Starstruck - Book Two

by Gemma Brooks

  “I know some people who work in the industry,” he said. “Hairstylist. Wardrobe people. Makeup people. Manicurist. We can outfit you with a whole new wardrobe and a new look to match it. But only if that’s what you want.”

  Getting a makeover with some of the best people in ‘the business’ was like a dream come true. I would never turn it down in a million years. It was my Pretty Woman moment, and I wasn’t about to let my pride get in the way of that.

  “Um, yes!” I said as I jumped up and climbed onto his lap, straddling him with my robe open.

  His face lit up at the sight of me smiling again.

  “Okay, let me make a few phone calls,” he said. “Finish getting ready. I’ll have a limo pick you up this afternoon.”

  I ran back to the bathroom like a giddy schoolgirl and finished my shower. Hours later, a black limousine was waiting outside to take me away.

  Hudson walked me out, slipping his arm around my waist and kissing me before I left.

  “Have fun, Brynn,” he said with a wink as he slipped me his black American Express card. “Today’s your day. Anything you want, okay?”

  CHAPTER 8

  The driver opened the limo door for me and I climbed in expecting to be by myself.

  “Well, hello, gorgeous Iowa girl,” a flamboyant man with platinum blonde hair and a golden tan said as he handed me a flute of champagne. I felt like I was in a movie scene or something.

  I watched him look me up and down quickly as a two-second look of polite disgust washed over him. I knew my outfit was appalling by L.A. standards, but after today, I was never going to wear those clothes ever again.

  “So Hudson tells me you’re ready for a Hollywood makeover,” he said. “All we’re missing is the reality show T.V crew.”

  He laughed at his own joke, and I smiled courteously as I sipped the champagne.

  “Don’t worry, doll,” he said. “We’re going to fix you up. Hudson won’t know what hit him by the time we get you back here.”

  Butterflies ruffled my stomach as I fantasized about what I was going to look like when he was done with me.

  “I’m Alec, by the way,” he said. “I’m your Fairy Gaymother.”

  He laughed, once again, at his joke.

  “Just joking. I’m your stylist and personal assistant for the day,” he said. “I’ll be taking you everywhere and helping you shop for your new wardrobe.”

  “Can’t wait,” I said.

  The limo pulled up in front of a salon on the corner of a busy street and we climbed out.

  “You’re going to see Hudson’s personal hairstylist, Roxy,” he said. “And his colorist, Maggie. They’re very difficult to get into, but they’re squeezing you in as a personal favor to Hudson. Thank your lucky stars and buy a lottery ticket, sweetheart, because this does not happen for just anyone.”

  Within minutes of checking in, I was soon whisked off for a consultation with Maggie who decided to paint a few subtle, balayage highlights into my chestnut hair. Once the color had been applied and processed, I had my hair washed and scalp massaged by a young, aspiring stylist. Lastly, I was whisked off to meet with Roxy for a cut and styled out by Roxy’s assistant.

  Never did I ever think a haircut would make such a difference, but the layers Roxy cut into my long hair completely changed the shape of my face and brought out my hazel eyes.

  “Do we need eyebrows today?” Alec said as he perched against the wall behind me. He exchanged looks with Roxy who subtly nodded. “Okay, we’re doing eyebrows.”

  They escorted me to an esthetician who took her sweet time crafting the most perfect arches I’d ever seen in my life.

  “These really accentuate your eyes,” she said. “Your eyes are incredible. Perfect almond shape. Not too wide set, not too close together.”

  I’d never had anyone pick apart my eye shape like that before, but at least she was saying good things.

  “Th-thank you,” I stammered. At least I assumed she was giving me a compliment.

  Alec glanced down at his big-faced watch. “We’ve got to go. We have an appointment at Saks for makeup.”

  “I’m all done here,” the esthetician said as she admired her work. The skin beneath my eyebrows stung a little, but I didn’t care. They looked fabulous.

  We climbed back inside the waiting limo and headed to Saks for our 2pm consultation at a Chanel makeup counter.

  “When Hudson called me earlier and told me he had a friend coming in, I’ll admit I was a little curious,” Shanda, the makeup artist, said. “But he told me about how naturally beautiful you were, and I just love working with natural beauty.”

  Her skin was a flawless shade of cappuccino and she had the longest eyelashes I’d ever seen. Her lips were soft and full and covered in a pale, pink lip gloss. She was nothing short of beautiful herself.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I usually don’t wear a ton of makeup, so I don’t want to get into some crazy routine.”

  “Absolutely,” she said as she held up different foundations to my neck to try to find a match. “We can do a no-makeup look that’s perfect for every day. Then I can find you some great lipsticks and eyeliners so you can easily transition from day to night.”

