When the car stopped he took my hand and told me where to step. I felt us enter a building. “No peeking.”
I heard him exchange “hellos” with a few people before we went through another door and then we were in a room that had a familiar plastic, electronic smell. He told me to stand still; the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. He stood behind me and touched my hand that held the digital recorder. “This has four tracks,” he whispered, then he took my other hand and placed it on something with dials and knobs. “This is limitless. Open your eyes.”
I looked around, quickly absorbing my surroundings. I stood in the middle of a sizable, state-of-the-art recording studio with high-tech buttons and dials everywhere. Beyond the glass I saw instruments and microphones galore along with an isolated vocal booth. The only thing I didn’t see was another soul in sight.
“Did you rent this out for us?” I asked tentatively. He just shook his head and then pulled me toward another door that had a rectangular window in it. I peered through the window into the adjacent room, which could easily accommodate a full symphony orchestra. I spotted two Steinway grand pianos, timpani drums, and a xylophone in the corner along with dozens of chairs and music stands. He appraised me, waiting for a response, but I just stood there dumbfounded. That’s when I glanced over at a desk with a pad of paper that was embossed with the name Alchemy Sound Studios. My eyes shot open at the realization.
“This is yours? How?”
“Well, it was many nights in the storage closet, cheap rent thanks to you, slinging a whole lotta cocktails at the Montosh, writing and producing credit on a number-one song, and some great referrals from Frank.” He paused for me to say something, but I couldn’t speak. “We’re booked for six months solid. We have some big names that Live Wire is sending our way.”
“Our way?”
He pointed to the larger room. “For you… to score, for film. “
I just stood there, mouth gaping. He gestured around the room. “This is my passion, to be part of the process for others in a place like this. I’ll still make my own music because I love doing it, but this… this is my dream, Mia… And my hope… is that it’s your dream, too.”
I reached out to him, my hands shaking, legs trembling. He smiled and laughed lightly as he pulled me into his arms.
“You okay, baby?”
“Yeah, more than okay.” I thought about all the mystery throughout the last year. Will spending days away from the apartment, working on websites with Tyler, the master plan Frank referred to, it was all part of the dream and I was included in that and it was all coming true.
“So will you do this with me, Mia?” he said, looking hopeful.
“Yes,” I breathed.
“And will you play music with me every day?”
“Yes.”
He got down on one knee, popped open a ring box and said, “For the rest of your life?”
I sucked in a breath and stared at the gorgeous antique ring, the oval-shaped pink diamond glimmered in the overhead light. I knelt down to his level, cupped his face and said, “Yes.Yes.Yes,” between kisses. I had never been so sure of anything in my life.
We stayed there kissing for a long time until he finally broke the embrace and slipped the ring on my finger.
“Thank you, it’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.”
I kissed him until we were breathless. “Take me to bed.”
He held my face and then leaned back to look into my eyes. “You’re in luck, it’s right upstairs. I bought the loft above this place.” And then he wiggled his eyebrows.
“I guess we’re Brooklynites now?”
His look went from surprise to pure elation. “So you’ll live with me… here?”
“Of course, I want to be wherever you are. I want to do this with you. It is my dream, all of it.”
“Baby, that means more to me than you will ever know,” he said and then proceeded to trail kisses up my neck.
“So, are you gonna show me your place or what?”
“Our place.”
“Show me our place.”
He led me through the sound studio to the lobby where I met Maryse and Bret. Maryse was the spunky office manager and blogger extraordinaire. Will said she was responsible for getting quite a few of the bookings. Bret was the percussion virtuoso who had been playing with Will at the bars and would certainly become a key player at the studio. Will said that Tyler and Jenny were going to run the website and Sheil and Martha would both be part of the artistic team from time to time when they weren’t busy at Kell’s.
We practically jogged up the stairs to the loft. “There’s one more girl you need to meet. She’s actually a partner, or more like a silent partner.” He opened the door and there sat the sweetest, tiniest yellow lab puppy. Her head cocked to one side as I knelt down in front of her.
Will crouched beside me. “Mia, meet June.” My eyes darted to his, both of us smiled serenely and simultaneously said, “After June Carter Cash.”
I picked her up. “Ahh, I love her.”