I so badly wanted the conversation to continue, but I realized I hadn’t left it very open-ended. I lingered for a few moments, awkwardly, as he stared deep into my eyes. It was almost like he was staring into my soul. It was intense. Almost paralyzing.
“I, um, just need to order another drink,” I said as I flagged down the bartender. “One amaretto and Coke.”
The bartender began mixing up my cocktail as I stood and waited. Hudson still hadn’t turned back around. He was still facing me, staring at me, in the same relaxed position. I casually spun my head around to see what Piper and Luke were up to, but they were standing at their table watching like a couple of pathetic idiots. They were too entertained by this.
The bartender sat my drink down, and as I reached over to give him my debit card, Hudson grabbed my hand. His grasp sent shivers down my spine. I was not expecting to be touched by him.
“It’s on me,” he said with a smile and a wink. He reached down and pulled his wallet from his pocket, slapping a twenty on the bar. “Keep the change.”
“Oh, thank you,” I said to him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You didn’t have to come over here and welcome me to your little town,” he said as he took a sip from his drink, his eyes never leaving mine. “But you did.”
I tried to study him, to take him all in. I was sure this would probably be the only time in my life I’d ever be within spitting distance of a bona fide celebrity, and he just happened to be one of the hottest men on the planet. Seriously. I think he was voted some magazine’s “Hottest Man of the Year” the previous year. His hair was dark, cut a little short, and slicked with some sort of brill cream. His five o’clock shadow suggested he’d probably last shaved earlier that morning. His skin was flawless, and his lips looked pillow soft.
“So have you lived here your entire life?” he asked. “Rock River?”
“Yep,” I said. “Born and raised.”
“When they told us we’d be filming some scenes in Iowa, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said. “But so far your little town is very, uh, quaint. The people are pretty nice. Everyone’s been really welcoming so far.”
“Great,” I said. “I’m glad to hear that. How long are you in town for?”
“Just another week I think,” he said. “Depends on how quickly we get these scenes shot.”
“It only takes a week to film a movie?” I asked, confused.
He laughed, revealing the most dazzling smile I’d ever seen. It was even better in person than it was on a movie screen or glossy page of a magazine.
“No,” he said. “It takes a lot longer than a week. We just shoot some key scenes here. Everything else is shot on a sound stage back in L.A.”
“Oh,” I said, laughing sheepishly. “That makes sense.”
I lingered a bit more as my feet felt cemented by his presence. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go back to Piper and Luke who would ask me fifty million questions and giggle and laugh and make a scene. Hudson was seriously cool, and he was talking to me, and I didn’t want him to think I was just some pathetic fan.
“I work at the Brown Bag Diner,” I said. “It’s just off the south side of the square on Main Street. If you ever get hungry, we have pretty good nightly specials.”
I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. It sounded so lame.
“Yeah, I think I drove past that last night,” he said. “You guys don’t have a lot of restaurants in this town. We were looking for a place to eat, but everything was closed.”
“Sorry,” I said as I bit my lip. “Everything closes around here by nine. It sucks.”
“Well, I’ll just have to make sure I eat dinner earlier,” he said. “Not a big deal.”
I wasn’t sure how much longer I could make small talk with him. I didn’t want to bore him or intrude any longer than necessary.
“Okay, well, it was really nice meeting you,” I said with a smile.
He sat up, as if he didn’t want me to leave, and his face fell a little.
“You have somewhere to be?” he asked with a cocky smirk as his eyes scanned around the room. I watched as his gaze fell upon Luke and Piper, and he realized they’d been watching us the entire time. “Those your friends?”
I turned around, embarrassed, and hung my head. I’d been caught red-handed.
“Sadly, yes,” I said.
“Is that guy your boyfriend?” he asked, drawing out his words. “How long have you been with him? Wait, let me guess, you’re high school sweethearts.”
“Nope,” I said. “Just a friend.”
He smiled a Cheshire grin and tossed back the rest of his drink. “I see.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know they’ve been staring the whole time. They didn’t think I’d come and talk to you.”
“If I buy you another drink, will you talk to me a bit longer?” he asked. “I don’t know if I want to send you back there quite yet.”