  “Sounds great,” I said while I stared at my reflection in the mirror on the counter.

  Alec sat in the bar stool behind me, eyes glued to his phone most of the time.

  “I can get a head start on wardrobe shopping,” he offered after a few minutes. He was clearly bored with the makeup gig. “What size are you?”

  Alec himself was not a big guy, and Shanda’s bony wrists told me she probably wasn’t a big fan of food either. She had to have been at least a size zero, maybe even a double zero. She was a good three or four inches taller than me too.

  I blushed, not wanting to reveal my size. Back home, I’d always been proud to be a six. Out here, I felt like that information should’ve been private.

  “Doll, your size?” Alec asked again.

  “I guess it just depends on the brand,” I said. “Sometimes a four. Sometimes a six.”

  I was never a four. Ever. I kicked myself on the inside for lying. He was probably going to run and pull a bunch of size fours and they were all going to be too small and I was going to feel like a complete idiot for lying about it.

  “I prefer to go a size up and get everything tailored,” he said. “I’ll pull some sixes and eights for you.”

  I closed my eyes and thanked my lucky stars. “Thanks, Alec.”

  Shanda finished up with me a little while later. My look was stunning and flawless, and I could hardly see any of the makeup on me. It looked so natural yet so polished.

  “So? What do you think?” she asked with a huge grin on her face.

  “I love it,” I said. I couldn’t stop smiling at my reflection in the handheld mirror in front of me. “You did good!”

  She began lining up a bunch of products on the counter.

  “I’ll take everything,” I said as I handed her Hudson’s card.

  She rang up a bag full of products and I couldn’t bring myself to look at the total. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day feeling like I owed him something.

  I found Alec in the ready-to-wear section with an armful of garments over his left arm. Evidently he’d been pulling like crazy.

  “Wow,” I said. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Oh, honey, you should see what’s in the dressing room for you,” he laughed. “This is round two.”

  “We’re going to be here a while aren’t we?” I asked.

  “Go get started,” he said. “Last dressing room on the end. That way. I’ll be over in a sec.”

  I found the dressing room and stripped down, pulling on various tops and jeans and pants and dresses. I started with the eights, which were all slightly too big, and told Alec I agreed we should get them and have them tailored.

  Luckily a good portion of sixes fit me well enough to go home with me that d
ay. I wanted to get started with my new look. I didn’t have time to wait for a tailor to take everything in.

  Alec helped me find a California-Coastal-meets-laid-back-Midwestern style, which he insisted I could pull off well. He customized every outfit and told me what went with what. He even offered to come by and take Polaroids of the different outfit combinations so I never had to worry about coming up with something on my own.

  “You’re too amazing,” I said to Alec as I hugged him at the end of the day. “You really made this day so special.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he said as he squeezed me back. “Thank Hudson. He set everything up for you.”

  “He’s pretty great, isn’t he?” I asked Alec.

  “He likes you a lot,” Alec replied.

  We trekked out of Saks and it was already starting to get dark. I was exhausted and I knew Alec was too. I almost wished we had more time together so I could pick his brain about Hudson, but I knew neither of us had the energy. The ride home was pure silence.

  “See you,” I called to a half-asleep Alec as I exited the limo back at Hudson’s.

  “Bye, doll,” he said back. He closed his eyes and reclined back onto the buttery leather seats.

  The driver helped me carry my huge bags of clothes and makeup into the house, where Hudson was vegged out on the sofa watching some sports game on his giant T.V.

  “You’re home,” he said as he popped up. He flipped the light on in the kitchen. “Let me get a good look at you.”

  I smiled sheepishly and prayed that he was okay with my new look.

  “You look stunning,” he said as he drank me in. “You were gorgeous before and now you’re just stunning.”

  “Thank you,” I said. I studied his face for sincerity and found it in his eyes. He meant what he said, and he liked how I looked either way.

  “But more importantly, how do you like it? How do you feel?” he asked.

  “I feel like a new woman,” I said. “I feel like I might not stick out like a sore thumb anymore.”

  He laughed as he put his arm around me.

  “Your feet must be killing you,” he said. “All that time spent shopping today.”

  Now that he’d mentioned it, they were pretty achy. I followed him over to one of the sofas in the family room where he sat me down and pulled my flats off my feet. One by one, he began to rub them.

  “Thanks,” I said to him. “Thanks for everything today. Seriously. You have no idea how much fun I had and how much this all meant to me.”

  He looked pleased. “I just want you to be happy, Brynn.”

  I leaned back onto an oversized throw pillow and shut my eyes as his firm hands worked out every kink and ache in my poor feet. I could’ve passed out right then and there.

