Starstruck - Book Three (4 page)

Something caught my eye as I walked by. A girl on a cover of
a magazine looked oddly familiar. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned
towards the magazine, my eyes fixated. The girl was me.

My heart sunk deep into my stomach as I saw a picture of
myself running from the boutique, tears streaming down my face, with Ava in the
background smirking victoriously. I didn’t even bother reading the headline. I
knew it wasn’t going to be nice.

I grabbed the magazine, slipped my sunglasses on, and made a
bee line for the checkout lane. Screw breakfast.

I couldn’t get back out to the Range Rover fast enough. The
second I was safe behind its tinted windows, I tore the magazine open and
flipped to the article. There were pictures of Alec and I shopping, happily,
then pictures of Ava and her crew approaching us. Photos of Ava with her hands
on her hips talking to me followed by multiple shots of me running out of the
store in tears.

Supposedly someone who was there gave the magazine the
inside scoop. How convenient of them to leave out the parts where I stood up to
her and put her in her place. It had to have been Ava that leaked the story. It
was the only thing that made sense.

With tears streaming down my face, I headed back home. I was
in no condition to go grocery shopping. I would’ve died of embarrassment had
anyone recognized my face on those covers.

I pulled into Hudson’s garage a few minutes later and
whipped the magazine out once more. A glutton for punishment, I re-read the
article. It was just as awful the second time as it was the first time. I
shoved the magazine into my bag and headed inside, trying to hide the fact that
I’d just been crying.

“Do you need help carrying stuff in?” Hudson asked,
perplexed at my empty handedness as he stood in the kitchen.

“I didn’t get anything,” I said.

“Okay,” he drawled. “Want to go out instead?”

“No,” I said. I leaned over the edge of the marble island. “I’m
not hungry anymore.”

He spotted the corner of the magazine sticking out from my
purse and yanked it all the way out.  His eyes scanned the cover and
frustration spread over his face.

“Why?” he asked as he slammed the magazine down on the
counter.

I removed my sunglasses and stared up at him, afraid to
answer. I didn’t have a good reason. I saw it. I bought it. I read it.

“I wanted to know what was said about me,” I replied. It was
the honest truth. “And it was all a bunch of lies that made Ava look great and
me look pathetic.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t read those,” he said as she
shook his head. He was almost seething. “I thought we’d gone over this before.”

“I know,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking. I just did it. I’m
sorry.”

“Does it make you feel good?” he asked. “To read all those
lies about you? About us?”

“No,” I shook my head. I couldn’t even look at him, he was
so angry.

“Then stop, Brynn,” he yelled. “For the love of God. Stop!”

He walked up to me and grabbed my arms with his hands. He’d
never touched me that way before.

“I want this to work with us,” he said as he was mere inches
from my face. “It’s never going to work if you keep reading that stuff. You and
I exist separately from all of that.”

He reached over and grabbed the magazine, ripped it in half
and threw it down on the ground.

“I have to leave for a bit,” he fumed as he left through the
garage and slammed the door behind him.

I heard his car start up and back out. He was gone. I’d made
him so upset that he had to get away from me.

I crouched down and picked up the tattered, glossy pages of
the tabloid that were strewn across the floor at my feet. I crumpled them up
and threw them away. Hudson was right. I shouldn’t have read those things. I
should’ve walked on past, grabbed my groceries and come home. I should be
standing behind the stove right now making him breakfast. He should be kissing
my neck and rubbing his hands up and down my back. We should be laughing and
touching and playing. Instead, Hudson was gone and it was all because of me.

“Flor?” I called out.

No answer. Hudson must have given her the day off, just like
I suggested. I had the entire place to myself, and I just wanted to have a good
cry.

Life with Hudson was a dream come true, but it came at a
price. Some days I really missed the simplicity of my life back in Iowa. I
missed the anonymity. I missed being able to go out on dates without paparazzi
cameras in our faces and fans begging for autographs.

I settled in on the sofa in the family room and wrapped
myself in a soft, creamy Merino wool blanket and let the tears fall as I waited
for Hudson to return. I hoped that we could salvage our last few hours together
before he left for two weeks, but that would be up to him. He called all the
shots. He always did.

I woke up on the couch a few hours later, my eyes swollen
from crying. I must have cried myself to sleep. The house was still quiet.
Hudson was still gone. I wanted to call him, but I wasn’t sure if he’d even
answer. I’d never seen him so angry before, and I had no idea where he went.

I’d fallen asleep with my hands clutching my phone to my
chest, just in case he called, but I awoke with not a single text message or
missed call. According to the clock, he’d been gone three hours now. Those were
three hours we should’ve been spending together.

Hudson had mentioned before that he’d be willing to fly
Piper out to stay with me while he was gone. I missed her so much. I never
realized how much of a security blanket she was for me back home.

My fingers hovered above her name in my phone as I
hesitated. I hadn’t spoken to her since I was home the weekend before, and we
didn’t leave things on the best of terms. Realizing I had nothing to lose, I
called her anyway.

“Hello,” she answered.

My heart skipped a beat. Piper answering my call was a good
sign.

“Hey!” I said. I tried to act like nothing was wrong.
Sometimes that worked with her.

“What’s up?” she asked. I could sense a little discordance
in her voice, but I ignored it.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye to you,” I said.

“Yeah, I know,” she replied. Her tone was flat, and I could
tell she was hurt.

