The studio was quieter than usual.
There was no music playing, no camera shutters clicking, no chatter from a client or assistant. Just the low hum of the ceiling fan, the soft scrape of paper under his thumb, and the slow tick of the wall clock that had long since lost sync with real time.
Jace stood by the long wooden table, flipping through the folder for what had to be the fiftieth time.
It was all there....the sketches, the print layouts, the annotations in his own rushed handwriting, smudged in places where his hand had trembled. He knew every page by heart, but it still made him anxious. Hopeful. Terrified.
He heard the door open.
Then footsteps. He didn't look up until Sophie stepped in.
Her sunglasses were perched on her head like the last time she came.....only difference was the ponytail she had now.She always looked composed.
"I'm here," she said immediately she saw him. "You called and said everything was ready"
"It is" Jace said. "Well… not entirely."
She shot him a warning glance, but her mouth twitched like she might smile. Maybe.
He didn't say anything more. He just walked up to her and handed it to her.
Sophie flipped it open.
Her eyes scanned the papers quickly, then slowly. Then again. She blinked, looked up at him, then down again. Her lips parted just a little.
"You're actually doing this?" she said, voice suddenly quieter.
He nodded.
"Damn....you're really going all in" she said.
"Seems like it" he said.
"It's all set?" she asked.
He nodded again. "Almost."
Sophie sat down on the stool nearest her. "Wow."
"You think it's crazy?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light. But his fingers tapped nervously on the edge of the table.
Sophie didn't answer at first. She was still reading. When she finally looked up, she met his eyes.
"I think… it might work," she said softly.
Jace let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said, standing now. "You're not just throwing flowers at her window this time. You're reaching her the only way that ever mattered to you both."
A pause.
"But don't you dare screw this up if she comes back. You hear me?"
"I hear you."
"I mean it, Jace."
He looked at her, more serious now. "So do I."
For a second, they both stood still in the studio surrounded by finished work, echoes of memories, and something that felt dangerously close to hope.
Then Sophie smiled, lopsided and real. "Well then. Let's get to work."
"My car's outside" He said as he picked his jacket and starts walking towards the exit as Sophie carries the folder with her and walks behind him...a smile still on her face.
...
"Move it a little to the right," Jace said, arms crossed as he stood back and squinted at the placard Sophie was holding up.
"You've said that four times already," she grunted, shifting it slightly. "At this point, I'm going to start charging per adjustment."
"Okay, stop," he said, lifting a hand. "That's the line. Right there. Perfect."
Sophie stepped down from the low stool and looked at the arrangement. The placard was plain, minimalistic, yet somehow it caught the light just right....like it belonged exactly there and nowhere else.
She nodded once. "You're lucky I'm not billing you for interior design."
"You're lucky I didn't make you hang the lights too," he murmured, fiddling with a nearby frame.
She snorted and reached for the next item on the table.
After a few moments of arranging in comfortable silence, Jace's voice cut in....almost shyly.
"Hey, by the way…" He cleared his throat. "Happy belated birthday."
Sophie glanced at him, surprised. "Took you long enough."
He scratched the back of his head. "I know. I meant to say something sooner, just… things got away from me."
She gave a teasing shrug. "Well, I suppose I'll forgive you since you're finally saying it with effort and a bit of guilt."
He grinned. "Fair."
There was a beat of silence before he spoke again, a little more cautious this time.
"I saw a photo from your party… looked like a good time." He reached for another photo, pretending to be focused on adjusting it. "That guy beside Amy...who was he?"
Sophie didn't respond immediately. Then she slowly turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
Jace tried to play it off. "Just curious."
"Curious?" she repeated. "Or… jealous?"
He gave her a deadpan look. "Don't start."
"Oh, I'm starting," she said, grinning now. "You wait until two weeks after my birthday to say anything, and now you're fishing for details about the guy in a single photo? And you're asking it while standing in the middle of this incredibly detailed, possibly love-inspired display?"
Jace sighed and muttered something under his breath.
Sophie crossed her arms. "What was that?"
"I said maybe I was a little jealous," he admitted, then waved a hand toward the wall. "But that doesn't matter. I'm here now. Doing this."
She smiled, warmth softening her teasing. "So let me get this straight. You, who usually runs from anything remotely emotional, are now knee-deep in one of the most heartfelt setups I've ever seen… while also being just slightly possessive about someone in a party photo?"
He picked up another frame and muttered, "You're enjoying this way too much."
"I am," she agreed brightly, then took the frame from him and adjusted it a millimeter to the left. "But also... it's kind of nice seeing you like this."
He looked at her. "Like what?"
Sophie tilted her head thoughtfully. "Like someone who cares. Who really, really cares."
There was a pause. Nothing heavy....just honest.
Then Jace turned away and chuckled. "You're still not telling me who the guy was, are you?"
Sophie grinned. "Nope. Consider it your punishment for forgetting my birthday."
They both laughed, and the moment passed, folding neatly into the rhythm of the task again. Quiet, meaningful, and full of unsaid things that didn't need to be said.....not yet.
