Page 27 of Baking With A Rockstar

Not a good idea.

I should’ve known better than to move that much when I already have such a hard time walking straight. That little movement starts a domino effect, and everything goes down the drain within a few seconds. Not only do I lose my balance—big-time—but I also fall sideways. Hudson, the helpful guy he is, tries to catch me before I go down. Sadly, even he can’t save me this time.

Instead, I takehimdown with me.

That would be embarrassing enough by itself, but of course, luck doesn’t seem to be on my side lately. Rather than landing on the hard ground, we fall into the pond with a big splash, a loud shriek coming from my lungs as I hit the water. Hudson follows close behind, landing halfway on top of me. Thankfully, he quickly rolls off before crushing me, and is now quietly sitting a few feet away in the shallow water.

“Oh my gosh.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I try to rub away the goose bumps that have already formed everywhere. Despite the warm spring temperatures, the water is surprisingly cold. I shudder and close my eyes for a moment when I feel slimy algae all around me. Because that’s not enough, I also have hard, pointy rocks poking into my butt, and I’m pretty sure some fish just swam by my feet.

No doubt, this is one of those moments where it would be incredibly helpful if the ground would open up and swallow me. I’d really appreciate that. So so very much.

Hudson is still as a statue and just stares at me with wide eyes before he shakes his head and chuckles. “Things are definitely never boring when you’re around, Charlie.”

Despite my cold body, my cheeks flush at his statement. I’m relieved when rushed footsteps come our way, but it all fades into the background when Hudson stands up to carefully walk over to me. Even though we’re both completely soaked, I have a feeling I look more like a wet dog whereas Hudson looks like he’s ready for a sexy wet T-shirt photo shoot.

His white T-shirt clings to his upper body like a second skin, reminding me of his perfect body I’ve seen on an almost daily basis for the last few weeks. My cheeks heat up even more, but this time not from embarrassment.

He sinks halfway back into the water, kneeling down in front of me. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you? I should’ve checked first.”

I shake my head and let out a big breath. “No, I’m good. I wouldn’t mind vanishing into thin air, though—just in case you know that trick. Being the big party laughingstock wasn’t on my list for today.”

He pretends to think for a moment. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t have that one in my repertoire.”

“Mmm, of course not. Figures.”

His eyes move over my body, stopping at my arms crossed tightly over my chest. “You’re shivering. Let’s get you out of here and warmed up. I’ll run back to the house to get us some towels.”

Gabe clears his throat, standing at the edge of the pond with a smirk on his face. “Rose already went to get some. She should be back any moment. You guys okay?”

I sigh loudly. “Besides my pride, everything’s just peachy.”

All three of us start to chuckle—being clumsy definitely does make for good entertainment sometimes. Dahlia joins the party, quietly laughing too while Mira is completely oblivious to the whole situation, happily occupied with the drawstrings of Dahlia’s top.

“I’m back.” Rose comes running toward us, a big pile of towels in her arms. “I hope I didn’t miss anything funny.” She winks at me, trying to catch her breath.

Hudson holds out his hands to me, standing up again to his full height. “Come on, let’s go inside and get cleaned up.” My hand is securely wrapped in his as he pulls me up and we trot over to the edge of the water. When we get there, he lets go and walks around to stand behind me. “I’ll lift you up, so you can get out first. Okay?”

“Sure, thanks.”

In my haste to get out of this wet situation before anyone else can see me, I don’t think twice about how exactly Hudson’s planning on helping me. Before I know it, his hands grip my waist tightly, the contact sending my whole body into shock. I don’t have the chance to react though when Gabe grabs my wrists and starts pulling me up. I’m halfway in the air when I slip through his hands, immediately afraid to either land in the cold water again or on Hudson’s face—not sure which one would be worse.

Without warning, Hudson’s hands are on my butt, pushing me up enough for Gabe to pull me all the way out. I thank Gabe and spin around to gasp at Hudson, who, of course, has the nerves to shrug and laugh. In one swift move, he hoists himself up on one of the surrounding rocks and stands behind me two seconds later.

Show-off.

He leans closer, putting his mouth right next to my ear. His hot breath is fanning my neck, and this time, I shudder for a completely different reason. “At least now I can say I got you all wet.”

I snort and shake my head before I look at him over my shoulder. “Probably more so the other way around.”

“Well, you won’t hear me complain about that—either way works for me.” His dimples are on full display, turning this into a completely unfair playing field.

I turn around and slap his bicep lightly, the muscle immediately responding and flexing under my touch. Reluctantly, I take my fingers off him after a few seconds. “Goodness, stop it.”

Someone coughs behind us, and I’m reminded of where we are. I step away from Hudson. I clearly can’t think straight when he’s around.

Rose hands me a towel, and after thanking her, I cling to it like it’s a security blanket. She smirks at me, but thankfully stays quiet. I’m not sure how many more comments I can take from this family right now before my head explodes from total embarrassment.

She throws the other towel in Hudson’s direction and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Come on, I’ll show you around inside. I’m sure we can find something dry for you to wear somewhere.”

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