Page 53 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“Neither can he.”

Lauren gave him a sassy look. “Well, you’d better get used to the idea. Because this thing’s happening.”

Chapter 17

Lauren tucked the blankets around Penny and kissed her forehead.

“Can Chase read me a bedtime story?”

Lauren glanced over at Chase, who was seated at the foot of Penny’s bed. He’d been gone for a couple of weeks starting on the new album with his band, but he was able to take a weekend off to come back to see Penny and Lauren. Those two weeks had been torture. Lauren had missed Chase so much.

Chase smiled warmly at Penny. “I think I can do that.”

“I want Cinderella.”

Lauren plucked the worn Cinderella picture book from Penny’s basket of books and handed it to Chase. Cinderella was Penny’s favorite.

Chase opened the book and read the story to them. As he read, Lauren wondered at how natural he was with Penny. It was about time Penny had a stable male figure in her life. Penny’s eyes began to close near the end of the story, and Chase shut the book, tucking it back into the basket.

Lauren put a finger over her lips, and they quietly left Penny’s room.

Lauren shut the door. “You’re going to be a great stepdad.”

Chase brushed the hair back from Lauren’s face. “I love you, beautiful woman. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I feel the same way. For the first time in a long time, I feel like there’s hope in my life for a bright future.”

Chase took Lauren’s hand. “Let’s go sit on the couch. I want to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.” Lauren followed him to the couch, and she settled in next to him, snuggling against the warmth of his toned body.

“I’m thinking about buying a house in Maple Creek.” He pulled out his phone. “I even found one I liked. It’s a little bit out of town, but it’s private, and it has a room I could turn into a recording studio.” He pulled open a website and showed Lauren pictures of a gorgeous house.

“It has five bedrooms.” That seemed like a lot for their new family.

“I was going to turn one of the bedrooms in the basement into my recording studio.” He swiped to a picture of a bedroom. “See? This room.”

“That’s great.”

“I had a long talk with Aaron while I was back in California. He said there really wasn’t a reason why I had to be in LA full-time. I can record separately from the band in my own home. They have the ability to put the music together digitally.”

“So you really could settle down in Maple Creek?”

“I really could.”

Lauren absorbed what this could mean for them. “I wouldn’t have to uproot Penny, and you could have more of a relationship with your parents.”

“But we could still go back to LA whenever we wanted. I still have my house on the beach.”

“You have a house on the beach?”

“Did I not tell you that?”

“No.”

“How would you like to visit it sometime?”

“I would love that. Can I see a picture?”

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