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I feel bad for lying to her. Nobody should ever feel good about lying to their mate, but at the end of the day I’m not lying for malicious reasons, only so I can surprise her.

The windows along the shop front have been covered in paper to help conceal what we are doing, just like I asked the contractor to do. It’s going to be even harder when the sign comes in and we have to put it on the front of the building. I’m thinking that we might wait till the morning of the opening so I have less time to keep it secret.

Sliding the key into the lock, I quickly look around to make sure that neither Selene or Odessa are anywhere close. It would break my heart if this was ruined long before I had the chance to see it to completion. With no one in sight that would run to tell on me, I slip inside.

They’ve already cleared out everything that was here before and put up fresh drywall and the base paint. It already feels like what I think a gallery would look like. Honestly, I googled galleries in New York City and asked Nova if she thought any of them were a good idea, given she had probably been to one after living there her whole life. We designed a clean, open concept gallery idea and brought it to the contractor to see if it was something he could do.

Thankfully, he said it was 100% something he could do and in the timeframe that I was looking for. He should be here any minute to walk me through the progress they’ve made and go over the next few steps. We have eight days left till the grand opening. It’s down to the wire here.

The door swings open and in comes the contractor, Holt Rivers, a beaver shifter who runs a construction company in town. Like any beaver, Holt believes in quality products that are built to last 100 years. Don’t ever mention particle boards around him unless you want to spend thirty minutes hearing about the destruction of the housing industry due to cheap labor and products. I knew that if I wanted this project done correctly, cleanly, and to perfection, he was the man for the job.

“Hey Holt. Thank you for meeting up with me.” I hold my hand out for him to shake.

His hand grasps mine firmly as he shakes it one time. “It’s a pleasure. As you can see we’ve completed the walls and primed them for painting. I know you wanted to see the test swatches on the walls before we decided on the actual color. If you’ll follow me I’ll take you over to those. Ideally, you would want to see this at three different times of the day. But, given our time crunch and the secrecy of the project, I know that isn’t possible.”

He turns and walks to the left side of the gallery where the light is shining on three clear swatches of paint. It might be anal of me, but I wanted three different neutral options on the walls. From everything I researched, they said not to put a color on the walls outside of the whites as it will take away or distract the eye from the art. To anyone else these probably look like three versions of the same white, but to me I can see the subtle differences between the three.

He comes to a stop in front of the three rectangles. “This left one is the White Dove, the one here in the middle which is my favorite is the Pale Oak, and the last one is the Snowbound. Which one are you thinking?”

I stand in front of them, holding my chin between my thumb and forefinger, truly analyzing the colors and how they look in the light. I try to picture them spread across the walls with her framed photos on display.

“I think I’m going to agree with you on your favorite color, Pale Oak. It adds just enough depth to the wall without taking away from the canvases that will be hanging on the wall.”

“That’s a great choice.” He scribbles the selection down on his notepad. “The light fixtures are in as well, did you want to see them before we install them as well?”

“Yes,” I say as he turns to walk away.

Following behind him, I try to think of what else that we will need.

On a pallet in the middle of the floor is a ton of cardboard boxes. He pops open the top box and pulls out the pendant lighting we selected. I nod my head before he pulls out the track lighting that we chose that offers spotlighting as a key feature. This will allow her to choose where she would like the viewer's eye to go.

We are in the middle of going over the last set of wall washers when the door opens. My heart rate shoots through the ceiling thinking we’ve been caught when a familiar set of gray curls peek around the door. Fucking Gail. Woman is going to give me a heart attack before I’m even able to surprise Selene.

Her warm smile spreads across her face as she pushes the door closed behind her. Her long, floral skirt brushes across the floor as she moves. She is always dressed in loose, ethereal-looking clothes as if she’s more than just a wolf.

“Caelon, just who I was hoping to run into today,” she says as she comes over wrapping her arms around me in her signature grandmothery hug.

My eyebrow quirks, wondering what is she up to now. “You found me and gave me a heart attack.”

She gently slaps my shoulder. “Don’t be so dramatic. We have lots to chat about and not a lot of time before Selene starts to wonder why you aren’t at the office like you claimed.” She winks before pulling out her own notepad filled with a checklist and tasks to do.

Over the next hour we go over everything she has listed before it’s time for Lou to sneak this way. Thankfully Lou has helped keep Selene busy today with a photography challenge to help sharpen her skills. Since Lou used to be a Nat Geo photographer, we knew that she wouldn’t question why Lou wanted to send her on a learning adventure.

The door swings open again and even though I know it’s supposed to be Lou, I can’t help my heart racing.

Lou’s worn, leather skin wrinkles as she gives us all a small wave as she ducks her head in shyness. “Well now,sor-ry,sor-ry. My nerves done got me all riled up, like a hound dog on a scent. But I swear on the hills, ain’t nobody laid eyes on it, not a one.”

I smile. “It’s alright Lou. Come on in. We were just finishing up on the last of Gail’s ideas.”

She comes over to where the three of us are standing, sighing once she comes to a stop.

She puts her hand on her hip and with a half grin says, “Well now, sugar, I brought a handful I reckon’d you might wanna take a peek at. Been around the world an’ back, but I swear—these shots? They’ve got the kind of soul that don’t fade. Thought I’d lend you a little taste of what a professional would look for an’ all that.”

She nudges me with her elbow giving me a wink. We spend the next little bit going over the photos that she recommends, and the couple that I want as well. I hand over the photo that will be front and center. A photo that will never be sold but is priceless to me.

I rub my hands together as I look between the three people helping me achieve this dream. This wouldn’t be possible without them.

“Alright, we each have our tasks, I’m going to head back to my office and get some work done before heading home for the night. Remember, this is…”