Starstruck - Book Three (3 page)

“It’s only a matter of time before he gets bored with you
and moves on to the next girl,” she sputtered. She knew she wasn’t cracking me
just yet. “He does that. He gets bored.”

“Maybe he just got bored with you?” I said with a smirk. I
couldn’t believe I was holding my own against her. What had gotten into me?

Her jaw dropped. “You bring nothing to the relationship.
You’re a nobody. Where are you from Ohio? Iowa? Oklahoma?”

“Iowa,” I said. “I see you’ve done your research. I’m
flattered.”

She squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest as she
took a step closer to me.

“The moment his career needs another pick me up, guess where
he’ll be?” she asked. “Right back with me. Where he belongs. He’s not over me,
you know.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I’m pretty sure if he wanted to be
with you right now he would be. Didn’t you stop by his house unannounced a few
weeks ago? And he wouldn’t let you in?”

Her face turned a shade of crimson as she turned to her
friends and shook her head, insisting she didn’t do that. This woman was
spinning a web of lies, not only to herself but to her friends as well.

“Listen,” she said as she turned back towards me with the
most menacing smile I’d ever seen. “I’m going to be with him for the next two
weeks. Just remember that. When you’re at his house lying in his bed all alone,
he’s going to be in my hotel room fucking the shit out of me. When you’re
taking a shower in his bathroom, he’s going to be taking a shower with me. When
you’re eating dinner all by yourself like some pathetic loser, he’s going to be
enjoying a candlelit dinner with me.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want those images in my head. I
didn’t want to think like that. I knew better than to believe a word she said,
but now I was going to be nothing but a mess of nervousness over the coming
weeks.

“Let’s go,” Alec said as he finally came to my rescue. He
grabbed me by the hand and led me out of there and back out to his car, where
he said nothing. He put the roof up on his car and got me the hell out of
there.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked Alec through clouded,
teary eyes as soon as we got the hell away from Rodeo Drive.

“That’s Ava Fox for you,” he said as he physically
shuddered. “Crazy bitch.”

“And you just stood there and let her say those things!” I
yelled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said. “I’ve got a reputation around
here. I’ve got a business to maintain. She could destroy everything I’ve ever
worked for in this town. She knows a lot of people. She has a lot of
influence…”

“Okay, okay,” I said. “Fine. But still. She’s such a bitch!”

“Yes, she is,” he agreed. “I hope you don’t believe a word
of what she said today.”

“She’s very believable, I’ll say that,” I replied.

“She’s an actress,” Alec snipped. “That’s what she does for
a living. That’s why they pay her the big bucks. She is just jealous of you.”

“Jealous?” I yelled. “Of me? What for?”

“Because you have the one thing she wants,” he said.
“Hudson.”

“She can have any other guy she wants,” I said. “Why does
she want him?”

“Because she can’t have him,” he said with a laugh. “Are you
really this dense, girl? Do you really not know how these people operate?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Look, I’ve worked in the industry for a lot of years,” he
said. “I was pulling outfits for Alicia Silverstone when you were still in a
training bra.”

“What’s your point?”

“Celebrities are just people like you and me, only they’re attention
starved, insecure, and desperate for love and admiration,” he said. “It’s just
that simple. No need to complicate it. The sooner you acknowledge that, the
better off you’ll be.”

“Even Hudson?” I asked.

Alec said nothing but his look said everything. It was all
starting to make sense. Hudson was desperate to keep me around. He always
wanted me to himself. He was constantly craving my touch, my company, my
presence. Maybe he was nothing more than a simple man who needed my attention and
admiration? His sweet, charming little obsession with me was beginning to fit
Alec’s template.

“They are all the same, honey,” he said before pulling into
Hudson’s driveway and punching in the code to the gate. “Every last one of ‘em.
But I didn’t tell you that.”

I climbed out of his car, my mind going crazy. “We’ll have
to do this another time.”

“For sure, doll,” he said.

“You don’t think I have anything to worry about the next
couple weeks, do you?” I asked. “With Hudson and Ava?”

Alec scrunched his face and shook his head no
enthusiastically.

“Nothing’s ever a guarantee,” he said. “But I’ve known
Hudson a long time, and the guy is crazy about you. The things he’s done for
you, I’ve never seen him do those things for anyone else. He truly wants you to
be happy, Brynn. I don’t think he’d fuck that up. But what do I know?”

I nodded to Alec as I turned and made my way inside the
house. I was met with a startled Hudson who was standing by the back door with
his keys in his hand.

“Brynn,” he said. “Why are you back so soon?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but instead I just broke down in
tears. Every time I tried to speak, only sobs came out.

“Brynn, talk to me,” he said as he pulled me close. “What
happened? Take a deep breath. Talk to me.”

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and tried to gather my
composure.

“Did Alec upset you?” he asked.

I immediately stopped crying and laughed at the thought.

“No,” I said. I took a deep breath. “We were at this little
boutique and next thing I know, Ava Fox is tapping me on the shoulder.”

Hudson’s face morphed from concerned to angry as he took a
step back and placed his hands on his hips. He was growing more livid by the
second.

“What did she say to you?” he demanded to know.

“What didn’t she say?” I replied. “She said I was a nobody.
She said not to believe a word you say. She said you were going to get bored
with me and move on. She said your career was going to fall apart and you’d go
running back to her. She said you two were going to be spending an awful lot of
time together these next two weeks. She put a lot of lovely visuals into my
head.”