Jace was already fiddling with a small spotlight nearby, angling it until the light hit just right. He tilted it, then straightened it again. Then turned it off. Then on.
"You're fussing," Sophie said.
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just… want everything to feel intentional."
She gave a short laugh. "Everything about this is intentional. The way you've laid this out? It's not just a display. It's like a memory you can walk through."
He paused, then glanced over his shoulder. "You think so?"
Sophie shrugged. "I know so."
Jace returned to the table where a few final pieces still waited to be placed. He unwrapped a delicate frame, careful not to smudge the glass, then adjusted the photo inside. His fingers hovered for a second before pressing the backing into place.
Sophie watched him, a small smile curling at her lips. "You know, this is so romantic I'm almost offended."
He looked up, eyebrows raised.
"I mean, come on," she went on, gesturing around the room. "The attention to detail? The mood lighting? The way you're acting like every inch matters?" She folded her arms. "If someone did this for me, I'd marry them on the spot."
Jace chuckled softly, not taking the bait, but not denying it either. He set the frame gently on the table and started arranging the others.
Sophie joined him, handing him a piece of tape without needing to be asked. She wasn't just helping now....she was part of it, in rhythm with him.
And the more she looked around, the more she felt it. This wasn't a grand gesture in the typical sense. There were no flashy signs, no neon declarations. Just photos. Light. Space. Stillness. A story being told without saying a word.
She picked up a folded card from the edge of the table. "Where does this go?"
He pointed to a small table near the entrance.
She placed it there carefully, then stood back, nodding. "This might actually work."
His voice was quiet. "I hope so."
Two more hours later...
The final frame clicked into place.
Jace stepped back, squinting up at it slightly crooked. He adjusted the bottom edge with two fingers, then stepped away again. Perfect.
Sophie, standing on a low stool behind him, handed him the hammer with exaggerated ceremony. "And that, was the last one."
He smiled. "Yeah"
She climbed down and stretched, arms over her head, groaning. "If I die tonight, tell Amy it was in the line of aesthetic duty."
Jace chuckled, running a hand through his hair, already mussed from hours of adjusting frames and debating spacing by inches. He sat down first, back against the wall. Sophie followed, flopping beside him with a heavy sigh.
Silence settled around them for a beat, just the sound of their tired breathing echoing softly in the space they had built together.
"My legs are numb," Sophie muttered and he chucked.
"I think my spine is somewhere in the parking lot."
Jace tilted his head toward her. "How are you still funny when you're this exhausted?"
"It's a survival instinct. That, and pizza."
Jace turned to look at her. "Pizza?"
She smirked without opening her eyes. "Ordered it twenty minutes ago. Should be here any second."
His stomach growled right on cue.
"I knew it," she said smugly. "Don't fight it. Just accept that your body needs it"
"That's mildly terrifying."
Just then.....they heard a buzzer from the door. "That's my cue" She said as she pushed herself up with a groan, muttering something about her 'aging knees' and 'childbirth wrecking your core.' Jace stayed where he was, smiling faintly as she disappeared to answer the door.
She came back a minute later triumphantly holding two pizza boxes and a bottle of Coke under one arm.
Sophie dropped the boxes onto the low coffee table, opened the top one, and fanned the rising steam toward her face. "Behold," she whispered dramatically, "the answer to every emotional and physical crisis known to man..... pizza."
Jace stayed seated, elbows on his knees, gaze drifting again across the finished gallery wall.
Sophie slid a slice onto a paper plate and offered it to him. "Come on. Eat. You've burned like seven million calories today."
He smiled, gently pushing the plate back toward her. "I'm good. I'll eat in a bit."
"Nope," she said, pushing it back. "No brooding on an empty stomach."
"I'm not brooding," he said, though the corner of his mouth tugged up. "I'm just… taking it in."
"You're doing that thing again where you think too much and try to make it poetic."
"Is that not allowed?"
"Only if you chew while you do it." She wiggled the pizza in front of him again, eyes narrowed. "Seriously, Jace. Eat. It's not poisoned. It's the real stuff. Grease, cheese, glory....if you make me eat all of this alone....i'd Photoshop your face on some hairy buttocks and post it online"
"You're getting more creative with you threats" He gave a reluctant sigh, took the slice, and nodded. "Thanks."
Sophie beamed, satisfied, and took a giant bite of her own slice. "There you go."
They ate in silence for a minute. The exhaustion was still there, but food always made everything better.
"You know.... I remember the day she first came back from your studio. She was... I don't know, different. Light. She sounded like she'd seen the northern lights or had just finished reading a love letter from outside the universe."
He set the pizza down quietly.
"She couldn't stop talking about your photos. Said they felt like stories more than pictures. And how you showed her the one of your sister...that really got her."
He looked down, remembering.
"She called you....." Sophie laughed, "and I quote, 'the motorcycle-riding camera prince with grief eyes and magic fingers.'"
Jace blinked. "Wait. She said that?"
