Starstruck - Book Four (13 page)

She traipsed up the stairs to her dressing room with me following
close behind. Alec had already been there and was unloading all of her
garments. She’d sent us on a personal shopping trip the day before. Alec went a
little overboard, but he assured me Mia wouldn’t mind. And if anything needed
to be returned, well, that was my job now, he said.

“So, Alec tells me you’re back together with Hudson,” Mia
said. “How’s that going?”

I’d meant to get a hold of her the day she gave me her
number, but everything happened so fast with Hudson and by the time a day or
two had gone by, part of me wondered if it was too late to contact her. A small
part of me assumed she was just being nice, but now I was beginning to realize
just how genuine Mia really was. I wanted to hug her.

“We are officially back together,” I said. “It turns out we
had a little mole in our midst.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mia took a seat on the round, tufted ottoman
that rested in the center of her dressing room, fully engaged and waiting for
me to tell the story.

“His housekeeper, Flor,” I said with an eye roll. “Ava had
been paying her cash all along to tell her things. That’s how Ava knew where we
were all the time, when we were home, when we were gone, when we were out on a
date. That’s how she knew about the ring. Flor had told her everything.”

Mia’s hand covered her full pout as her eyes widened and she
shook her head in disbelief. “That’s seriously my worst nightmare.”

Alec was being extra quiet.

“So did he fire her?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, he let her go,” I said. “It was so hard for him to do
it, but it had to be done. That trust is gone now.”

Mia shook her head again. “That’s really too bad, but at
least you have your answers now.”

“Yeah, the chaos should die a bit now that she’s out of the
picture,” I said. “I don’t think she really liked me anyway.”

“What?” Mia laughed. “That’s impossible. You’re, like, the
sweetest girl ever.”

Perhaps Flor was slightly jealous of my little Cinderella
story. No girl-next-door gets swept away by some gorgeous actor and treated
like a princess. It doesn’t happen. Not like that. But it happened to me. I’d
never fully understand it, but I understood why people resented me for it.

“Alec, why are you so quiet over there?” I asked. It wasn’t
like him to mind his own business and not inject his two cents into the
conversation.

He shrugged, and I could sense something was on his mind.

“Yeah, Alec, what’s up?”  Mia asked.

“What, were you on Ava’s payroll too?” I asked. I was
one-hundred percent joking. Alec turned to look at me, and in an instant I
knew.

“One time,” he said. “Once. That’s it.”

“Alec, what are you talking about?” I said with a nervous
chuckle. He had to be kidding.

“I didn’t get paid or anything,” he said. “She didn’t buy me
out. And I hardly knew you.”

“Alec, what did you tell her?” I took a step closer to him,
my hands on my hips. In that space, he wasn’t my boss. He was my friend. The
first friend I’d made in L.A. and my closest friend.

“Remember that day in the boutique?” he asked. “When she
came in with her friends and got in your face?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I told her we were going to be there that day,” he said
with an outward cringe. “I swear to you, Brynn, I didn’t know she was going to
do what she did. She told me she just wanted to see you in person. She wanted
to see what you looked like up close. She was just being nosy. I didn’t think
she would set up this confrontation and call the paps and sell a story to the
tabloid.”

“Oh, my lord,” Mia said as she sipped her iced coffee drink.
“You just don’t know Ava that well, do you.”

“She threatened my business,” he said. “She said she’d
slander my name to everyone she knew if I didn’t tell her. Brynn, I’ve worked
so hard to build up my business. Do you know how hard it is in this town to
keep clients? There’s always someone younger and hotter coming around,
threatening to be the next best stylist and when one client flocks to them so
do the rest.”

I completely understood, but it didn’t make it hurt any
less.

“It’s true,” Mia said. “Loyalty is rare around here.”

She reached over and patted Alec on the shoulder.

“I love my Alec though,” she said with a smile. She was
trying to cheer him up. “You’ve styled me since I was knee high to a
grasshopper.”

She managed to crack a small smile from him.

“Whatever,” he huffed. “It’s been, like, two years.”

“Okay, but they’ve been the best two years ever,” Mia
insisted.

I stood in silence for a bit while I took it in and those
two joked around. Clearly Alec was sorry, and Mia seemed to get it.

“I’m sorry, Brynn,” he said as he stopped joking around for
a bit. “Truly. It ate me up inside for the longest time.”

