Starstruck - Book Four

STARSTRUCK:

BOOK FOUR

GEMMA BROOKS

Copyright 2014 Gemma
Brooks

All Rights Reserved

     DISCLAIMER

The characters and events
portrayed in this book are purely a work of fiction and used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended
by the author.

     MATURE CONTENT

This short story contains
sexually explicit material and is intended for persons over the age of 18 only.
By downloading and viewing this book, you are stating that you acknowledge that
this book has mature content. All of the characters involved in the sexual
situations of this story are intended to be at least 18 years old or older,
whether they are described as such or not.

Some people
said we were doomed from the start. That we burned too bright. Too fast. Life
with Hudson was nothing short a dream come true, and I’d be lying if I said I
didn’t pinch myself every day.

I knew he
was growing frustrated with me. His love was powerful. His hold on me was
intense. But none of it stopped me from constantly waiting for the other shoe
to drop. It all seemed too good to be true no matter how much he tried to prove
that his love for me was authentic. And in the end, it wouldn’t be the
paparazzi, the tabloids, or Ava Fox that would pose the ultimate threat to our
relationship. But if we could survive this, we could survive anything.

AUTHOR'S
NOTE - Contains mature content and sexual depictions. Not intended for younger
readers. This novella is the fourth and final part of the Starstruck series.
There is no cliffhanger.

The STARSTRUCK Series

Book I

Book II

Book III

*Book IV

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I sat alone at the café table, anxiously awaiting Alec’s
arrival. He was the closest thing I had to a friend in L.A., and we were almost
becoming inseparable as of late. As usual, Alec was running behind and I was
beginning to feel self-conscious sitting all by myself as tables of brunching
ladies surrounded me.

I missed Piper – the old Piper. Not the one who hooked up
with my longtime crush the minute I’d left town. I missed the girl I could
depend on and confide in; the blonde haired, freckle-faced, sassy little
kindergartener who’d grow up to become my best friend. The one person who knew
all my secrets, hopes, and dreams.

I had no one in L.A. like her. I spent most of my time with
Hudson, and when I wasn’t with Hudson I was usually by myself. Alec and I would
meet up occasionally for some light shopping and a little light gossip, but it
wasn’t like we were best friends. Not yet anyway. Still, he was all I had for
friends out there.

“Hey, girl,” he said as he sat down with a mischievous grin
on his face. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re super late,” I teased. “Like forty minutes.”

“Oh, whatever,” he sassed. “Forty minutes is nothing in this
town. Look at that traffic outside.”

“Mm, hm,” I replied with one eye squinting. His face was
different. Shinier. I couldn’t tell what he’d done. “You had some work done?”

“Shh,” he said, putting his finger to his lips. “Yes. A
little laser resurfacing. Is my face still red?”

I nodded. “A little.”

“Oh, geez,” he said as he rolled his eyes. “They said it
would calm down by now. They’re such fucking liars.”

“It’s really not that bad,” I lied. “It’ll go away soon I’m
sure.”

Our server spotted Alec and came up to take his drink order.
He, of course, ordered a mimosa with extra champagne and light on the orange
juice.

“This place is fabulous,” he said as he stared around the
room at the white-washed walls, crystal chandeliers and ridiculously huge
flower arrangements. “How’d you hear about it?”

“I read about it online somewhere I think,” I said. “Kind of
sort of used Hudson’s name to get us a table.”

“You’re so bad,” he said as he slapped my hand. “I love it.”

“Have you lost weight?” I asked. The Iowa girl inside me
cringed for noticing. Back home, we usually didn’t care about stuff like that,
but he was looking particularly gaunt that day.

A proud smile crept across his face and he took a swill of
his mimosa. “Why, yes. Thank you for noticing.”

“What’s your secret?” I asked him.

“It’s just that maple syrup cayenne pepper cleanse,” he said
as he waved his hand like it was nothing. “And now I’m fucking starving and
going to order a huge stack of blueberry pancakes, slather them in butter, and
drench them in syrup. Don’t judge me.”

I giggled. Alec always knew how to lighten the mood, which
was something I needed then more than ever.

“So what’s up with the last minute get together?” he asked
as he rested his head on his hands and peered across the table at me.
“Something’s not right. I can tell.”

I took a deep breath.

“So, Hudson and I got back from Iowa late last night,” I
began. “And when we got inside the house, I heard something outside by the
pool. We went to investigate, and it was Ava.”

Alec’s jaw dropped and he flashed a half smile, clearly
entertained by the story. He was practically begging for more. His eyes said it
all.

“Go on,” he prompted.

“Hudson told her to get out, and of course she eventually
left,” I said. “But not before spewing out a bunch of things to try to get in
my head again.”

Alec rolled his eyes.

“What did she say?” he asked.

“She claims they hooked up at his hotel room when they were
on location a couple weeks ago,” I said.

I wanted Alec to say that was ridiculous and Hudson would
never do such a thing, but he offered no reassurance of any kind.

