Starstruck - Book Three Read Online Free

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.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 4
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “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