Page 6 of Bred By the Rock Star Next Door

She smiles and nods. “It was so different than the stuff you guys usually put out. I loved it.”

Memories flash through my head of the arguments the guys and I had about that song. I had to fight like hell to convince them to keep it on the album. To hear someone say it’s their favorite track feels incredibly validating.

I look around more at my surroundings, trying to seek out more clues about who this gorgeous woman is. That’s when my eyes land on the book sitting on her kitchen bar. There’s a smiling baby on the cover, peeking over the edge of a crib with a big wet smile. The title of the book is something about raising happy babies.

Kaci follows my gaze to the book, then looks at me with an awkward smile. “Um…”

“Should I be saying congratulations?” I ask, suddenly feeling like maybe I shouldn’t be here. She could have a husband.

“Not yet,” she says. “I’m just preparing for one. A baby, I mean. I’m doing it on my own.”

My silence hangs in the air.

“You know,” she says. “With a sperm donor.”

“Right,” I say slowly, feeling bewildered. I meet the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, find out she likes the song of my heart, and then learn she’s about to choose some random guy’s spunk to have a baby? Talk about whiplash. “Well, I hope that goes well for you.” What the fuck am I saying? Why am I wishing her well about this? I know I’ve just met her, but the idea of her having a kid with some random guy feels insane to me.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” she says. “I haven’t even been able to bring myself to look at the profiles. It’s so weird. I’ve wanted this for such a long time, but now that it’s time to start taking action…anyway. Sorry. I won’t bore you with that.”

“It’s a huge decision,” I say. “I get why you’d find it tough.”

She smiles. “Thanks. I was feeling like a weirdo about it. Like there was something wrong with me.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you at all.”

We look at each other for a moment, and it feels like I could cross this little kitchen and kiss her right now, take her into my arms and claim those pretty lips of hers. I would savor the kiss, take my time. Feel out whether she could be the one I’ve been waiting for.

But then she breaks our gaze and says, “Thank you again for helping me, Devon. It was very kind of you. But I should really let you get back to your day.”

Right. I can take a hint when I hear one. I nod and start walking toward the door. She walks a few steps behind me, stopping only when I cross the threshold and step out of her apartment.

I’m about to walk away when she says my name again.

“Wait,” she says, stepping out after me. “Wait, Devon, there’s something I should tell you?—”

I look at her, drawn into her eyes once again.

“I can hear you when you play,” she says, a little breathless. “Through the wall. Every night, when you play your guitar and you sing, I can hear it. And it’s my favorite part of the day.”

A smile slowly grows on my lips. “I didn’t know anyone could hear me.”

She nods. “I’ve never been able to make out the lyrics, but what I can hear, I love. I just thought you should know.”

This whole time, I thought I was singing to myself. Singing to an empty room. But if she’s been listening…well, that feels like it changes everything.

“Come over tonight,” I say, taking a step toward her. “I’ll play for you.”

“Really?” she asks, her eyes going wide.

I nod. “Seven o’clock? No, wait. Come over at six. I’ll make us dinner first.”

4

KACI

That evening, when I go over to Devon’s apartment, I’m almost too nervous to eat. But the tacos he makes for us look too delicious to forgo, and once I start eating, the food settles my stomach and I start to relax.

At least somewhat. I still can’t get over the fact that I’m living next to a famous heartthrob, let alone eating a meal that he cooked for me. If I could send a letter back in time and tell my eighteen-year-old self that this was in her future, she would never believe me.

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