“Another thing, he didn’t buy his apartment. He rents it,” she said. Her eyes focused like laser beams on my reaction.
“Oh, my God, Taylor,” I groaned. “Most of Manhattan is renters!”
“Not in this building,” she said. “No one rents in this building. The co-op is very strict about that. They haven’t made an exception in over a decade. He had to have known someone.”
“Sure,” I said. “He’s an investor. He probably has connections in every corner of the borough and then some. And do I even have to remind you that he lived here first? It’s not like he followed me here like some crazy stalker.”
She was growing frustrated with me. “Don’t you think it’s weird that he sort of pops into your life the moment your divorce is final? And he knows things about you? Like your favorite flowers or favorite band?”
I laughed. “He knows things about me because unlike most men, he actually listens to me and pays attention to the things that come out of my mouth.”
I wanted to ask Taylor if she was just jealous because I didn’t understand where all this doubt and conspiracy theory bullshit was coming from. I opted not to go down that road with her for the sake of keeping the peace. Accusing Taylor of something was the best way to tick her off and not hear from her for weeks.
“I’m just going to say it,” she said with her hands on her hips and her feet firmly planted. “I think he’s after your money. I think he’s a fraud. And I think you need to be careful.”
“Taylor,” I groaned as I sunk my head into my hands. “I love you, but you’re wrong. You don’t even know him. He makes me so happy and he’s so good to me. You should just be happy that I’m happy. Can we leave it at that for right now?”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” she said with sympathetic eyes. “Or swindled.”
“He’s not going to swindle me,” I laughed. “I would never let that happen. He can have my heart and only my heart. Nothing else.”
Taylor’s face washed over in defeat as she shrugged her shoulders. “I still don’t trust him but whatever.”
She gave me a quick hug and flung her bag over her shoulder.
“I’m going to do some more checking on him,” she said. “Just so you know.”
“Go for it,” I said with a smile. I refused to believe Beck was anything other than a man who was wild about me.
CHAPTER 10
My fingers drummed on the smooth marble counter as I gazed out the window. I felt like there were things that needed to be done, but I couldn’t focus on anything to save my life. I kept thinking about what Taylor told me. There had to be a plausible explanation for all of it. Beck was crazy about me. He was the most thoughtful, caring and generous man I’d ever met, but the timing of everything and the fact that he seemed to know me so well was slightly unsettling. But why would he offer to invest in my agency if he was after my money? It made no sense, and I resolved that Taylor was just jealous.
I needed to get out of my apartment and get some fresh air. I swiped my keys off the counter and headed downstairs to check my mail. I hadn’t checked it in at least a week. Nothing fun ever came in the mail anymore. I’d get an occasional catalog, but the invitations to all the fun events stopped the moment the divorce papers were filed. Now all I got were bills and junk.
The elevator doors parted and I jingled the keys from my hand, fumbling to find the one for my mailbox. Up ahead, was a man in a navy suit standing by the mail center and talking on his phone. Beckett.
From the looks of it, he was having a heated conversation. He was so tuned into his phone call that he didn’t hear me coming up behind him.
“I told you, this is only temporary,” he seethed. “Be patient…I have to do what I have to do…you know that.”
From the tone in his voice, it was clear to me that he wasn’t on a business call. It seemed way too personal.
I stood, frozen, as I thought about his words in the context of Taylor’s accusations earlier. Beck ended his call, shook his head in frustration, and spun around.
“Hadley,” he said, startled. “I didn’t see you standing there.”
He forced a quick smile and tried to compose himself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gemma Brooks is a sucker for a good love story that's peppered with plenty of drama. Writing since she was old enough to pick up a pen and graduating from college with a degree in English, Gemma's hunger for crafting stories has always been nothing short of insatiable.
When she's not hiding behind her laptop feverishly typing up scene after scene like a mad woman, you can find her drinking tea lattes from a local coffee shop, shopping for new perfume or lux candles, working on her tan, or searching for the perfect shade of red lipstick (which she still has yet to find).
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PAGE FORWARD FOR A SAMPLE OF MY OTHER SERIAL – STARSTRUCK!
EXCERPT FROM STARSTRUCK – BOOK ONE! (Free download here!)
CHAPTER 1
“Can you believe they’re filming a movie on our town?” I asked as I took a sip of my amaretto and Coke.
It was tradition every Friday night to meet up at the one and only bar in town, The Manhattan, for drinks. I don’t know why the bar was named Manhattan. We were smack dab in the middle of the country, surrounded by miles and miles of cornfields, in the middle of the great state of Iowa. The name of the bar made no sense, but it didn’t stop patrons from filing in seven days a week.
