Giving Chase (Incendiary Ink #1)

36. 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."

"Poor Will."

"Poor Will who cried when we played him the final mix and then threatened to quit if we ever told anyone."

The sound of waves fills our comfortable silence. Our house. Our future. Our everything, finally aligned.

"Hey," he says suddenly. "Come watch the sunset from the deck. First one in our new home."

"Chase, we're filthy. We should shower?—"

"Please?" Something in his voice makes me look up. That subtle tell I've known for twenty years. He’s up to something. For all I know there could be a new puppy out there wrapped in a cute bow.

"Okay..."

He takes my hand, leads me through empty rooms we'll soon fill with our combined lives. The deck stretches toward the ocean like reaching for infinity.

"You know what I was thinking about earlier?" he asks, pulling me close as the sun starts its descent.

"How we need furniture?"

"How twenty years ago, I walked into the Viper Room on a Tuesday night and saw this woman in killer heels watching our set. You were supposed to be somewhere else – or had an early meeting the next day, you told me later. But something made you stay."

I smile against his chest. "Something in the air. Something in the sound."

"You said we were either going to be the biggest band in the world or the biggest disaster you'd ever seen." His heart beats steady under my ear. "And now here we are. The new album's about to drop. We're in our house. Everything's finally... finally right."

"Finally," I agree.

He shifts, and I feel him reach into his pocket. My heart stops.

"Eliza." His voice is soft. "Look at me?"

I do. He's holding a small velvet box.

"Chase..."

"Twenty years ago, you walked into that club and my whole life changed. You believed in our music. In me. In us. Even when I couldn't believe in myself." He opens the box. The ring catches sunset light - vintage-inspired but modern, exactly my style. "You saved my life by believing in our sound. You literally saved my life in Chicago. You saved it again by forcing me to face hard truths about myself when I needed to heal. And now, I think I’m done being saved. Now I want to spend the rest of my life showing you I’m worth it. All of this has been worth the wait."

Tears blur my vision as he drops to one knee.

"Marry me?" he asks simply. "Finally?"

"Yes." The word comes instantly. I don’t need to think twice. Not anymore. "Yes, finally, yes."

The ring slides perfectly onto my finger. When he kisses me, it tastes like salt air and promises and twenty years of almosts turning into absolutely.

I never thought we could get here. After all this time. All the pain and heartache along the way. The trials and tribulations that kept us in each other’s orbits whether we wanted it or not, and then blew us apart. And finally, a recognition ceremony that forced us to confront our entire history, bringing everything back to the surface so we could clear the way for our future.

Bringing us to now.

"I love you," he murmurs against my lips.

"I love you too."

The sun sets on our first day in our new home. Tomorrow brings movers and furniture and advance copies of the album. Next month brings the release, the tour, the future we've finally earned.

But right now...

Right now it's just us. Finally us. Completely us.

Some love stories take the scenic route. Some timing needs twenty years to get right. Some truths don't need to be whispered anymore.

They just need to be lived.

--THE END—