His breath grew labored as his nostrils flared. I’d never
seen him so upset before.

“Yep, that sounds just like something she’d do,” he said.
“She has no class. She’s fucking crazy. You’ve just experienced it firsthand.
There’s a reason I ended things with her. You know that.”

I nodded.

“Look,” he said as he glanced at his watch. “I’m running
late for a meeting. I really don’t want to leave you here, like this, but when
I get back, we can talk some more, okay?”

“Okay,” I sighed.

“I can’t miss this meeting or else you know I would,” he
said as he cupped my chin with his hand. “I’m going to make a few phone calls
though. I’ll make sure she never bothers you again.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“Hudson, it’s okay,” I said. “Really. She wants a reaction.
That’s why she said those things. She wants to upset you. It’s not about me.
It’s about you. Don’t do anything. Let’s just forget it even happened.”

He sighed and his shoulders fell.

“I hate that she said those things to upset you,” he said.
“I hate that I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“I’m a big girl,” I said as I forced a smile. “I’m learning
to grow thicker skin.”

He leaned in and kissed me tenderly before heading out the
door.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” he called out before the door
slammed behind him.

The second he left, I slipped into some comfy pajamas and
vegged out in front of the T.V. A bit of mind-numbing entertainment was in
order.

I checked my watch every fifteen minutes, hoping he’d be
back soon. After a few hours, I’d stopped checking. He was running late, but it
was okay. It wasn’t like we had anything planned. I shuffled to his bathroom
where I drew the hottest, steamiest bubble bath I could possibly stand. I
wanted to soak away that awful day.

I managed to find a few candles tucked away in the bathroom
cabinets and lit a few of those too. I deserved to be pampered, especially
after everything I’d been through that week.

I splayed my hair behind the neck rest as I settled in and
let the water lap over me all the way up to my neck. The steam filled my pores
and I breathed it all in with several cleansing breaths.

“Hey, there,” I heard Hudson’s voice call from behind me. He
was finally home.

“About time you’re home,” I teased.

“Got room for one more?” he asked as he began stripping
down.

He climbed in behind me as water spilled out around the tub.
His wet hands slipped down around my waste as I made myself comfortable in his
lap.

Hudson’s hands moved my hair off my neck as his mouth
peppered my damp skin with sweet kisses.

“I’m sorry you had such a rough day,” he said as he held me
tight. “I’m here now.”

“Yeah, but you’re leaving tomorrow,” I pouted. “For two
weeks.”

“Don’t remind me,” he groaned. “I don’t want to go.”

“Then stay,” I teased.

“If I could, I would,” he said between kisses. “You know
that.”

“I know,” I pouted some more. I closed my eyes and focused
on the sensation of his lips on my delicate skin as his hands caressed my
breasts.

“When I get back, I’ll take you on that trip to Cabo,” he
said. “The one we were supposed to take this week.”

“Okay,” I said with a grin.

His hands slipped down past my breasts and down my hips
before stopping between my thighs. He slipped a single finger inside me as his
palm massaged my clit.

I sighed and leaned back into him, spreading my thighs a bit
more for easy access. As his left hand massaged me below, his right hand
massaged my breasts and held me tight. I loved his hands all over me. When it
was just us, I was all his. Nothing outside of those four walls mattered. We
were in our own little world, just Hudson and me.

“Why don’t I cook breakfast for us today?” I asked him
Friday morning. “It’ll be my treat before you leave. You do so much for me. Let
me do something for you. Besides, it’s a Friday. Give Flor the day off.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “There’s a supermarket down the street. I’ll
drive myself there. Baby steps, right?”

Hudson looked pleasantly pleased at my notion to suddenly
become so independent.

“By all means,” he said. “Take any car you want.”

I perused his collection of car keys before settling on his
Range Rover. I wasn’t ready for anything beyond that yet. I’d freak out if I
accidentally curbed his Porsche or dented his Aston Martin.

“I’ll be back soon,” I called out as I dashed out the door.

I climbed into his SUV and adjusted the seat and mirrors
about a million times. My heart raced as my sweaty hands gripped the leather
steering wheel.

“I can do this, I can do this,” I told myself as I backed
out of his driveway and out into the street.

I drove a few blocks before realizing the supermarket was a
lot further away than I thought it was, but I reminded myself that it was a
straight shot and I couldn’t get lost. I flipped on the radio to distract me
from all the traffic. It helped a little.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the grocery store. The
parking lot was packed. I’d never seen this many cars in one grocery store
parking lot before in my life. Even the malls back home were never this packed.

I found a spot and pulled his Range Rover in ever so
perfectly, patting myself on the back for a job well done.

“I did it!” I softly cheered.

I headed inside to grab a few items for breakfast. I wanted
to make him a good, old-fashioned Iowa breakfast of biscuits and gravy, pork
sausage patties, and hash browns. I hadn’t eaten like that in a good month, and
I knew I could stand to gain back a few of the pounds I’d lost with my crash
diet. One sinfully delicious meal never hurt anyone.

As I entered the store, which was easily the fanciest grocery
store I’d ever seen in my life, I couldn’t help but glance over at the magazine
racks on my left. Even before I met Hudson, I was a bit of a tabloid junkie. I
lived for that stuff. I longed to hear all the juicy gossip and rumors. Now
that I’d been on the other side, my fascination with it had only grown by leaps
and bounds. I had an unhealthy infatuation, but I managed to hide it well from
Hudson.