There was never much to do around here. The closest city with an ounce of entertainment and nightlife was a solid two hour drive from us, so most of the time we stayed local and made the best of it.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” my friend, Luke, said as he slipped his arms around my shoulders like I was his kid sister. “Not everyday something that exciting comes to Rock River.”
Luke and I had been best friends since we were in grade school, but the year I turned sixteen something changed. The annoying guy who used to chase me around with worms, the middle schooler who had a squeaky voice and a chin full of pimples, the guy who would roughhouse with me like I was one of the boys had suddenly turned into this strapping, gorgeous guy who made my heart flutter.
Almost overnight, the other girls took notice too and he became the most sought after boy in school, which I know didn’t mean much when you graduated with a class of fifty, but still. He was gorgeous, all 6’3’’ of him, and he was my best friend, which only made it that much harder to tell him how I felt.
A million times it was on the tip of my tongue and a million times, I clammed up. I couldn’t tell him how I felt, so instead I kept him close. We were practically inseparable, and all I could do was wait for him to someday love me back. So I ditched college and stayed in Rock River, never wanting to be too far from Luke.
It had been almost seven years since I first realized I loved Luke Summers. Over the years, I sat by as he dated and eventually dumped a handful of girlfriends, always hoping that I might be the next one, but it never happened. Through the sling of girls Luke had dated, I was always the one he came back to. I took comfort in that, even if it wasn’t in a romantic sense.
He’d worked for his dad since right after high school, and every year he’d buy a few acres and a few head of cattle as he tried to build up his own little farming empire. I loved that about him. He was so ambitious and hardworking. I just knew he was going to make an amazing husband someday. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone but him. He was my first love, even if he didn’t love me back in that way. I never gave up hope.
“So who’s in this movie they’re filming?” my best girlfriend, Piper, asked.
“Um, you don’t know?” I said with a smirk. “Hudson Smith.”
; His name rolled off my tongue like butter. He was only one of the hottest A-list actors in Hollywood. I may have lived a boring life of isolation in the middle of Iowa, but I never missed an issue of Us Weekly.
“Hudson Smith?” Piper said as a grin spread over her face. “We should totally go drive around town some night soon and try to find him.”
“I’m game,” I said with a mischievous smile. There were many things we did in our small town to keep ourselves entertained. Driving around and looking for people was one of them.
“Brynn used to be obsessed with him,” Luke teased as he nudged me.
“Like insanely obsessed,” Piper added. “Poster on the wall obsessed.”
“I was, like, fourteen, you guys,” I said.
“I’m getting another beer. You guys want anything?” Luke offered. It was rare that he’d offer. It seemed like someone was always waiting hand and foot on him, not the other way around.
I held my glass in front of Luke’s face. “Yes, please. And do I know you right now?”
“Take advantage of it while you can,” he said as he leaned over and pinched my arm. He smelled like sweet hay and musk from a day of working in the field.
The front door to the bar swung wide open, letting what was left of the daylight outside fill up our space for a brief moment. The men who entered were wearing mostly black. They definitely weren’t from Rock River. Every set of eyes in the bar honed in on the strangers as they made their way towards the bar and filled up every last available bar stool.
“Must be part of the film crew?” Luke mused.
“Duh,” Piper said as she turned around and quickly lost interest. “If it’s not anyone famous I could give two shits.”
“I don’t recognize anyone,” I said as I turned back away.
Within seconds, the front door swung open again and a single man stood in the doorway. I spun around to catch a glimpse and watched as this broad shouldered hunk of meat lingered. He peered around the room, probably waiting for his eyes to adjust, and bee lined it for the bar where the other men were perched.
“Is that who I think it is?” I said as I squinted to get a better look. I’d stared at pictures of Hudson Smith a million times in the pages of my magazines, but I’d always heard celebrities looked different in person.
“No fucking way,” Luke said as he cocked his head and tossed back the rest of his beer. “Well, Brynn, there you go. Go make your move.”
“You’re not seriously going to talk to him, are you?” Piper asked.
I hesitated as I locked eyes with Luke. Never in a million years did I stand a chance at hooking up with someone like Hudson Smith, but when was I ever going to run into him again?
“Yeah,” he said with an entertained grin. “Brynn, go talk to him. I dare you.”
I studied Luke’s face, hoping to find a hint of jealousy or hoping he’d talk me out of it. Sometimes I felt like he liked me but was just afraid to tell me. This would’ve been a great time to tell me not to go talk to some other guy, but Luke was practically pushing me towards Hudson, giving me away like some cheap token to be had.
“You think I should?” I asked, directing my question at Luke and only Luke. “He might sweep me off my feet and you guys’ll never see me again.”
