Page 25 of My Billionaire Grumpy Neighbor

“I can’t make you feel shit,” he said. “But fine, I’ll back off. I’m just saying you might want to take someone with you who’s not going to make it feel like you just showed up to gawk while she plays.”

“I’m going to ask Kim and her husband,” I told him. “I bet you anything they’re already going, so joining them won’t be a problem. If nothing else, Kim’s going to be thrilled that I want to go after all, so I’m sure I won’t have to show up alone.”

“Good,” he said. “And that’s tonight?”

“Yes. I’m going to talk to Kim as soon as I get off the phone with you, in fact,” I said. “Commit early in the day so I can’t talk myself out of it when it gets to be late and staying home sounds better.”

“True enough,” Miles said. “Then I better get off the phone and let you either call her or show up or do whatever it is you do to tell her you want to hang out.”

I laughed. “Alright, I’ll talk with you soon.”

“Sounds good,” Miles said before hanging up.

I sighed. I could still hear the soft sound of Krissy playing the new guitar in her bungalow, and it brought me a lot of peace. For a military veteran, anything that brought peace to my day was something big, and I was glad I had taken the chance on buying it for her. I knew she might not accept the gift if she knew how expensive it was— and being a musician as she was, she would likely know— but I did it anyway.

I knew it didn’t take away any of the anger or the trauma she had been through the other day, but I did want to show her that I cared about what happened, and I wanted to offer a bit of an olive branch after the fact. I couldn’t take away the fact she and I had gotten off on the wrong foot, but I could show her that I wasn’t a total asshole.

And for as big of an asshole as I could be, there was always a bigger, different kind of asshole who was predatory. And those were the guys I would happily end if I had the chance.

I slid on my sandals and headed up the walkway to Kim and Andrew’s house. I wasn’t surprised that Andrew wasn’t home, and even less surprised to see that Kim was. She liked to stay in the little complex she and her husband had created, and he was the one who often traveled into town to get things for them. Not that she wouldn’t go out— she would be going out that night, in fact— but as a general rule of thumb, if she wasn’t home, she was somewhere else in the complex.

I knocked on the door, and she let me in almost immediately.

“Andrew ran into town to get a few groceries,” she said. “But we have lemonade if you want.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I hope you made it yourself.”

“You know I did,” she said. “I don’t like buying things like that from the store. Even if a lot of the juice there comes right here from Florida, if I can do it myself, I’m going to.”

“And that’s why it’s always so heavenly,” I told her. “Did you hear Krissy playing this morning? I saw you drive by our places.”

“I did,” she said with a nod. “I’m glad you got her that instrument. That poor girl must have been so scared with what happened, and I wished I could fix it for her, but I knew there wasn’t anything I could do. I couldn’t even call the cops or anything without the attack taking place right here on the grounds. But since you replaced her guitar, I’m sure she feels a lot better.”

“I hoped she would. I know I like hearing her play when I get up in the morning,” I said.

“And she’s going to be using it tonight when she plays the gig at the bar,” Kim said.

“I know,” I told her. “Which was why I came here in the first place.”

“Oh?”

“I know I don’t go very often, but I was wondering if you and Andrew were going to the gig tonight. If you are, I would love to come along if you can handle having a third wheel,” I told her.

“I don’t know,” she said, feigning indecisiveness. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a third wheel on our dates, I’m not sure I’ll know how to handle it.”

I laughed. “If you want, I can make sure to sit far enough away that I’m not actually with the two of you, but close enough if anyone asks, we’re together.”

Kim laughed, too. “Okay, that’s fair. Like the chaperone who is there in name only?”

“You got it,” I said.

“And I think it would be a sweet thing to do for Krissy anyway,” Kim said. “You are the one who got her the guitar, so it would only be fitting that you showed up to hear her play it.”

“Right,” I said. “I think it’ll be a nice time. Tell Andrew to put on his best clothes for going out with me. I don’t want to be the best dressed one in the group, though I think it’s a lost cause.”

She laughed again. “Alright, I’ll give him warning.”

I didn’t hang out much longer, but I enjoyed the glass of lemonade she offered me before leaving. Andrew didn’t make it back to see me in time, but I was okay with that. I would see him that night, and we would have lighthearted conversation over a pitcher of beer at the bar. Not to mention the fact we would be able to listen to Krissy playing.

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