Page 38 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“This is nice,” she said. “What do you drive at home?”

“Something pretty similar actually. I have the upgraded version of this car, and I also have a Land Rover for when I go skiing and need the four-wheel drive. I have a cabin up at Tahoe I like to visit from time to time.” He was surprised he was telling Lauren about his cars and extra house. He usually liked to keep that kind of stuff private. He didn’t want to make others feel uncomfortable around him because of his wealth. He knew it was probably impossible for them to feel completely at ease around him when they thought about his fame and the amount of wealth he’d accumulated, but he wanted them to see him as normally as possible.

He opened Lauren’s door, and she slipped into the red sport’s car. She looked like she belonged in this car with the way she was dressed. She was in fantastic shape, and the dress she wore showed off that fact in a flattering way. He could hardly keep his eyes off her.

“You’re staring,” Lauren pointed out.

“Is that a problem?” Chase leaned against the roof of the car, looking down at her.

She smiled up at him. “No. If it were, I wouldn’t have worn this dress. I would have come out in yoga pants or something.”

That was hot. She was being sassy and flirty, and it only attracted him to her even more.

Chase closed her door and rounded the car to the driver’s side. He climbed in next to Lauren.

She stared straight ahead. “I haven’t done anything like this in a long time.”

“Why not?”

She looked over at him. “I haven’t been letting myself have fun. Being a mom is serious work. And so is being a salon owner.”

Chase put the car into reverse and backed out of his parking spot. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.” He pulled from the parking lot and headed toward Dixie’s Tavern.

“I guess you’re right.” Lauren chewed her bottom lip.

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know—I guess I feel a little guilty right now.”

“Don’t.”

“It’s hard to leave Penny when it’s to have fun. It feels . . . frivolous.”

“It’s okay to be frivolous when you’ve earned it.”

“My problem is I never let myself feel like I’ve earned it.”

He pulled to a stop at a red light. “You’re way too hard on yourself.”

“How do you know?”

“I see a woman who works hard and is a great mom. And she deserves to let herself enjoy the best parts of life.”

“I wish I could see that too.”

“You will. And I’m going to help you learn to have fun. Starting with some karaoke.”

“I used to tear it up with karaoke.”

“Really?” Chase wanted to see that. He didn’t realize Lauren could sing.

“Oh, yeah. My friends used to call me the karaoke queen. But that was before Penny came along.”

“That’s the part that’s impressive. You gave up your life of fun to take care of your daughter. That must have been a tough sacrifice. You were still young.”

“I was only twenty-three when I got pregnant with Penny.”

“I was an idiot when I was twenty-three. I don’t know how you jumped into so much responsibility when you were so young.”

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