Page 86 of Baking With A Rockstar

I lean back against the table next to Mirabelle. “You really want to do that? That’s kind of a big deal.”

Apparently, Mirabelle likes having us both so close. She’s giggling and swinging her little toys around, hitting Hudson with them more often than not. As always, he’s a good sport about it.

Lucky us.

Hoisting her up on his arm, he stands up to get closer to me. “You bet I do. I’ll zip it for the public, for now, but in no way will I back away from you in our normal life, now that I finally got you. I want to be with you whenever I can and not worry about the media possibly seeing us. Can you handle that?”

Taking a deep breath, I nod. It’s not like I haven’t thought about this exact thing before. I know who he is, and I’m aware it’s all a big part of his life. I’d never have started anything with him without making a conscious decision about his mostly very public life. I’ve realized I don’t have to love it, only accept it for what it is and be okay with that.

Nestling into his other side opposite Mirabelle, I look up at him. “That’s only fair, I suppose. It’s not like I can keep my hands off of you anyway.” I stick out my tongue at him, and he winks at me in return.

I like our exchanges. They bring me so much joy, I want to pinch myself sometimes.

This lightheartedness was exactly what was missing in my life.

“That’s what I like to hear, sweetheart.”

Hearing Hudson call me sweetheart still makes my heart go into overdrive every single time.

He bends down to give me a soft kiss when Mirabelle starts banging her toys on both our heads.

“Little stinker, you.” Hudson takes his hand from around me and starts tickling her, making my heart explode at the sight of them.

“Aww, Charming. Look at them! All unicorns and rainbows here.” Monica’s distinct voice sounds behind us, and I turn around to wave at her and Gabe.

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”

Gabe points at his brother. “Didn’t Hudson tell you he requested a man talk with me?” He chuckles when Hudson shakes his head. “Plus, I could use a much-needed break from this one here.” He nods toward Monica, who blows him a kiss.

Those guys have the funniest dynamic I’ve ever seen between two people. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on there, but they sure are entertaining.

She pokes him in the chest. “Be nice or I won’t make you dinner tonight.”

“All right, all right. I promise I’ll behave now.” He holds up both of his hands in defense, and I understand why.

Where I’m good at baking, Monica’s good at cooking, even though she barely does it with all the traveling and mostly living in hotels.

Hudson ignores them and moves in front of me, blocking me from view. “Is it okay if we take Mira for a walk? I thought she’d like that.”

“Of course, she’s gonna love it.” I give him a big smile, feeling all warm and fuzzy about the way he takes such good care of my baby girl. I never knew how incredibly sexy that could be, and I plan on showing him later on exactly how much of a turn-on it is.

I lean in to give Mira a kiss and some snuggles, chuckling when she already starts waving bye-bye.

“We’ll see you in a bit, sweetheart.” Hudson bends down to kiss my cheek before walking over to the back door to put Mirabelle in her stroller.

Monica hops over to stand beside me as we watch Hudson pack up some of Mira’s things while Gabe entertains her.

What a sight.

I nudge Monica with my elbow just as both men look up. When they see us watching, they smile, satisfied with themselves.

Such guys.

They leave a minute later, looking as adorable as they possibly could.

Not a second after the door closes behind them, Monica turns around to face me, an eager expression on her face. “So, spill the beans,sweetheart.”

“You heard that, huh?” Before going back to my workstation, I pull over the big recliner Hudson brought from the house for Monica.

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