"Oh no....sorry that was totally me but she was just high on you."
He laughed, genuinely this time, a sound he hadn't heard in his own chest in weeks.
Sophie took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. "She told me that when you looked through your camera at her, it felt like you were seeing something no one else had ever bothered to. Not just her face but her. Like the messy, aching, hopeful parts."
He was quiet.
"She'd had a rough time before you, you know."
Jace turned to her. "Max?"
Sophie made a face. "She was really hurt after her brother passed. But not him. There was... another. Someone she trusted. He took a lot from her. Not in the dramatic movie-villain way. Just slowly. Quietly. Made her feel too much. Then not enough. You came along, and you didn't ask for anything. You just... showed up. And that meant more than you'll ever know."
Jace ran a hand over his face. "Why didn't she tell me?"
"Because you were the one thing she didn't want to mess up."
He exhaled, leaned back again. "I didn't know."
"I know," Sophie said. "And honestly? Neither did she. Not all the way. Not until it was too late."
His throat tightened. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because if you're going to do something big for her, you should know what kind of space you've already filled in her life. You didn't just show up one day. You changed the color of her world, Jace. You made her believe in things again."
There was a stretch of silence but reflective.
Sophie took another slice. "Okay, your turn. Tell me something real. Something you don't usually say."
He turned toward her silent for a while digesting everything she had just told him. His eyes narrow just a little. "No...its my turn to ask something."
Sophie looked amused. "Uh-oh."
"You keep playing therapist... but I don't know a thing about your love life."
She smirked. "That's because it's deeply uninteresting."
"I doubt that."
Sophie leaned back on her elbows, staring up at the ceiling like it held the constellations of her memories. "Alright. Since we're being honest tonight… I'll give you the real version."
Jace tilted his head toward her, listening.
"There was someone," she began. "His name was Matthew. We met through a friend, hit it off fast. The kind of fast that feels like falling from a tall building....like you don't even check if there's a net."
Jace didn't say anything. He just let her talk.
"It turned into a long distance thing. He was in Seattle...tech guy, annoyingly smart, always sending me playlists. For a while, it was good. We made it work. Texts, calls, video chats that went on too long. I even started counting down days till the next flight instead of weeks."
A small breath left her, like she wasn't sure if she was sighing or laughing. "Then one weekend, I decided to surprise him. Bought a last-minute ticket. Picked up his favorite pastries from this little place in Portland he mentioned once. Took a cab from the airport straight to his apartment."
Jace could already feel where it was going. He sat up a bit straighter.
"I had a key," Sophie continued quietly. "Let myself in. And there he was. In bed. With someone else."
There was a pause. No drama in her voice, no cracked edge.....just calm, tired memory.
"I didn't scream. Didn't cry. I just… put the pastries on the table and left."
Jace's jaw clenched slightly. "He's a moron."
She smiled faintly. "Yeah. But here's the part I never told anyone not even Amy,I still texted him three days later. Asked if we could talk because he didn't bother calling to explain himself.....didn't even act like anything happened and me....I wanted....i needed closure. Or understanding. Or maybe just to hear him say something that would help me hate him properly."
Jace looked at her. "Did he answer?"
"He said, 'I never asked you to come.'" Sophie shrugged. "So yeah. That was that."
Silence wrapped around them like a blanket for a beat too long.
"I'm so sorry" Jace managed to say.
"But," she added, sitting up with a quiet exhale, "the universe has a weird sense of humor. Couple months ago, I was in Boston for work,my car broke down on the way back from work. Dead battery. No jumper cables. I was halfway to cursing at the moon when this guy pulls over. Helps me out, no questions asked."
Jace arched a brow. "Let me guess. Tall, ocean eyes, owns a dog named Billy?"
"Close," Sophie grinned. "His name's Darren. He's a civil engineer. Smells like peppermint and always forgets to charge his phone."
"Sounds stable."
"He is," she said, and something in her voice softened. "We've only been texting. Just two coffee dates there in Boston. He's… different. Kind in a way that doesn't need to be loud. I'm not rushing it. But it's nice. It's slow. It's... hopeful."
Jace gave a small nod. "You deserve that."
She bumped his shoulder with hers. "So do you."
For a while, they just sat there in the warmth of half-finished pizza. Both quietly grateful for the safety of this strange little corner of truth and second chances.
Then Sophie stretched her arms over her head and groaned dramatically. "Alright, I officially can't feel my legs."
Jace smirked. "That's because you ate half the pizza."
"Lies. I barely had like seven slices. And if I did...it was emotional support pizza."
He laughed, then stood and held out a hand. "Come on. Let me drop you home."
She took his hand and let him pull her up. "Tomorrow," she said, dusting off her jeans, "we turn this little plan of yours into something unforgettable....i'd make Sure she shows up."
"And after that?" Jace asked.
Sophie grinned. "We get matching tattoos that says REGRET NOTHING."
Jace shook his head, chuckling. "You're the worst influence."
"Best worst," she said laughing, already heading for the trash can with the empty pizza boxes.