It took everything I had not to let my jaw drop to the floor. I couldn’t believe Hudson Smith wanted to spend more time with me.
“Um, sure,” I said as I tried my hardest to play it cool.
“Another amaretto and Coke?” he asked.
I nodded as I bit my lip, and he turned towards the bartender to place the order.
“Hank, move your ass,” he said as he nudged the big guy next to him. “Let the lady have a seat.”
“Oh, yeah, yeah, here you go,” Hank said as he stood up and offered his bar stool.
“Thank you, Hank,” I said with my sweet little Iowan smile.
While Hudson had turned away, I flipped back quickly to look at Luke and Piper. Piper’s eyes were as round as saucers and Luke’s flippant, overly ambivalent attitude was clearly beginning to fade. He turned his back towards me, and I would’ve killed to see his face in that moment. Was he jealous?
“So,” Hudson said as he reached over and placed his hand on my knee and leaned in towards me. “What do you do for fun around here?”
I laughed. “It depends on your definition of fun.”
“Try me,” he said. “I like to think I have an open mind.”
The music pumped loudly in our ears, and I was beginning to grow annoyed by it. I wanted to have a real conversation with him. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was being destroyed by some bad eighties hairband music and the clinking of beer mugs and laughing of drunk people.
“It’s really loud in here,” he said as if he had just read my mind. “Do you want to go somewhere and talk?”
“Um, sure,” I said with a nervous grin. How could I say no to an invitation from Hudson Smith?
“I’m staying at the Wild River Lodge up the street,” he said.
“Yep, I know exactly where that is.” I stood up and grabbed my purse, clutching it under my arm. He downed the rest of his drink and sat the glass down gently on the bar. He raised his hand in the air as if to thank the bartender for his good service and then headed towards the door.
I spun around, waved at Luke and Piper, and walked out behind him. I couldn’t believe that was actually happening. It was all so surreal.
“I hope you don’t mind if we walk,” he said.
“Not at all. It’s just a couple of blocks.” I trailed behind him for several steps before he abruptly stopped and waited for me to catch up with him. Part of the walk was alongside a seldom-busy highway, but tonight there happened to be more traffic than usual. “Walk on this side of me.”
He walked on the side closest to the oncoming traffic, shielding me, and it was so unexpected. He didn’t even know me, I was a nobody compared to him, yet he was protecting me.
We walked mostly in silence, the gravel kicking beneath our every step, and within a few short minutes we’d arrived at the lobby of the Wild River Lodge. The look on the night clerk’s face when he saw me walk in with Hudson Smith was completely priceless. I expected rumors to be swirling around Rock River by noon the next day.
I followed him to the elevator where we kept a safe distance between us. In that small, confined space, I couldn’t help but notice the height he had on me. In person, he looked much taller than he did in the movies. He wasn’t nearly as tall as Luke, but he was still a good six feet tall. Then again, everyone was tall compared to my 5’4’’ stature.
“Just to your right,” he said as the elevator dinged and the doors parted. “Room 478.”
I headed towards his room, my heart thumping hard in my ears.
CHAPTER 2
Hudson swiped his card and held the heavy door open for me. The smell of a freshly cleaned and sanitized hotel room filled my nostrils. The air was chilly, and he reached over and flipped on the lights. One king-sized bed rested smack-dab in the middle of the room along with a sofa, nightstand and dresser. Floor to ceiling curtains covered the far wall and hid the sliding glass door that led out to a private balcony.
“Nice suite,” I said.
He smiled and said nothing.
I stood with my arms crossed awkwardly down at my hips, almost paralyzed with anxiety. Being alone with Hudson in the quietness of his hotel room was almost too much for me to handle.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said as he pointed to sofa.
I walked over and took a seat, crossing my legs and trying to appear relaxed and comfortable. I was pretty sure I looked like a complete, nervous moron.
He pulled his keys and wallet from his pockets and splayed them out on the dresser before walking over to the sofa and sitting down next to me. He widened his hips and leaned back as he placed his hands behind his head, fingers interlocked. Every move that man made was so smooth, so fluid.
“This is much better,” he said. “Now I can actually hear myself think.”
“Totally,” I said. I was tongue-tied and couldn’t think of a better response.
