“Nope,” I said, my eyes locking into his. “Isn’t that the movie you did with Ava?”
He smiled a knowing smile. He knew exactly where the conversation was headed. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason for the impromptu shopping trip. Was he trying to butter me up?
“Brynn,” he said in the most reassuring tone. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I promise.”
“How long will you be gone?” I asked.
“We filmed the movie earlier this year. Now we’re just doing retakes and a few extra scenes,” he said. “I’m thinking maybe a couple weeks. Too long if you ask me. I don’t want to be away from you that long, trust me.”
“So I won’t see you at all for two weeks?” I asked.
“I’d fly you out, Brynn, but I’ll be shooting all day, every day,” he said. “It would be a waste of your time. Why don’t you fly Piper out here to spend some time with you? Show her the city. Convince her that she’s missing out on a life far greater than the one she’s got back home. Maybe she’ll be nicer to you?”
Piper. I hadn’t spoken to her since I’d abruptly left Rock River earlier that week. I didn’t even know if we were still friends anymore.
“I can’t just come out and hang out in your hotel room or trailer or whatever?” I asked. I couldn’t believe he didn’t want me near him for two full weeks.
“You would be bored out of your mind,” he said. “There’s so much more for you to do here.”
I wasn’t winning that argument.
“Is it because you’re going to be around Ava?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself. The question flew from my mouth so easily.
He cocked his head to the side, almost offended. “Definitely not. Why would you even ask that?”
“It just seems weird that you couldn’t go a weekend without me but now you’re okay with not seeing me for two weeks,” I said. “It’s sort of a red flag. If I’m being honest.”
“I thought I lost you last weekend,” he said in all seriousness. “You came back. You’re here. I know you’ll still be here when I get back. You have certain…temptations back in Rock River. That’s why I didn’t want to be away from you for too long when you were there. If I’m being honest.”
“Temptations?” I knew he was referring to Luke.
Once again, he had a point. He always did. I had no intentions of leaving him this time.
“Listen,” he added. “We can Face Time every single night before bed, and I’ll text you every free second I get.”
“Okay,” I said, settling.
“Mr. Smith,” Flor said as she walked by. “Ms. Dawson’s guest is here.”
“That must be Alec,” he said. “Send him in. Brynn, why don’t you go get ready for your big day on Rodeo Drive.”
I stood up slowly, trying to dissect what had just happened. All I knew was that he was leaving for two weeks, filming love scenes with his ex, and trying to buy me off with a shopping spree and a visit from my friend.
I ran back to the room and quickly got ready, ensuring that I was in an Alec-approved outfit. I wrapped my hair into a topknot and patted on some Chanel foundation, creamy pink blush, and mascara. Some quick contouring and I was ready to go.
“Hey, Alec!” I said excitedly as I walked back out to where the guys were standing around the kitchen chatting. He was pretty much the closest thing I had to a friend out in L.A.
“Hey doll,” he said as he looked me up and down. He smiled at my skinny jeans, blouse, and boots ensemble, and I was grateful for his approval. I still knew nothing about how to be stylish. “Shall we jet?”
“We shall,” I said as I walked past Hudson who held out his black credit card. I was becoming a kept woman, and while it might have been a dream come true to some, I was feeling a little more unsettled about it.
I kissed Hudson goodbye and followed Alec out to the driveway where we hopped into his white Volvo convertible.
“Top down?” I asked. “Really?”
“It’s beautiful out today,” he snipped. “And it’s not my fault you put your hair up. I think you’ll live.”
Alec’s candor was always equal parts amusing and refreshing.
We jetted towards the freeway and navigated the streets that led us to Rodeo Drive. We had shopped there once before, during my glam makeover, but I hadn’t been back since.
“So today I’m thinking we should hit up some of the super posh boutiques,” he said. “Last time we did department stores. This time, let’s see what we can find in the smaller shops.”
“Okay,” I said. “You just tell me what to try on, and I’ll do it.”
“That’s my girl,” he said as he pulled up to a parking spot and took it before any of the oncoming traffic had a chance to cut us off. He was so saucy.