“I know she says a lot of things,” I said. “And she’s
probably all talk. But she mentioned the ring.”

I reached down and spun the canary diamond eternity band on
my right ring finger.

“How’d she know about the ring?” I asked Alec.

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

“Beats me,” he said. “People talk. Maybe she heard about it
from someone.”

“You don’t think Hudson told her, do you?” I asked.

“Who the hell knows,” Alec said. At least he was being
honest and not just spewing words to make me feel better, though part of me
wished he would.

Our server came to take our order, and just as promised,
Alec ordered his stack of pancakes. I ordered a simple egg-white omelet with
turkey sausage. I’d gained a couple pounds while we were back in Iowa, and I
could feel it in the tightness of my jeans. Hudson had already done so much for
me. I didn’t want to have to ask him for a whole new wardrobe once again. Plus
the weight gain only added to the insecurities that were suddenly plaguing me
in the wake of Ava-gate.

“Look,” Alec said as his face turned into a stern
expression. “I’m going to be brutally honest with you because I like you. And
I’m pretty sure we’re friends now.”

I laughed. “Duh.”

“I know you’re just this sweet, naïve, innocent little
country girl trying to get her bearings in this crazy world we live in out
here,” he said. “But you’ve got to toughen up. And you’ve got to realize that people
talk. They say a lot of crap. They make up shit. They say whatever they think
is going to get them what they want. It’s just that simple, Brynn.”

“I know,” I said.

“No, I don’t think you do,” he sassed. “I’m not saying
Hudson is some magical, fairytale prince, but you’ve got to be a little less
naïve when it comes to him. I’m not trying to say he’s cheating on you. I’m not
trying to say he’s a liar. I love the man myself. God-willing someday he might
just swing my way. But you’ve got to understand the kind of power and influence
he has and what that does to a man’s ego.”

Alec was beginning to worry me. I had no idea where he was
going with his little lecture. By the sounds of his rambling, the champagne
bubbles must’ve gotten to his head already.

“Celebrities don’t become celebrities because they love
acting,” Alec said. “I don’t care what anyone tells you. There are some people
who can get to the top based on talent alone but most of them don’t. They work
dirty. They manipulate. They lie. They have this insane beast living inside
them that they have to feed and manage, and money, fame, and fortune is the
only thing it wants. One whiff of losing that, and they get a little crazy.”

“Alec, you’re not making any sense,” I said, utterly
confused. “That doesn’t sound like Hudson at all.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I should cool it on the mimosa, huh?”

“Just speak plain English, will you?” I begged. I wanted to
know what he was getting at, particularly if he was trying to say Hudson was a
liar.

Alec sighed once more. “Okay, so basically, Hudson is a
great guy. And if you ever tell him I said any of this, I will murder you by
the way. I’m just saying you’ve only been together, what, two or three months?
You hardly know him. Just be careful. I’m not saying he’d cheat on you. I’m not
saying he hooked up with Ava when he was on location. I’m just saying you don’t
know the truth. Only Ava and Hudson know what happened when they were filming.
You can choose to believe Hudson or you can choose to believe Ava. Just don’t
be naïve. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Okay,” I said. “That makes more sense.”

Though it didn’t make it any easier to hear.

“I just don’t want to see my little Miss Iowa getting hurt,
mm-kay?” he said with a smile. In a rare, tender moment, he reached across the
table and patted my hand. “It’s tough out here. This crazy lifestyle we live.
It’s not normal. None of it. But that’s why we love it.”

He swigged back the rest of his mimosa before motioning to
our server for a second glass. He had apparently changed his mind about slowing
down.

“What would you do if you were me?” I asked him.

Our food had been delivered by then, but I had lost my
appetite. As my omelet grew colder, I grew more and more disgusted by it. I
forced myself to choke down a couple bites as that place was pricey and I
didn’t want to waste Hudson’s money, but it was all I could do to keep from
throwing them up.

“I don’t know, sweetie,” he said with sympathetic eyes as he
ate his pancakes in the most elegant way I’d ever seen anyone eat pancakes
before. True to his stylish stylist ways, he could make anything look sexy.
“Follow your heart.”

“That’s so cheesy,” I said.

“I know,” he laughed as he chewed his food. “It may or may
not work out with you and Hudson. There’s no guarantee. Why don’t you just take
it one day at a time and go from there.”

“I guess that’s my only option,” I said.

“Sorry I don’t have better advice for you, sweetie,” he
said. “Such is life.”

We finished our brunch and I picked up the tab. It was my
invite after all and Hudson had given me my own personal credit card to use for
whatever I saw fit.

“That was nice,” Alec said as he kiss-kissed my cheek
outside the restaurant and we said our goodbyes. “Sorry you’re feeling so out
of sorts. That would freak me out too to see that someone had broken in –
famous or not. And the things she said, well she was just probably trying to
get under your skin.”

“How do you think she got in?” I asked him, realizing we’d
never gotten to that.

“Beats me,” he said with raised eyebrows. “Maybe she figured
out the code to his gate? Do you think Flor let her in?”