“It’s okay,” I said. Underneath it all, I got it. And if
Alec wasn’t such a good friend, he wouldn’t have given me a job or a place to
live when I didn’t have anywhere to go. “Thanks for being honest.”

The irony of the situation was not lost on me, and suddenly
I felt guilty for pushing Hudson to fire Flor. But at least Alec was honest
about what he’d done. Flor refused to even admit it to Hudson.

“Oh, let me try this on,” Mia said as she held up a black,
Herve Leger band aid dress. “I’ve been dying to squeeze my fat ass into one of
these.”

Mia lightened the mood, true to her infectious, happy self,
and for that I was grateful.

“What’s this?” I called out as I walked in the door after a
long day of work. Alec had run me ragged that day, and I was beginning to wish
I’d negotiated some kind of mileage reimbursement with him.

A symphony of delicious dinner smells wafted my way, and
over to the left was a candle lit dinner ready and waiting on the table.

“Did you do this?” I asked Hudson as he stirred some sauce
on the stove.

He beamed ear to ear and flashed me a gorgeous smile.

“You didn’t have to do this.” I kicked off my shoes and sat
my bag on the counter. I walked over, stood on my toes, and kissed his scruffy
cheek. “Thank you.”

“Go, sit down,” he said as he nudged towards the dining
table.

As I took my seat, he rushed over with a glass of white wine
and a plate full of roasted chicken, sautéed vegetables, and bow tie pasta with
a cream sauce.

“You made all this?” I asked. My mouth watered at the sight.
He’d even sprinkled a little parsley on the edges of the plate. Adorable. “I
didn’t know you even knew how to cook.”

He took a seat next to me. “Dig in.”

One bite turned into two, and then two turned into three. It
was one of the most delicious meals I’d ever tasted.

“This is so good, Hudson,” I raved. “Really. Very
impressed.”

“I hope you saved room for dessert,” he said. He was proud
of his little spread, but I could tell he was trying to remain humble.
“Tiramisu.”

“Oh, God,” I moaned. “You’re the best.”

“So,” he said between bites. “I have a little treat for you
tomorrow.”

“What’s that?” I was so spoiled.

“We’re going to Hawaii for a few days,” he said.

The flicker of the candles in his eyes and the soft lighting
against his perfect face still made me weak in the knees, and I hoped it always
would.

“Hawaii? Are you serious?”

“I wanted to take you to Fiji, but then I realized you don’t
have a passport yet,” he said. “We really need to work on that.”

“I’ve never needed one until I met you,” I reminded him.
“What about work? I need to talk to Alec and see if I can get the time off.”

“No need,” he said. “I’ve already handled it.”

“You’re just too good to me.” I couldn’t wipe the smile off
my face if I’d tried.

“I just figured it’s time for us to get away from all the
chaos and bullshit and start fresh. I want to get us back on track,” he said.
“No distractions. Just us.”

“Exactly the way it should be,” I said. “I love it.”

“I love you,” he said. For the first time in a long time, he
seemed at ease. Relaxed. At peace.

With Flor out of the picture and Ava warned not to bother us
anymore, we’d eliminated two of the biggest threats to our relationship. My new
job had given me the sense of purpose and financial independence I’d been
craving, and I couldn’t wait to get to know Mia a little more. Things were
finally looking up. All the pieces were fitting together exactly the way they
should’ve been all along.

“I’ll always fight for you,” Hudson said with his hand
cupping my face. He leaned in and kissed my lips. “Just know that. I’m never
letting you go no matter what.”

Gemma Brooks is a sucker for a good love story that’s
peppered with plenty of drama. Writing since she was old enough to pick up a
pen and graduating from college with a degree in English, Gemma’s hunger for
crafting stories has always been nothing short of insatiable.

When she’s not hiding behind her laptop feverishly typing up
scene after scene like a mad woman, you can find her drinking tea lattes from a
local coffee shop, shopping for a new perfume or lux candle, working on her
tan, or searching for the perfect shade of red lipstick (which she still has
yet to find).

In the mood for something a little lighter? A little
sweeter? A little longer? Gemma also writes new adult contemporary romance
novels as Jessa Jeffries.
Click
here to view her catalog!

For updates and information on Gemma’s release schedule,
please “like” her page on Facebook or sign up for her mailing list.  Serial
installments will be released every 2-3 weeks!

                                
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