He grinned.“That’s you doing most of it.”
She didn’t argue.She slid a mug toward him.“Drink.You sounded tight on the first pass of the bridge.”
“I hate that you can hear that.”
“I love that I can hear that.”She took a sip of her own coffee and checked a timer on her phone.“Two hours for bios starts now.”
He folded his arms on the bar and leaned in.“So we hold.They edit.We approve.No noise.”
“That’s the plan.”She reached for his forearm and drew her thumb across the tendons once.“Go make the songs that make this worth it.”
He caught her hand before she pulled away and pressed his mouth to her palm.“Dinner at the table tonight.”
“Already on my list.”She slid her palm free with one last swipe like she wasn’t quite ready to stop touching him.“Go.”
He turned to walk away, stopped, and moved back to her."Think about this full-time.Hart Records can pay you.You will be our full-time PR person.Tony is our manager.Together, we'll get all of our wants and needs, and you and I won't have to face weeks apart.Don't answer now, just think about it."
He turned and left her sitting there with that.She couldn't see him, but he grinned all the way back to the studio.
Back in the live room, Sean tuned, eyes on him.“How’s the diplomacy?”
“Not a war today.”Jami slung on his guitar.“We got what we needed most.”
“Which is?”
“Room.”He stepped to the mic.“Count us.”
They worked the afternoon in pieces.Sean found a counter line that folded under the chorus without crowding it.Axel carved a drum part that breathed.Maddyn tested harmonies, soft then stronger, until the lift felt like something you could stand on.Between takes, the barn sounded like pencils scratching and cords shifting and the small yeses he lived for.
Tony stood two hours later.“Update.”
Jami rested the guitar on a stand, and they all left the studio to stretch and see what was happening in the real world.Carlene joined them from across the room, laptop under her arm.
Carlene pointed to two separate screens.“Summit removed the old headlines.They posted a neutral note and scheduled a joint statement for later today.No dates.No art.They used our language.”
Carlene tapped a finger against her trackpad.“And their international team signed off on the points adjustment in concept.Numbers to follow.”
Jami read the note again, then looked at her.“You kept them off us without lighting another fire.”
“That was the assignment.”She angled her head at the studio.“Do you want to keep cutting or take a minute to breathe?”
“I breathe there.”He jerked a thumb at the mic.“But I want one thing first.”
She waited.
He set his hand on the small of her back and guided her to the window between rooms.“Listen from here.”
“Bossy.”
“Only with the important things.”
She smiled without showing teeth.“Fine.Play.”
They went back in.Sean met his eyes and nodded once.Axel lifted a stick.They took “Keys” from top to tail, no stops, no fixes.He sang it the way he had sung it in the house last night, soft in the living room light, not trying to impress anyone, least of all himself.When the last note faded, he looked up at the glass.
Carlene had her hand flat on the window frame as if she needed the wood to keep from moving forward.Her mouth made a quiet “yes” that he felt in his chest.
He took off the headphones and pushed the door open.“That?”