  CHAPTER 9

  I stood on the scale that morning not knowing what to expect. It had been two weeks since my makeover, thirteen days since I began taking advantage of Hudson’s amazing home gym, and ten days since I’d read about a maple syrup/cayenne pepper/lemonade cleanse that all the celebrities were doing to shed serious weight.

  The numbers of the scale bounced back and forth, high and low, before settling on a number I hadn’t seen in a long time. I was down twelve pounds in two weeks. No wonder my clothes had been hanging off me a bit lately.

  I squealed silently and clapped my hands together as I did a happy dance. Those trolls are never going to call me fat ever again, I told myself.

  I hopped into the shower and lathered up under the hot water. My fingers traced my ribs, and I could even feel a few bulging out. Iowa Brynn wouldn’t have been happy about that, but California Brynn was elated. Almost three weeks in L.A. and I was already evolving into someone I barely recognized, inside and out.

  I emerged from the shower and wiped the steam off the mirror with a towel. My face was looking a little gaunt, but it was nothing that some smart highlighting and contouring couldn’t fix. My eyes looked a little sunken in, but it only made them look even bigger.

  “Good morning,” Hudson said to me as I sauntered out to the breakfast table with a little extra pep in my step. “You going to actually eat something today?”

  I’d been using tons of excuses lately not to eat much around him, but I knew I was running out of them. Sometimes I’d eat a piece of toast at breakfast and then mentally calculate how many minute I needed to log on the treadmill or how many laps I needed to swim in his pool.

  “Sure,” I said as I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. I wondered if Hudson was admiring my new frame or my outfit, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I almost didn’t want to know.

  “Listen,” he said. “I’ve got a press tour coming up this weekend. I have to fly to New York.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said. “You did mention that the other day.”

  “Then I’ve got one more week here with you before I have to start shooting again,” he said. He still hadn’t brought up the fact that he was shooting a movie with Ava Fox, and I still hadn’t mentioned that I knew anything about it.

  “Do you want to come with me to New York this weekend?” he asked.

  As much as New York sounded amazing, we’d been spending a lot of time together, and I was growing slightly homesick.

  “That sounds great and all,” I replied. “But if it’s okay with you, I think I should go home this weekend. I need to check on my mom. Catch up with Piper. That sort of thing. I’ve never been away this long before.”

  “Brynn, that’s totally fine,” he said, almost insulted by the fact that I would need to ask his permission. “I’ll book your tickets today. Not an issue.”

  My face lit up as relief washed over me.

  “I’m going to hate being away from you though,” he said with a pained look on his face.

  “We’ll talk and text every day,” I promised. “Or iChat or FaceTime or whatever. It’s just a couple of days.”

  “I know,” he said as he stood up and walked over to me. “I just hate letting you out of my sight.”

  He pulled me up into a standing position and kissed me deeply. My heart fluttered, and I felt like putty in his arms once again. I didn’t want to leave him either, but I had to check on things back home.

  “You’re not going to see that Luke guy, are you?” he whispered in my ear as his hands caressed my back.

  “No,” I said. I was being truthful. I hadn’t really thought much about Luke the last few weeks. I’d been too distracted by Hudson and all the excitement that was suddenly appearing in my life thanks to him. “I’m offended that you’d even ask me that.”

  I swatted his chest playfully, but deep down I truly was offended.

  “Just checking,” he said as he nibbled my ear. “You’re mine now. Not his. Remember that.”

  Every so often, I’d catch glimpses of Hudson’s possessive streak, and truthfully it turned me on.

  “Has Luke tried to contact you or anything?” he asked.

  Why were we still talking about Luke?

  “Not at all,” I said. “Piper doesn’t even really call me that much. That’s kind of why I think it’s important that I go see her.”

  “If it makes you happy,” he said. “I just want you to be happy. I’m not going to keep you away from your friends and family. I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “I never said you were,” I insisted. “I just need one weekend at home, and then I’ll come straight back here and we can pick up where we left off.”

  “Promise?” he asked as he breathed heavily into my ear and held me close.

  “Promise,” I replied. I felt tiny and powerless, both physically and emotionally, under his tight hold.

  CHAPTER 10

  My kitten heels clicked on the hardwood floors of the coffee shop in Rock River. Up ahead, Piper was leaning against the counter, reading some sort of magazine. She was in her own little world, not even bothering to look up when the bell on the door rang.

  “Excuse me, miss,” I said. An ornery half-smile crept upon my l
ips. “I’d like to order a coffee.”

  She looked up, and a small part of me hoped she’d run around the counter to me and throw her arms around me. I missed her so much.

  Instead, her eyes looked me up and down, barely recognizing me at first.

  “Oh, my god,” she said. “Brynn.”