“It’s called ‘Coming Home.’”
My eyes closed as I strummed the opening chords and began to sing. I pictured McKenzie that night at The Basement East and her wildflower ways as she danced. I remembered the way she fearlessly fought that drunk asshole at the tavern the night I signed the lease on the hobbit house and felt the warmth of her lips on mine after Dallas and Katie’s wedding. Even though I hadn’t realized it at the time, each moment had become a brick in the home she’d built for me.
I’d fallen in love with McKenzie one cup, one brick at a time.
Each look, the sound of her laughter, her smile, every word she said had laid the foundation. Her arms had become the safest place I’d ever known. She didn’t care how I showed up, only that I did. McKenzie accepted me exactly as I was.
When I finished the song, it was the sound of Grace’s sniffles that brought me back to the moment.
I pressed my lips together as I set the guitar aside. “Was it that bad or that good?”
She laughed through her tears. “Are you kidding me? That has to go on the album, Luca. In fact, I think it’s your title track.”
My eyes grew wide. “You really think so?”
She nodded. “I do. This album…this feels likeyoucoming home to the person you were always meant to be. The person I think you’ve always been at your core.”
I dropped my gaze, leaning forward on my elbows with my hands clasped. She was right. Maybe this version of me had always existed, but it took McKenzie giving me her hand to lead me out of the darkness and into the light.
“You have to tell her,” Grace said as though she had somehow heard my thoughts.
“What?”
She pinned me with a knowing stare. “McKenzie. You have to tell her.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not meeting her gaze.
Her words were soft when she spoke again. “Come on, Luca. You may have written that song after our conversation yesterday, but you can’t tell me every word wasn’t for her. You love her.”
I swiped my tongue over my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. She was right again.
The cushion shifted as Grace moved to sit beside me. “I know it’s scary. It’s terrifying to tell someone how you feel. It’s like jumping out of a plane without knowing if your parachute will go off. Without knowing if you evenhavea parachute.”
I swallowed hard as I met her eyes. “What if I fall to my fucking death?”
She placed her hand on my arm. “What if you fly?”
“Shit,” I muttered through a shaky breath. McKenzie wasn’t even in the room, but she might as well have been. I felt her everywhere.
“Play her the song,” Grace said. “Tell her how you feel.”
My foot tapped nervously as I considered what she said. “Okay. I’ll tell her.”
“But first, we’re going to lay down this track,” she said as Brandon entered the room.
I laughed, picking up my guitar. “You got it, boss.”
“You guys ready?” Brandon asked, looping his headphones around his neck as he took his seat behind the soundboard.
“Yep.” I grabbed my coffee off the table and entered the booth, setting it on the ground beside me.
Grace gave me a nod of approval as I sat on the stool, propping my guitar on my lap.
“Let’s roll,” Brandon said into the booth.
I nailed it in one take.
We wrappedthe day around seven, and I drove straight to McKenzie’s. She hadn’t even made it home from work yet, so I waited in her driveway for nearly forty-five minutes.
