Page 15 of Rock with You

“Done what?”

“Written your next big hit.”

“You think so?”

She nodded. “I can’t wait to listen to it in my headphones while I bake.”

He chuckled. “I can just see you now. I’d love to see you bake sometime, you know.”

“I’d love to see you sing. Really sing. Up onstage.” Her sunny eyes clouded. “You’ll be flying home when the roads clear up, right? I don’t even know where you live. This is so weird.”

Yeah, it was weird. This felt like so much more than a casual hookup, and he didn’t even know her last name. “I live in Calabasas, outside Los Angeles, and yeah, I’m going home soon.” Much sooner than he’d thought. He rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t know your last name, Beautiful Carly from the Bakery.”

“Taylor. Carly Taylor.” Her brow scrunched. “Do you do this a lot? Sleep with women you barely know?”

Well, hell, they were getting into it now. “Have I? Yes. Do I make a habit of it? No.”

“I haven’t,” she whispered. “I’ve never even kissed a man the same day I met him.”

“Do you regret it?”

She looked up, meeting his eyes. “Not even a little bit. Soon I’ll go back to my bakery, and you’ll go home to California, but I’ll never regret a single minute of this.”

“Good.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I need you to know that this isn’t just meaningless sex for me either, Carly. The circumstances are wild, but this is something special. I mean that.”

She blinked quickly. “That better not be a line, Mr. Fancy Pants Rock Star.”

He chuckled. “You’ll have to take my word for it. No lines.”

She scooted closer in his arms. “So tell me about your life in LA. What do you do when women aren’t flinging their panties at you onstage?”

“Business shit takes up a painful amount of my day. What photo goes on the next single, what brand of water should I be seen drinking on tour.” He hesitated. “Why did my last album sell five million fewer copies than the others?”

She sucked in a breath. “Really?”

He nodded. “It was a commercial flop. That’s why my manager sent me out here to the mountains. Between that and the mess with Miriam, he needed me out of the spotlight for a few months until he came up with a splashy way to bring me out of my slump.”

“The duet,” she said.

“If it works out.”

“I hope it does.” She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “My bakery has been in a slump since I took over the reins from my grandmother, too. Profits are way down.”

“Well, it sure as hell isn’t a reflection of your baking skills. Maybe you need some advice on the business end of things.”

“Maybe.” She looked away. “I’ve been too embarrassed to ask for help.”

“Your grandma still around?” he asked.

“Yeah. She comes in a few mornings a week for breakfast.” A soft smile curved her lips.

“Then you know who to ask for advice.”

She pressed a hand over her eyes. “I’ve been so afraid of letting her down, but you’re right. She’ll know exactly what to do.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to say he wanted to come back to A Piece of Cake someday, to see her again, maybe meet her grandma. But he knew better than to make promises he couldn’t keep.

The world outside looked like it had been dipped in glass. A thick coating of ice covered everything in sight, shimmering in color now as the sun began to set. Carly stood at the big window in the living room, looking out at the frozen landscape. “We should bring in some more firewood before it gets dark.”

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