Page 97 of Baking With A Rockstar

And there he is.

Sebastian—in the flesh.

My stomach churns again as I try my best to keep the threatening nausea at bay. His blond hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing a gray designer suit—his favorite piece of clothing. He’s still handsome, but it’s suddenly blatantly clear I have no idea what I ever saw in him. There’s no warmth in his eyes, just cold disapproval. The hard lines on his face dominate everything else, intent on overpowering any softness that could possibly be there.

Hudson is tense behind me, and I’m worried he’s going to push me aside at any moment.

I can’t let that happen.

We both know exactly how that would end, and it would be a terrible headline for Hudson. I blindly reach for his arm behind me, and instinctively, I also move a little to the right to stand in front of Mira as much as possible.

Giving myself the fastest inner pep talk ever, I tell myself to be strong.

There’snoreason to be intimidated by him.

I’mnotthe same person he left last year.

Staring him straight in the eye, I lift my chin slightly. “What are you doing here, Sebastian?” I’m thrilled my voice is strong and steady, nothing like the turmoil that’s going on inside of me.

Hudson’s arm started shaking the second Sebastian’s name left my lips, and I tighten my hold on him reflexively. Never have I ever been so grateful before for him holding Mirabelle. I’m pretty certain she’s the only reason he hasn’t jumped my ex-fiancé yet.

“I’m attending a conference in town.” He studies me from top to bottom before his gaze flickers to my hand on Hudson’s arm and over to Mira—who, of course, keeps leaning around me to see what’s going on. His chin nods toward my baby girl, and my teeth clench in response. “Is that—?”

“None of your business.” My voice comes out in a low bark, my temper slowly rising as all of those old emotions come back, one by one. I didn’t realize there was still so much anger left over what happened, but then, I’ve never been able to get full closure either.

He doesn’t flinch, like other people would. Instead, he cocks his head to the side and studies me like I’m some science experiment he can’t figure out. “You’ve changed since I last saw you. Must be this whole new life you’re living now.” His voice does this deadpan thing again before his gaze flickers over to Hudson for a second, and I want to knee him in the balls—so badly.

Ultimately, this is one of the reasons why he’s such a good lawyer. It’s just too bad he can’t turn that persona off when he’s not in court, or I guess that’s just who he is at the end of the day.

Even after all the years I spent with him, I’m still not completely sure.

Still hyperaware of where we are, I keep my voice low. “All I want is to live anormallife, you know that. And of course I’ve changed—I had to, after you left me alone with a baby. Not only did I become a mom overnight, but a single mom on top of that.”

It takes him a moment to digest my accusation. His voice is still the same, completely level and in control. “I wasn’t ready to be a father, especially not like that. Not with a baby that wasn’t mine.”

Laughing without a trace of humor in my voice, I want to shake this man to see if there’s any humanity in him at all. “And you think I was ready? Do you think I wanted my sister and grandma to die—the only family I had left—so I could be thrown into motherhood in the same breath? Do you know how hard it was for me to grieve the loss while simultaneously trying to be strong and happy for my little girl? It’s a miracle she survived that accident in the first place. She should be the last person to ever be punished for what happened.”

“She’s notyours.” His words are so matter-of-fact, it takes me a moment before they sink in.

Hudson growls and curses under his breath behind me, and I know he’s absolutely ready to take over.

If it wasn’t for the place we’re in, and him holding Mira, there would be blood. I have no doubt about that.

I hold back the angry tears that threaten to run down my face, and point at the excuse of a man in front of me, my hand shaking. “Fuck you, Sebastian. Fuck you. How dare you say something like that. Of course she’s mine, through and through. She’s been a real blessing for me, teaching me more about life and myself than anything else ever has. She’s played a big part in me becoming who I am today, and I couldn’t be more proud of her, or myself. Mira deserves the best life and people that give her all the love she deserves. She’s already a million times more humane than you’ll ever be.”

The tension in the room is so thick, I see people stopping around us to watch.

I glare at my once almost-husband, the man I so foolishly believed I loved at one point. I secretly challenge him to try and counter my words, just so I can prove him wrong. All this time, I thought he still had some invisible hold over me, that he broke something inside of me that couldn’t be fixed.

But this moment changeseverything.

There is nothing left between us, absolutelynothing, and it’s freeing to finally realize that.

When he opens his mouth to speak again, I shake my head. “No, we’re done. There is nothing else I want to say to you, and judging by the few things that have come out of your mouth the last few minutes, I can tell you,with absolute certainty, there’s nothing I want to hear from you either.” I don’t care if my behavior is rude, or if he thinks I’m insulting. All I know is that I want to get away from this man. “Goodbye, Sebastian.”

Not waiting for a reply, I turn around and pull Hudson and Mira with me—which isn’t easy at all. Pulling on Hudson feels like I’m tugging on dead weight, and one look at him explains why. He’s still turned into Sebastian’s direction, quite obviously not as ready to leave this situation as I am.

He’s like a bull, ready to charge, willing to go into battle. His jaw is clenched, nostrils flaring, and his eyes are pressed into tight slits. “I want to hurt him so badly, I can’t even think straight.”

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