We walked into an adorable little boutique just steps away from our parking spot. The blast of icy cold air conditioning felt good on my hot face. It was a beautiful day out, but the sun in my face on the drive there had taken a toll on me. I patted my hair back down into place as Alec ran around like a giddy school girl, pulling various items and slinging them over his left arm. He clearly loved spending other people’s money.
“Did Hudson give you a budget for this?” I asked out of curiosity.
“Ha!” he laughed. “Hudson and budget are two words that never go together.”
“Oh, like is he bad with his money or something?” I asked. “Big spender?”
“Hardly,” Alec quipped. “He’s got more money than God. Okay, not really, but he’s one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. Trust me, clothes are not going to make him go bankrupt, my dear.”
“Look at that,” I whispered to him as I spotted a few men outside with cameras. They had long lenses and they were pointing them directly into the store windows towards us. “Why would they want pictures of me? I’m not with Hudson.”
Alec turned towards them then quickly turned back to what he was doing. He was hardly fazed.
“They’re such idiots,” he said. “Ignore them.”
I was beginning to hear their shouts through the glass, and the constant flickering of flash bulbs was starting to remind me of the night I fell outside the restaurant. As a sales woman flew outside to deal with them, I could feel my face growing red hot. My hands were clammy and sweat began to bead on my forehead. It was happening all over again.
I took a deep breath then turned back to see if they’d left yet. The sales woman was locking up the front door and lowering some automatic shades so they couldn’t see inside.
“Now why would they be doing that?” Alec muttered to me. “They only do that for celebrities. No offense.”
“Maybe Hudson made a call?” I wondered.
“Look, the guy might look like Superman, but Superman he is not,” Alec said. “I’m thinking we’re not alone in here.”
He peeked his head up above racks and peered around the store. It was quiet except for a few other voices coming from across the way.
“Oh, shit,” he said. I watched as his face fell and he spun back around on his heel.
“What? What?” I asked as I tugged his arm. “Why’d you say that? Why are you being weird?”
He pursed his lips together and refused to answer as I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. Fully expecting a sales person, I spun around only to be faced with none other than Ava Fox herself.
“Hello,” she said with the most condescending smile I’d ever seen. “You must be Brynn.”
I half-expected her to extend her hand, but she held it firmly on the strap of the calfskin satchel that hung sideways around her torso. Her eyes were icy cold, colder than the air conditioning that blew throughout the store that day.
“Y-yes,” I stammered.
“I hear you’re with Hudson Smith these days,” she said. She swallowed as if saying his name made her uncomfortable or instantly irritated.
“I don’t know how that’s any of your business, but yes I am,” I said. “Did
you follow me here?”
Her eyes grew wide and a little crazy before she responded, “Oh, no, no. Honey, don’t get it twisted. This is where I shop. Isn’t that right, Alec?”
She turned her body just enough so she could see Alec, who was cowering behind me. He didn’t answer her as his eyes focused on the pretty garments hanging in front of him.
“From one girl to another,” she said, in her still condescending tone. “I just wanted to give you a fair warning about Hudson. I’m sure he’s swept you off your feet. I’m sure he’s treated you like royalty. Taken you to fancy dinners. I’m sure he’s treating you to this shopping spree right now.”
So far she’d nailed it.
“But be warned,” she said as she put a slender hand on her narrow hip. “He’s a joke. You can’t believe a word he says about anything. Ever.”
“I think that’s for me to figure out,” I retorted. “But thanks.”
I suddenly noticed her little posse of friends standing behind her, watching everything. They all gasped when I spoke back to Ava as if I’d just done the unspeakable.
“Look, I’m just trying to do you a favor, sweetie,” she said as she looked me up and down.
Up close and personal Ava looked exactly like she did on screen. Her skin was a flawless shade of bronze. Her eyes were sparkling and blue. Her teeth were blindingly white. And her body was incredible. Not a strand of her shiny, flaxen hair was out of place.
“No need,” I said to her as I turned away, trying to end the conversation. “Are we done here, Alec?”
“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.
Smitten Page 16