He laughed and tossed his head back as if that scenario couldn’t have been more farfetched. He was probably right. “Do it. Go for it. See if he takes the bait.”
Piper watched me intently, almost in disbelief that I was even considering it. Ever since we were kids, I was always the shy one of the group. Luke was the charismatic, magnetic one. Piper was the chatty, extroverted one. And then there was quiet little me, always content to sit on the sidelines while everyone else had all the fun.
“So, are you going to go chat him up or what?” she asked.
I glanced across the room, and my heart began to flutter. The idea of hooking up with someone like him was so far-fetched and unrealistic. He was probably used to gobs and gobs of fans approaching him, hitting on him, asking for his autograph and everything else. I wasn’t sure if I could handle being ignored or rebuffed by someone like Hudson, but then again, it wasn’t any kind of embarrassment that a few drinks couldn’t numb.
I took a deep breath and tried to muster up an ounce of courage. My drink was finally working its way through my veins, and I could feel my buzz turning into a slightly drunken state.
I can do this, I told myself. He’s just a person like anyone else. I have nothing to lose but a tiny bit of dignity.
“Are you sure I should do this, Luke?” I asked him one last time. I secretly hoped he would tell me not to do it, but I had a feeling I was just annoying him at that point.
“Yeah,” he said with a drunk laugh. “Stop waffling. Go for it.”
The fact that Luke didn’t feel seem the least bit jaded by my approaching Hudson Smith tore away a little bit at me. There were times Luke would give me a certain look or make a certain comment, and I was sure it meant something. Apparently it had all been nothing but wishful thinking on my end.
Over the years I’d tried dating a few different guys, but nothing ever lasted. They were never right for me. They were never good enough. They weren’t Luke.
“Here, finish this,” Piper said as she handed me her half-empty drink. “You look nervous.”
“Um, I am nervous,” I said as I swiftly grabbed it from her, downed it, and slammed it on the table. “Give me a few minutes.”
“What are you going to say?” Piper asked. She was still very much amused by this entire thing.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Just wing it,” Luke said. “He’ll probably ignore you anyway.”
“Thanks,” I said to him in a sarcastic tone. “Way to make me feel less nervous.”
Luke let out the most annoying cackle, and I could tell he was way past drunk. He tended to overdo it sometimes, but I was used to it.
My body started to warm over, and I was feeling a bit more confident thanks to downing the rest of Piper’s vodka soda.
“Okay, I’m doing this,” I said. I reached down into my purse and strategically pulled out a tube of red lipstick. I slicked it on, rubbed my lips together, and fluffed my hair. I glanced over at Luke one last time who was just grinning and standing there waiting for the show to start.
In my heart of hearts, I knew I didn’t stand a chance in hell with Hudson. In my mission to try to give Luke a chance to admit he had feelings for me, I’d backed myself into a corner. There was no turning back. I had to go through with it.
Each step I took across the bar brought me closer to the stool where Hudson’s beautiful ass was resting. Even from behind, he gave me goose bumps. The way he sat there with his broad shoulders slightly hunched over the counter, drink resting lightly in one hand, were enough to give me butterflies.
As I approached, one of the men dressed in black edged in closer to him. I didn’t know if it was intentional or what, but I began to panic a little until he fortunately moved out of the way again. I had my shot. I had to take it.
“Excuse me,” I yelled over the loud music that pumped out of the speakers in each corner of the bar. I waited. Nothing. “Excuse me.”
I didn’t know if he was ignoring me or if he just couldn’t hear me. One of the guys sitting next to him clearly heard me because he spun around, then tapped Hudson on the shoulder and pointed towards me.
As if in slow motion, Hudson spun around in his stool, clutching a short glass of amber colored whiskey in his hand, and I thought for a moment I was going to pass out. I’d never been weak in the knees until that moment.
I expected him to give me a once over, to look me up and down, but he didn’t. His intense, dark brown eyes locked into mine, and I couldn’t turn away. My lips wanted to move, to say something, but I couldn’t. I was mesmerized.
“Yes?” he said as he finally broke the silence. He leaned back with his elbows resting on the coun
ter behind him. He was the epitome of confident.
“H-hi,” I stammered. I was off to a great start already. “I’m Brynn.”
“Hi, Brynn,” he said. The way my name rolled off his tongue sent my body reeling. I wondered if he knew he had that effect on people. “I’m Hudson.”
I smiled coyly as I searched for the right thing to say next.
“I just wanted to say welcome to Rock River,” I said. “I don’t know how long you’re in town for, but if you need anyone to show you around, I’m your girl.”
“Oh, yeah?” he replied. “I appreciate that. Thank you, Brynn.”
Beckett - Book 1 Page 6
