Page 88 of Baking With A Rockstar

Tilting her head to the side, she gives me a pointed look. “For my bridesmaid dress, of course. Come on, C. Keep up.”

“You’re unbelievable. We’re not talking about my wedding. There is no wedding to talk about.”

“Maybe not right now, but definitely in the future.”

“You’re crazy.” I take a new ball of dough out of a container, and knead it over and over, trying hard to ignore her. As usual, she won’t have it, calling my name until I finally look back up at her. “All right. What do you want, Mo?”

“In the end, it’s all really easy, you know.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “It all comes down to one thing.”

Another dramatic pause where she stares me down.

“Are you in love with Hudson or not?”

Her question hits me right in the chest, and I stop breathing for a moment. Fleeting thoughts of affection, or having a crush on him, have floated around in my mind for a while now. But until this moment, I haven’t really thought about the big “L” word, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it yet either.

Chapter Thirty-Four

My conversationwith Monica from the other day has been pretty much replaying nonstop in my mind, making me unable to think about much else. It’s gotten to the point where I listen to Hudson sleep next to me while I lie awake for hours at night, my brain going in circles over and over again. I’m exhausted, to say the least, and I know I need to do something about it.

Hannah sits down next to me on the couch, her presence pulling me back to reality. After taking a sip of her drink, she smiles at me. “Penny for your thoughts?”

I close the laptop perched on my legs with a loudthud—it’s not like I was getting anything done anyway. After putting Mirabelle to bed a little while ago, I tried to get some work done, but I should have known better. I’m a lost cause right now.

Looking over at Hannah, I’m not sure how much to disclose to her. SheisHudson’s grandma, after all. Surely, she’d take sides, wouldn’t she? “I don’t know. Just a lot of stuff going on, I guess.”

Hannah has quickly become one of my favorite people in life. She’s been nothing but wonderful to me and Mira, and has also been one of my biggest supporters from the very beginning. I know, for a fact, I wouldn’t be so close to fulfilling my dream of opening my own bakery if it wasn’t for her, nor would I be emotionally in the place I am right now without her guidance over the last year.

I can’t exactly go and tell her I’m trying to figure out my feelings for her grandson, now can I? The last thing I want to do is cause any tension between us—I don’t think I could take that.

She only nods, ever the calm person. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

I shake my head. “You’re already doing so much. I couldn’t have handled everything without all of your help in the bakery and with Mira. You’ve truly been a lifesaver, in more than one way.”

“Oh, stop it already, it’s nothing. I love you guys, you’re family. Of course I’ll help you whatever way I can. There’s nothing special about that.”

“It’s very special to me. Trust me, I’ll be forever grateful for everything you’ve done for us. I wouldn’t behereif it wasn’t for you.” I give her a big smile, really wanting to convey that I mean it.

“You’re very welcome, dear. I know you’re stressed about the bakery opening coming up, but it’s going to be great. You’ve worked hard for this and almost everything is ready. All you need to do now is show up, and bake some delicious things for everyone. Easy peasy for you.” She pauses for a moment and studies me. “That’s not all that’s going on though, is it?”

Putting my laptop on the coffee table in front of us, I grab my wine glass instead. “Not exactly.” I sink back into the soft couch cushions and let out a loud sigh.

“That bad, huh?” Hannah chuckles softly.

I shrug my shoulders several times. “Maybe. Yes. Probably not. I don’t know.” That sentence is the perfect depiction of how crazy my thoughts are right now.

They’re all over the dang place.

She has that knowing look in her eyes, that’s somehow intimidating and reassuring, all at the same time. “This is about my lovely grandson, isn’t it?”

Somehow, I’m still surprised by her uncanny ability to know what’s going on, even though I really should be used to it by now. “Yeah.”

“And since you two have been inseparable, I’m guessing your problem is a matter of the heart?”

This woman.

My eyes go wide as I stare at her. Either she can read my mind, or she has some other supernatural power.

She laughs at my expression. “As much as I like to pretend otherwise, I’ve been around for a while now, sweet Charlie. I’ve experienced a lot and have seen even more. And knowing your history, I was actually just waiting for you to come to this point.”

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