Page 44 of Baking With A Rockstar

I slap my hand over Gabe’s mouth in speed record. “There’s a baby in the room. I don’t need that word to be one of her first.”

He looks at me with big eyes. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking about that.” He turns back to his brother. “What the freaking heck, dude? You’re having a baby with that evil...witch?”

Despite the topic at hand, I have to smirk. Gabe is obviously having a hard time keeping the language baby-friendly, making this whole situation a little comedic. Not that I blame him. I’m sure all three of us want to useallthe swear words right now.

Hudson rolls his eyes in response. “Really?”

Gabe throws his hands up, clearly frustrated. “I’m sorry, I know better. I’m obviously having a hard time dealing with this crap right now, okay?” He takes a deep breath, putting a lot of effort into calming down. My guess is he would’ve exploded if it wasn’t for Mirabelle and me being here.

“Is she really pregnant?” It almost pains me to force the words through my clenched teeth.

Hudson nods, and I feel like I might be sick. His face has turned an ashy gray, and I can’t imagine what he must be going through right now. This situation has to hit home worse for him than anything else.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gabe’s voice echoes through the room, making Mirabelle snuggle deeper into Hudson’s chest.

“Could you please get a grip on it, Gabe? You’re starting to scare Mira.” Hudson’s voice is quiet but laced with a warning undertone. He turns to me. “Do you think she’ll be okay to play in her playpen for a bit?”

“I think so. As long as she can see us and has her toys, she should be good for a little bit.”

“Good, let’s try it. I don’t want her in the middle of this right now.”

I blink. There he goes again, being all considerate, hammering away at the walls I’ve built up around my resistance and determination. “Sounds good.”

After getting the playpen out of my office, I push it to the side of the room and put a few toys and her sippy cup in it. Hopefully, that will buy us at least ten minutes to talk.

Hudson’s next to me, humming so quietly I can barely make out the melody. For some reason, he still seems completely collected—his behavior, at least—which baffles me more than just a little bit. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s still holding Mirabelle, or if this whole situation just doesn’t faze him as much as it does me. I mean, who’s okay with having something like that on the front page? Especially after the past they share.

Hudson sets Mirabelle into the playpen, gently brushing her hair out of her face. “There you go, baby girl. Here’s some water for you and your favorite toys. We’re right over there.” He points toward Gabe, like Mira understands exactly what he’s talking about. “Have fun.”

“Such a good girl.” I bend down and give her a kiss before walking back over to the two brothers.

Gabe looks like he’s ready to pounce on Hudson. “Now, tell us exactly what happened, please, before I explode.”

I’ve never seen him looking this grim and on edge before, and I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of it.

Hudson lifts his hands up in surrender, chuckling a little. “All right, I will. Now calm down.”

Calm.

He really is completely calm, and it makes me want to shake him. Is he in some sort of shock or what’s going on? I’d expect him to be furious and going out of his mind over this. Having this on the cover of one of the biggest gossip magazines out there seems huge to me. I know, if the roles were reversed, I’d want to hide under a rock for a very long time, preferably with a big stash of desserts and some Nutella.

Hudson mimics Gabe’s stance and crosses his arms over his chest. “I already told you I talked to Addy. At first, we mainly just fought over the whole media circus she’s created, and that she has to stop harassing me constantly. Then, out of the blue, she suddenly broke down and started sobbing. I didn’t think she’d ever stop. When she finally did, she started telling me all sorts of crazy stories about her childhood. It seems like her extended family took her in after her parents died, amongst lots of other things. Anyway, I don’t really want to go into it, but it was pretty messed up. I’m guessing the issues from that time play a major part in everything that’s been happening.”

“Always a screwed-up childhood to blame.” Gabe’s comment is quiet when he mutters it, but loud enough for me to hear, making me freeze next to him.

Unwanted thoughts of my own childhood flood my mind. Growing up without a dad and being left with a mom who couldn’t care less about her children definitely wasn’t fun. As much as I hate to admit it, I guess Gabe is right. Most adult problems can be traced back to something that happened in childhood.

Hudson shoots Gabe a disapproving look before continuing. “She went on to tell me about the pregnancy.” His composed face slips for a moment, but he tries hard to push through it. “Apparently, she got involved with someone on the set of her last movie. She wouldn’t tell me who it was, so I’m not sure what exactly happened. She wouldn’t tell me his name either. But in the end, it doesn’t matter.”

Gabe lets out a big puff of air, and I hope it helps to calm him down some. “Well if that’s what happened, why the heck do we have such a crappy media headline about the two of you?”

Hudson sighs loudly. “She panicked about being pregnant and thought I’d happily take her back since she can now offer me everything I wanted. She thought it was all going to work out. When I turned her down in L.A., she was furious. Add a gossip reporter on speed dial, and you’ve got yourself a cover story like this faster than you can say Hollywood.”

I gasp loudly, having a hard time wrapping my head around Hudson’s explanation. “I can’t believe she did something like that. That is so low.”

“Uh, guys.” Gabe looks confused, his gaze going back and forth between Hudson and me. “I’m a bit lost here. What are you talking about, her giving you what you wanted?”

Hudson looks at his brother before peeking my way. His eyes glaze over with sadness once more, making me want to do a lot of bad things to his ex for causing him this much pain—the old and the new one. I’m not sure what Hudson wants or needs from me right now, but I try to give him a reassuring smile and nod.

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