Page 61 of The Lyrics of Love

“I had no idea Wills was Sam Wills,” Tim Beeman said. “My brother worked with you when you were first starting out.”

Wills laughed. “Yeah, I remember him. Everyone used to call me Sam or Sammy, but it was your brother who always called me Wills. It caught on—and I became Wills after that.”

Dart snapped, “Let’s get to it. You know I don’t like wasting time.”

Nash had told Rylie how Dart could be charming one minute and a grumbler the next. They were getting the grumbler at the moment.

“Okay, let’s clear the studio. Everyone to the control booth except for my guys who are playing.”

“Good thing your girl won’t be Yoko and hover,” Dart mumbled.

He had actually wanted Rylie to stay in the studio and had told her so the previous evening. She was the one who said her presence might be unsettling for his band members and had opted to listen in the sound booth.

Once everyone had vacated the room, he told his bandmates, “I want to work on Mistake first because I want it released as a single as soon as possible.”

“That was nice, you wanting to send the profits to Make-A-Wish,” Wills said. “I had a lot of fun watching that video of you cooking with Carter Clark.”

“My wife and I have eaten that same meal,” Billy bragged. “Nash tried it out on us. He’s becoming a pretty good cook.”

“Your cuts can go to charity,” Dart said. “Mine is going to me.”

“I never said you or the others would have to donate your portions, Dart,” Nash said, taking control of the situation. “Quit acting so pissed-off. Let’s play the song together once and see how it turns out.”

Dart strapped on his guitar, a sour look on his face, as Billy sat behind the drum kit. Wills fiddled some with the keyboards, striking different notes and making a few adjustments.

“You’ve had the video of this song the longest. I hope you’ve worked out your parts. Let’s do this.”

Nash counted them down, and they launched into their first attempt of playing the song together.

And it was damn good.

He looked to each man in the room once the last note sounded, nodding in satisfaction. Then he looked to the glass. “Lars? What did you think?”

His producer said, “I took very few notes as you played. It’s hard to believe that was your first time coming together on it. Let’s try a few things, though.”

They tried out Lars’s suggestions. Jarrod also came into the studio and listened to them play it the second and third times, giving them some critical feedback. Nash again called for Lars’s input, as well as that of the two engineers.

“Everyone straight?” he asked. “If so, let’s get this one down on tape.”

Every band member played flawlessly. Nash was pleased with the emotion in his voice.

“Move on,” Lars said. “We aren’t going to improve on that put. Tim and Rose will fiddle with it, and we’ll present a final version tomorrow. Keep going. Try Second Chance Promises next.”

That one took a little longer to put together, but he was pleased with what the guys did with it.

“Can we do My Heart Tells Another Story next?” he asked, referring to the song he had written after he’d had sex with Rylie the first time. “Then we can take a break.”

Once again, their first take sounded as if they’d already rehearsed the song two dozen times. With some input from Lars and Jarrod, they tried again and then asked for the third time to be recorded. Nash thought something was a little off and asked for Billy to slow the drumbeat slightly. After he did, it sounded perfect.

“Let’s break,” he said. “Anywhere nearby that’s good to eat? Or any pizza we can have delivered in?”

“Both,” Rose said, naming three places nearby and offering to order pizza for those who wished to remain at the studio.

“Ninety minutes, then,” Nash decided. “Then we’ll pick up with a few Jarrod and I have written together.”

Billy took Jarrod under his wing, and they and Wills went to a Korean place. Dart took off without a word to anyone, still seeming to be in an odd mood. Lars wanted to eat with Chuck and the engineers, leaving Nash free to eat with Rylie and Pops.

They walked the two blocks to an Italian place, where the lunch crowd was already long gone. He opted for splitting lasagna with Rylie, telling her he didn’t like to eat too much when he was rehearsing and recording.

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