
Bad Crush on a Rockstar
Kitt Henley
(Soulmates, #3)
Publication date: November 25th 2025
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
A spicy brotherās-best-friend romance featuring a cinnamon roll rockstar hero haunted by his past, a plucky heroine with a childhood crush, slow seduction, hometown shows, and rapidly crumbling resolve.
Sheās my best friendās little sister, and sheās got a bad crush. But Iām the one who canāt stay away from her.
SEAN: When I first laid eyes on Brooke Halsey, she was just a sweet, freckle-faced kid with enormous glasses and an even bigger crush on me.
But thereās no denying sheās all grown up now.
Sheās running the merch table while my rock bandās home on tour, and even though weāve never been more than good friends, I know sheās game. Iād totally go for it too, if I didnāt already know Iād break her heart, destroy my band, and lose Jonahāour drummer, my best friend, and her brother.
Heās made it clear he does not want me messing around with his little sister. He knows Brookeās serious about finding love and playing for keeps. So a rock musician with no fallback plan and no permanent address is the last thing she needs.
Which is why Iām in deep trouble right nowā¦
Because last nightā¦I kissed her.
ā
The Soulmates Series: Two bands. Three shows. Four happily ever afters.
Bad Crush on a Rockstar is a complete romance with no cliffhanger. This story can be enjoyed as a stand-alone or read as the third book in the Soulmates interwoven rockstar romance series.
ā
EXCERPT:
āKnock, knock,ā Lexie croons through the curtain, her knuckles rapping at the edge of my bunk. āWeāre just about there, if you need to pack up.ā
āThanks.ā I slide the curtain to one side and sit up, swinging my legs over the edge as I rub my eyes. I peer through the large bay window at the Chicago skyline shimmering in the sun as we roll along the freeway.
Artie and our backup driver took shifts all night and all through the day to get us here. We usually sleep on the bus when weāre on tour, but since weāre here for several days, the label offered to put us up in a hotel. Anthony opted to stay at his familyās penthouse this week because itās nearby and empty right now, but the rest of us were happy to accept. We all grew up here, so we couldāve crashed with family or friends, but using the hotel as a home base simplifies things. It gives us some space and privacy to decompress, and it also helps avoid some of the social demands of being back in town. Iām looking forward to having a little privacy and sleeping in a normal-size bed for a change.
Iām still organizing my bunk area as the bus turns down Michigan Avenue. I pick out some clothes for the week and stuff them into my large duffle bag.
We pull up in front of the hotel, and I sling my duffle over my shoulder.
āYou kids have a good time, now, all right?ā Artie calls back to us. āBe safe.ā
āWill do. Thanks for the ride, Artie, and have a great rest of the week!ā I lug my bag down the aisle and push open the side door.
A gust of cold air rushes inside, whipping the door panel from my grip and slamming it against the exterior of the bus.
āWhoa.ā I step outside, holding an arm out to brace the door as the other two exit.
āGood old Chicago,ā Lexie jokes.
I glance up toward the hotel. The Drake in downtown Chicago is a sight to behold. Weāve stayed here once before, but it still takes my breath away. This place is fancy. Sleek, clean lines of gleaming beige stone. This kind of extravagance is always a shock to my system.
The bellhop places our luggage on a cart, and the doorman holds the door for us, then we cross the smooth carpeted floor to the elegant front desk.
āThree reservations for Garrett Music Industries,ā Jonah says to the man behind the counter, then he winks at Lexie.
I glance over to catch her reaction, but sheās staring straight ahead like nothing happened.
Somethingās up with those two. But theyāre always playing games and finding ways to compete with each other, so who knows what this is about.
My luggage shows up at the room just as I do, and I stretch out on the bed to relax for a minute before hopping in the shower.
The waterās hot and the pressureās fantasticāabout a thousand times better than on the bus. I let it run over my shoulders, easing the tension in my back. My mind is already shifting to Brooke. Seeing her tonight.
Because hereās the thing.
I love Brooke.
Not in a romantic wayāat least, itās never been that way between us. No, I love Brooke in an honest, good, and true kind of way. The way it feels when you realize you would do anything for a person. That you would always be there for them, no matter what.
Brookeās done that for me too, right from the start. She noticed I was struggling with school and offered to help. When she found out I wanted to start playing bass, she came up with a plan for me to earn enough money doing odd jobs so I could buy one off a friend.
From that very first day my family moved into their house, she was finding thoughtful things to do and making lighthearted jokes to keep the mood up. And it helped. It didnāt feel so awkward being there, living in their home and taking up their space.
