne's hands found her waist, pulling her close. “They're a promise. That this is ours. That we're building something real here. That I want your name next to mine for everyone to see.”
“Wayne Drummond, are you getting romantic on me?”
“Maybe.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Is it working?”
Instead of answering, Jess pulled his mouth down to hers and kissed him, filling it with all her love, her hope, and her certainty. When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Wayne rested his forehead against hers.
“Come on. Let's finish up so I can take you inside and show you the other surprise.”
“There's another surprise?”
“Made dinner. Well, ordered dinner. But I set the table.”
Jess laughed, following him as they finished storing the last pieces. Wayne locked up the barn, and as they headed toward the house, Jess glanced back. The signs hung in the gathering darkness, barely visible but solid and real. Permanent. Official. Theirs.
She'd spent years in Brooklyn chasing a dream that kept slipping away. And all along, what she'd needed was here—in a small mountain town, in a barn smelling of fire and creation, with a man who spoke through metalwork and showed his love by forging their names side by side.
