Page 78 of Giving Chase

"Play her the new bridge," Joe suggests from his spot by the board.

I grab my bass, start the riff we've been perfecting all morning. Eliza's eyes light up - she's always loved watching the process, even back when we had to pretend it was purely professional interest.

"That's gorgeous," she says when I finish. "The key change in the middle..."

"Told you she'd catch that," Will tells Mark. "Pay up."

"You bet on whether I'd notice the key change?"

"We bet on how fast you'd notice," Mark corrects. "Will said under ten seconds. I gave you at least thirty. Clearly underestimated your musical ear."

"Clearly underestimated how well she knows our sound," I say.

"Alright, children," Raphael cuts in, though he's smiling. "Break's over. Chase, I want to try that bass line with a different mic setup. Joe's got some ideas."

The next few hours fly by in a blur of takes and adjustments. The songs come alive under our hands - familiar enough to be Incendiary Ink, but evolved. Grown up. Like us.

"One more pass at the chorus," Raphael says around six. "Then we'll call it. Fresh ears tomorrow."

Eliza left hours ago for meetings but promised to come back. Tonight's her place. My toothbrush has a permanent spot in her bathroom, just like half her closet seems to live at my house now.

The final take flows perfectly. Everything clicking into place like it was always meant to be this way. The music, the band, the love I don't have to hide anymore.

"That's good," Raphael announces. "Really good. See you all tomorrow at ten?"

Will and Mark pack up, heading home to their own lives, their own loves. Joe starts shutting down the board while James makes one last call about distribution rights.

Eliza appears in the doorway just as I'm putting away my bass. Perfect timing, as always.

"Ready?" she asks. "I was thinking takeout and bed. I have that early board meeting, but..."

"But you sleep better when I'm there?" I finish for her.

"Exactly."

Wildfire

ELIZA

Epilogue

"That's the last box from my car," Chase announces, dropping it in what will become our living room. The February sun streams through floor-to-ceiling windows, painting patterns on hardwood floors we haven't filled with furniture yet. Malibu stretches out below us, ocean meeting sky in perfect blue infinity.

"My movers come tomorrow," I remind him, but I can't stop smiling.Our house. The moment we walked in, we both knew. The open layout perfect for entertaining Justin's band and our industry friends. The guest house Chase immediately saw as a studio. The view that made us both stop breathing.

"I still can't believe you let me put in a recording studio."

"Let you? I'm the one who suggested converting the guest house. Michelle says we're officially becoming that industry power couple she always knew we would be."

He pulls me close, both of us a mess of sweat and dust from moving boxes all morning. "Have I mentioned lately that you're perfect?"

"Once or twice." I lean into him, breathing in the familiar scent of him mixed with salt air. "Though I think Billboard's advance review of your new album mentioned it more."

"'Their best work yet,'" he quotes. "'A triumph of evolution while maintaining their signature sound.'Will says they're calling it the comeback album of the decade."

"'Love songs that actually sound happy,'" I quote Will's review.

His laugh vibrates through me. "He's just mad we're making him play slower tempos."

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