“So,” he said as he took a deep breath. “You have a boyfriend or anything?”
“No,” I said. “Not at the moment.”
“And you’re how old now?” he asked as he raised one eyebrow.
“Twenty-three,” I replied. “How old are you?”
I pretended not to know.
“Thirty,” he said with an exasperated sigh. “Getting old.”
I laughed. “That’s not old at all.”
“It is in Hollywood,” he replied. “It’s ancient. All these young guys keep coming in with their jacked bodies and chiseled faces. It’s hard to keep up.”
“I doubt that,” I argued. “You’re, like, Hollywood royalty. You’ve been around a while. People know you. You’re a household name. You have staying power.”
“You’re beginning to sound like my manager,” he laughed. “Anyway, we don’t have to talk about me. I get tired of talking about myself. Tell me about you.”
He lowered his arms down to his lap where they rested confidently. He turned his entire body and shifted towards me.
“What do you want to know?” I asked with a half-smile.
“Anything,” he said. He seemed captivated by me, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all an act. He was a famous actor after all.
My face suddenly turned ten shades of crimson as the spotlight fell upon me. I didn’t usually like talking about myself either, and especially not to someone as fascinating as he was.
“Don’t be shy,” he said with a laugh. Again, it was like he could read my mind. “So I know that your name is Brynn, you’re twenty-three, you waitress, you have a friend, and you’ve lived in Rock River your entire life. What else can you tell me?”
“God, when you say it like that, it makes me sound so boring and pathetic,” I huffed. I placed my hands on my cheeks which were burning red by then.
“I doubt you’re boring, and I don’t think you’re pathetic at all,” he reassured me as he reached over and pulled my hands away from my face. He inadvertently pulled me closer to him in the process.
“Do you get a lot of random women approaching you when you’re on location?” I asked, changing the subject.
A smile spread across his full lips, and he tossed his head back and nodded.
“I didn’t want to be that girl,” I said.
He shrugged as he if he understood.
“I have something really silly to tell you,” I said. I looked up at him to gauge his receptiveness. His eyes were honed in on mine with an intensity that burned even brighter than before. “It’s really embarrassing actually.”
“What?” he said with a laugh. “Now you have to tell me.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t say anything,” I said. “It’s really silly.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand, playfully swinging it. “You have to tell me now. You brought it up.”
I bit my lip and opened my mouth, waiting for the words to slip out. He was leaning towards me, waiting to hear my silly secret.
“I had the biggest crush on you when I was younger,” I said. I closed my eyes, scrunched my face, and inwardly cringed. I couldn’t believe I’d just admitted that to him. I figured any second now he was going to look at me like I was some silly fan girl and tell me to get the hell out of his hotel room.
“You did?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.
“Yeah, like I had a poster of you on the back of my door that I’d kiss goodnight every night,” I said with a wince. I crossed my fingers that maybe he’d think it was cute.
“That’s sweet,” he said with a bit of a laugh. “I’m really flattered. Let me guess? The poster was me with a leather jacket and gelled hair. I’m leaning against a tree with my leg kicked up behind me.”
“That’s the one!” I exclaimed. “How did you know?”
“That was the biggest seller,” he said.
“I ordered it from the back of a Tiger Beat,” I admitted. “Ten bucks.”
He laughed and locked his hazel eyes into mine for a moment. He hadn’t asked me to leave, so I had that going for me.
“I never thought I’d actually meet you,” I said. “And I don’t want you to think I expect anything to happen. You know, since we’re in your hotel room.”
Now the word vomit was happening. I couldn’t stop.
“I hope you don’t think I’m throwing myself at you,” I continued. “I’m not like that. I just wanted to meet you.”
He studied my face intently while I rambled on, making excuses for my brazen behavior that evening.
“I don’t have any expectations,” I blathered on.
“Brynn,” he interrupted me. “Stop.”
I zipped my lips, not knowing where he was going with that.
He reached his hand up and cupped the side of my face as if I was some sweet, naïve girl that he felt sorry for. He cocked his head to the side and suddenly I found his lips mere inches from mine. He leaned in even closer and placed his mouth onto mine.
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Beckett - Book 1 Page 7
