Page 43 of Baking With A Rockstar

Nothing about this moment is special or significant, but it hits me like a brick wall just how well he knows Mirabelle and her habits. They’ve gotten so close, and for some reason, that scares me a little. I guess the only good thing is that she’s still so young and wouldn’t remember if Hudson suddenly wasn’t in her life anymore. We’ve done it before and we can do it again—if we have to.

What am I saying? Would I really want that?

Taking a deep breath, I try to forget the negative thoughts that momentarily took over my mind. “She probably heard your voice and woke up. It was time though, anyway. You know how she is. If she naps too late, she’s ready to party at bedtime.”

He chuckles quietly. “She is quite the party animal, especially at night.” We look at each other for a silent moment. “Want me to take her out?”

I nod. “Sure.”

Hudson unbuckles the carrier in the back, and I take off the straps in the front before he carefully takes her out of the carrier.

Mirabelle immediately snuggles into his chest, and they both sigh. I brush her hair out of her face, smirking at the sleeping lines on her pink cheek.

Hudson gives her a small kiss on the head. “Ah, much better.”

The sight of the two of them warms my heart and inexplicably also makes me want to cry like a baby.

How ironic.

In an effort to distract myself, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “So, tell us what happened.”

Gabe has silently moved next to me, leaning against one of the big work tables behind us. He’s watching the exchange between his brother and Mira, and I’m pretty sure he’s just as curious as I am.

Hudson clears his throat. “Well, there’s good news and bad news.”

Gabe and I shift around nervously before looking at each other. Then, like the dorks we are, we mutter the same words. “Good news first.”

Hudson doesn’t seem surprised by our little twin magic. “All right then. I called Addy and confronted her about everything. She had a huge meltdown, and we ended up talking for a while. And let me tell you one thing, that woman is screwed up. Like, a lot worse than I actually thought.”

Absolute silence.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gabe looking at me, probably just as confused as I am right now.

I cross my arms over my chest. “And how exactly is that good news?”

Hudson grimaces. “Sorry. I guess I kind of forgot about that part. So, like I said, we talked for a while and at some point, she finally understood that she needs help, like, professional help. I used some of my connections and got her checked into some rehab center, so hopefully, she can get better. And she said she’d leave me alone now.”

I never asked him, and he never mentioned anything, but I’m pretty sure Addy was the one who blew up his phone all week long with messages and calls.

“If that’s the good news, I’m not sure I want to hear the bad.” Gabe shakes his head, and I don’t blame him one bit.

Well, the self-torture part of my brain is having one hell of an active day today. “I already know I’m going to regret this, but what’s the bad news?”

Hudson shifts Mirabelle around so he can hold her with one arm while grabbing something out of the back pocket of his pants.

A magazine.

“The bad news is that it was too late to prevent this from being printed.”

He throws the familiar gossip magazine down on the table in front of us, the cover staring straight at us.

It shows a picture of Hudson and Addy from their dinner last week. I’m sure no one cares about the picture though, once they’ve read the headline.

Dream couple Addy Parker and Hudson Mitchell secretly reunited for months, now expecting their first child together.

Chapter Seventeen

“What the f—”

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