She had this sweet, round face full of freckles and thick glasses that made her brown eyes look enormousāalmost big enough to match her outsized personality. She was adorable.
But then she grew up.
It was hard not to notice, because once she started to develop, it happened fast. I remember Jonah and I were walking through the halls on the first day of senior year, and I was looking around for any cute new faces on campus. I couldnāt believe my eyes when I spotted a girl with a pair of the most beautiful breasts Iād ever seen in my life.
I leaned toward Jonah, whispering, āCheck it out, nine oāclock,ā and angling a thumb at the hottie with the body that just wouldnāt quit.
āWhat the fuck, man?ā Jonah scowled, his expression suddenly menacing. āShut the fuck up!ā
Imagine my horror when the hot little number turned to face me and I realized I was checking out Jonahās little sister.
āHoly shit. I didnāt even recognize her withā¦uhā¦without her glasses on.ā
It was too late. The damage was done.
Brooke was only fourteen, for Godās sake. I felt like a monster, but she smiled so big and came over to hug both of us. It was all I could do not to stare straight at those incredible breasts and wonder what the hell happened over the summer.
Jonah was chilly around me for days after, and I felt like a total ass. Iād never had a friend like Jonah, and I hated that Iād done something to damage our relationship. I had to apologize multiple times, but eventually he seemed to forgive me.
āSeriously, man. Hands off my sister,ā he warned, and I nodded.
āFor sure, man. I swear to God, I would never lay a hand on her.ā I made him that promise, and I meant it.
But toward the middle of senior year, things gotā¦complicated. Brooke and I had been spending a lot of time together at the library while she helped me study for midterms, and one afternoon she had on this short green dress that showed more of her cleavage than I was accustomed to dealing with. Still, I managed to keep my eyes off her chest and up toward her pretty face, for the most part.
She was reading me an excerpt from George Orwellās Nineteen Eighty-Four, but I couldnāt concentrate. There was this shiny gloss she had on, and it made that bottom lip look so juicy and delicious that I couldnāt stop staring at it. Just watching her beautiful mouth as she read was sending this tingle up and down my spine. My jeans felt tight, and I realized she was giving me a serious hard-on.
I cut our study session short and tried to adjust myself without anyone noticing. I booked it out of there so fast she must have wondered what the hell happened. I kicked myself all the way home, because what the fuck was I doing having sexual feelings for Brooke? She was my best friendās little sister. I felt like the universe was playing some kind of cruel joke on me, putting such a wonderful young person inside that smoking hot body.
And she Just. Kept. Getting. Hotter.
Of course, by the time she was old enough for me to act on my feelingsāassuming I would even go there, given sheās a good friend and Jonahās sister and all, which I wouldnātāit was clear Brooke was destined for better things than a guy like me. While I was off working odd jobs in construction and trying to get a band started, Brooke was completing the Visual Design program at Carnegie Mellon University on a full merit scholarship.
I never should have responded to her seductive tease on the phone today. Sheās always playing around like that, flirting with me, and normally I keep it in check. But I got caught up in the moment, and when she took that sultry tone with me, I went with it. I played along with her sexy little game, becauseāletās face itāBrooke is hot as hell, and it feels good to be wanted by her.
It feels way too good.
Which is exactly why I cannot be flirting with her. I donāt ever want to ruin the close friendship we have. Plus, sheās had a crush on me since middle school, and sheās naĆÆve about love. She doesnāt realize Iām the last fucking thing she needs, so I canāt be toying with her emotions like thatāgetting her hopes up that something might happen between us when I know damn well it would never work.
She dreams of having kids someday, the sooner the better. Sheās looking for something serious. Long-term. But I donāt have the kind of career that can support a family, and thereās no way in hell Iām going to repeat my dadās mistakesābringing children into an unstable financial situation.
No, if I keep this flirting shit up sheās gonna end up getting hurt, and Iāll only have myself to blame.

Author Bio:
Kitt Henley writes short, spicy contemporary romance with relatable characters, a touch of humor, and tons of heart. Never one to make it through a good romance (or cookie commercial) with dry eyes, Kitt’s heartstrings are easy to pull on. When she played in rock bands and crunched numbers in the Seattle tech world, those waterworks weren’t an asset, but after a friend suggested she try writing romance, everything clicked into place. From the moment she sat down to write her first novel, she knew she’d found her calling.
When she’s not wrangling words in her tiny bedroom office, Kitt loves to spend time with her high school best friend (a.k.a. her rockstar husband) and their two ridiculously funny boys. She’s still holding out hope for that family band someday, but in the meantime she’ll happily settle for camping trips, board games, long walks with friends, and watching lots and lots of thrillers.
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