Starstruck - Book Three by Gemma Brooks Page A

hanging on
Hudson’s arm.
     
    “You look nervous,” he laughed.
     
    I shrugged. “I just hate people looking at me.”
     
    “Is it because of what happened a month ago? With the
tabloids and the fall?” he asked. “Brynn, you’ve got to get over that. Do you
want me to go online and show you horrible photos of myself? I will. They’re
out there. They exist. You just have to push them out of your mind and move on.
For every bad picture of you floating around out there, there are a hundred
good ones.”
     
    “I suppose,” I said. I’d suddenly lost my appetite. Of
course I was going to accompany him, but it wouldn’t be without reservations. This
sort of thing went along with being his girlfriend. It was pretty much a
packaged deal.
     
    “No one’s going to be looking at you as much as you think,”
he said. In his attempt to reassure me, he almost offended me. He laughed,
“That sounds bad. I didn’t mean it that way.”
     
    I laughed. “I knew what you meant. People will be talking to
you and asking you questions, and I’ll just be one of those people who stand in
the background holding their clutch and looking pretty.”
     
    “Exactly,” he said as he reached over and patted my hand.
“You’re so good at this already.”
     
    “I’ve never had to get dolled up this way,” I told him.
“Except for prom, which is hardly comparable.”
     
    Back in Rock River, getting ready for prom meant donning an
off-the-rack dress from the nearest department store, going to a local salon
for a tight, bobby-pinned up do, and getting together with your girlfriends to
slap on a little bit of drugstore makeup.
     
    “Oh, don’t worry about that,” he said. “I’ll have my team
get you ready. You don’t even have to lift a finger. Just send Alec your
measurements. He’ll pull some dresses. My hair and makeup team will come here.
It’ll all be a piece of cake.”
     
    I wrapped my hands around my glass of chilled juice and
leaned back, wet hair dripping down my back.
     
    “Sounds fun when you put it that way actually,” I said as my
lips curled into a smile. “A girl could get used to that.”
     
    “And a girl should,” he smiled as he winked at me.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 2
 
     
     
     
     
    The day of the red carpet event was nothing but a blur of
makeup, hairspray, perfume, double stick tape, and a steady stream of cocktails
to ease my nerves. As my long, chestnut hair was back teased and brushed into
the most elegant, glam style I’d ever seen, Hudson was on the phone with his
“people” going over talking points for his interviews.
     
    Hudson slipped me a Xanax on the ride over, and I silently
told myself everything would be fine. The press wasn’t vicious like the
paparazzi. This was all work.
     
    I did my best to look confident and calm in the background
while Hudson fielded questions from various media outlets. He did a few
interviews and then we were whisked away to the theatre where we were able to
get cozy and watch his film besides other a-listers and Hollywood
business-types.
     
    In all my life, I’d never seen such a beautiful theatre
before. Plush, velvet seats and ornate gold leafing on the ceiling were just a
few of the incredible details that surrounded us. I probably spent more time
admiring the insanely elaborate surroundings than actually watching his movie.
     
    Just as soon as it had started, it was all over, and by the
time we reached our limo, my buzz had worn off. I suddenly found myself looking
after a very drunk Hudson Smith. I’d never seen him so drunk before, and I
chalked it up to the fact that he was so busy that day he didn’t eat much. He
wasn’t as tanked-up as he was the night I didn’t come back, but it was a close
second.
     
    “This way,” I said as I led him to the waiting car and
helped him climb in.
     
    He slid across the black leather and leaned back. With his
head resting at an awkward angle and his eyes closed, a huge smile crept across
his