Page 94 of Baking With A Rockstar

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Once we’re done with breakfast and everything is cleaned up, Hudson leads us upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms. I’ve never been in here, except that one time when Hannah put a few of our things in here we didn’t need.

When Hudson opens the door for us and walks in, I’m confused at what I’m seeing. Half the open space is covered in all sorts of baby things. Lots and lots of boxes and unpacked items.

I close the door after us so Mira can’t get out before walking over to him. “What is all of this?”

“Well”—he scratches the back of his neck and grimaces when he looks at me—“I came in here this morning to get our suitcases for the wedding next week, and stumbled across a few boxes in the back of the closet that I’d totally forgotten about.”

Clearing his throat, he opens his arms toward the big pile in front of us. “This is the result of me going overboard when I thought I was going to be a dad soon last year. Obviously, I can easily see now that I went a little crazy. I put all of the stuff in the corner of the closet after Addy and I broke up and just tried to forget about it.”

“Oh.” I’m not sure what else to say. Seeing this huge heap in front of us makes my heart hurt once more for Hudson. That stupid excuse of a woman. I’ll never understand how she could do that to him, especially since she knew how much he wanted to be a father.

I stay quiet, but take his hand in mine to let him know I’m right here for him.

“Maybe I should’ve returned things last year, or donated them, but I guess I wasn’t ready to let go of it yet.” He turns around to face me while Mira is inspecting everything at our feet. His eyes are full of emotions when he looks at me. “If it’s okay with you, though, I’d like to give a few things to Mira. There are a lot of items for little babies, but some are for toddlers and little kids too. I can put the baby stuff away again, but thought I could give some of it to Dahlia for her art classes. I’m sure the little kiddos would be thrilled to have something to play with while they wait for their classes to start.”

“I bet they’d love that.” Seeing him like this is doing something to my heart, something permanent no one can ever undo or change. Looking down at Mira, I smile. “And I bet she’ll be happy about a few new toys too.”

“Perfect.”

He’s letting go of his own troubled past that hurt him so much because he wants to make all these other kids, and my little girl, happy instead. And who am I kidding, Hudson and Mira have each other so tightly wrapped around their fingers that she’s well on her way—if not already there—of becominghislittle girl too.

I’m in so deeply, I’m not sure there’s ever going to be a way out for me again—not that I’d want that.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Knowingabout Hudson being famous is one thing, but actually experiencing it firsthand, is totally different. Not only did his fame hit me in the face like a bat out of hell, but also his wealth, and I’m not sure I can ever get used to either.

I definitely know I wasn’t prepared for what was waiting for me on our trip to Los Angeles for the wedding—not one bit.

Hudson had to all but drag me onto the airplane when I noticed it was a private jet. I stood there, frozen, not knowing where to look first. He quickly told me it wasn’t his, just a loan from a friend—as if that would make it all better.

Okay, maybe it did make a teeny bit of a difference.

Once we landed in L.A., we were joined by two huge bodyguards—Tommy and Mason—who didn’t leave our sides as we made our way to the super popular hotel. They both tried their best to keep us as guarded from the paparazzi as possible, who seemed to be expecting us at the back entrance of the hotel when we arrived.

When we finally make it to our hotel room, I feel like I’ve been taken through the wringer.

After putting away our most important things, I plop down on the huge bed with Mira, looking around the ginormous suite we’re staying in, and let out the biggest sigh ever. “What a trip.”

Hudson is quiet, studying me like he’s been doing ever since we left the house. I’m not sure if he thought I wouldn’t notice his eyes on me, but I feel them constantly.

He walks over and sits down on the edge of the bed, making sure Mira won’t fall off. “You’re okay? Getting into the hotel was a bit more intense than I thought it would be. They told us there wouldn’t be any photographers at the back.”

Mira hoists herself up on my belly, moving her little hips and dancing to some sort of rhythm only she can hear.

“Hi, sweetie.” I brush back the hair that keeps falling into her face before I try to secure the little hair tie at the top of her head again.

Hannah offered to babysit Mira so we could go to L.A. by ourselves, but Hudson all but insisted we bring her, which made me happy. I don’t think it would’ve sat well with me to just leave her back home like that. I already feel guilty enough for spending so much time away from her, with all the bakery stuff going on.

Except, I’ve been neglecting that too, since things got more serious between Hudson and me. Thankfully, I wasn’t in an extreme rush with the bakery anyway, so I just pushed the opening back a little. Now it’s only a week away, right after Mira’s first birthday. I thought it would be fun.

“Do you already regret coming here?” Hudson’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I look up at his face. If he frowns any more, those lines will be etched in his skin forever.

Snatching Mira, I snuggle her to my chest and look over her shoulder at Hudson. “Stop worrying so much. I thought that was my job.”

He exhales in a half-huff, half-chuckle, and I realize he already seems to be in a funk about it.

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