“So I was wondering if you wanted to come out here next
weekend and stay with me?” I asked, fingers crossed that she’d take me up on
it. “Hudson said he’d fly you out here to keep me company while he’s gone. I
really want to show you around. You’d love it here.”

She was silent.

“Free vacation!” I added. “All expenses paid.”

“For how long?” she asked, breaking her silence.

“As long as you want,” I replied.

Her tone seemed to improve. “I guess I could do that.”

“Really?” I squealed. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I
wanted to bring a piece of home out there so badly.

“Yes, really,” she laughed. “I just have to check with my
boss and get the days off, but I should be able to make it work.”

“Yay!” I squealed again. “I cannot wait, Piper. You’re going
to love it so much you won’t want to leave.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Piper teased. I could tell she was
secretly excited but didn’t want to admit it to me just yet.

“How are things?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Same old,” she replied. “I saw your latest, uh, tabloid
mishap.”

“You did?” I asked.

“So Ava Fox cornered you in a store and gave you a piece of
her mind?” Piper asked. “What was that like?”

“Do you really believe everything you read?” I asked. “She
fed that story to the press. I know she did because she left out all the parts
where I sassed back to her and put her in her place. She’s crazy, Piper.
Truly.”

“The article seemed believable,” she said. “I’m glad I
asked.”

“Of course. They all seem believable,” I sighed. “That’s why
they sell so many of those stories.”

I heard the sound of the garage door and the gentle purr of
Hudson’s car pulling in.

“Piper,” I said. “I have to let you go. Text me the dates
you want and we’ll get the tickets arranged.”

“Sounds good,” she replied before hanging up. Thank God
things were back on track with us. I was worried for a moment, but I never
should have doubted her.

I smoothed my hair down and sat up on the couch, tossing the
throw blanket behind me and waiting for Hudson to come in. I sort of wanted him
to see that I’d been crying. I felt bad. I hated that he was so upset with me
he had to leave.

As he walked in, his eyes were fixed on me. His body was
tense, almost nervous, as he walked over to the family room and sat down next
to me. I sat in silence as I waited for him to speak first.

“Brynn,” he began. “I’m crazy about you. I don’t know what
it’s going to take for me to prove that.”

I turned and faced him, studying his every subtle move. I
wasn’t sure where he was headed with this.

He reached down into his jeans pocket and pulled out a small
box, the size of a ring box, and my heart began to beat hard in my chest. There
was no way he was proposing to me. We’d only known each other a month.

He opened the box to reveal the most gorgeous platinum eternity
band encrusted with tiny canary yellow diamonds the entire way around. It
sparkled in the afternoon sun that spilled in through the floor to ceiling
windows behind us.

He pulled the ring out of the box and held it out, gripping
it right between his thumb and pointer finger.

“This isn’t an engagement ring,” he prefaced it. “I don’t
know what it is. A symbol I guess.”

Blinding sparkles danced around the room around us.

“I want you to wear this every day,” he said. “And any time
you doubt something that I say or do or anytime you have doubts about us, I
want you to look down at this ring and know that we’re in this together. I’m
yours and you’re mine. That’s what I want this ring to mean.”

I took the ring from him and slipped it over the ring finger
of my right hand. It fit perfectly, and it looked gorgeous on my long,
manicured fingers. I wasn’t sure how much he spent on it, but I had a feeling
it was probably the nicest thing I had ever been given in my entire life.

“I went with yellow diamonds because they’re bright and
happy,” he said. “That’s what you’ve brought into my life, Brynn. Happiness.”

“Thank you,” I said as I looked up into his intense, dark
eyes.

His face immediately softened as he leaned in for a kiss.

“This means a lot,” I whispered. “I was so upset when you
left. I didn’t mean to make you so mad.”

He placed his hands along both sides of my face and shook
his head. “I shouldn’t have taken off like that.”

I scooted closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me and
held me tight.

“When do you have to leave?” I asked him. “I don’t want you
to go.”

He glanced at the boldfaced watch on his wrist. “In a couple
of hours. I don’t want to go either.”

The stubble from his five o’clock shadow tickled the sides
of my face as he turned to kiss me once again. I was going to miss his kisses,
his touch, and the way he made me feel like I was the only girl in the entire
world.

He stood up, scooping me up in his arms, and carried me back
to his bed.

“Piper,” I called out at the airport the following Friday.
“Over here.”

Piper looked like a lost duck amongst the throngs of
travelers in the middle of LAX. The second she saw my face, a smile spread
across hers.

She ran up to me and threw her arms around me. She’d never
been so relieved to see me before in her life. Traveling to big cities bothered
her just as much as it bothered me.

I couldn’t help but notice how much Piper stood out compared
to everyone else out there. Her ill-fitting jeans combined with her makeup free
face and an old, faded t-shirt was not something you’d see every day in L.A.
I’d gotten so used to my new look that I’d forgotten we once shared the same
knack for that small-town-ignore-the-trends attitude.

“Everyone here is so…skinny,” Piper said as she gazed
around. “And beautiful.”

“Yeah, it’s different from Rock River, huh?” I asked. “I’m
used to it now though. Everyone always looks incredible. It’s like no one ever
has an off day. People get dressed up to go to the gym and the grocery store
here.”

“You look like you could still stand to gain a few,” she sighed
as she looked me up and down.