Starstruck - Book Two (5 page)

“Well, hello, gorgeous Iowa girl,” a flamboyant man with
platinum blonde hair and a golden tan said as he handed me a flute of
champagne. I felt like I was in a movie scene or something.

I watched him look me up and down quickly as a two-second
look of polite disgust washed over him. I knew my outfit was appalling by L.A.
standards, but after today, I was never going to wear those clothes ever again.

“So Hudson tells me you’re ready for a Hollywood makeover,”
he said. “All we’re missing is the reality show T.V crew.”

He laughed at his own joke, and I smiled courteously as I
sipped the champagne.

“Don’t worry, doll,” he said. “We’re going to fix you up.
Hudson won’t know what hit him by the time we get you back here.”

Butterflies ruffled my stomach as I fantasized about what I
was going to look like when he was done with me.

“I’m Alec, by the way,” he said. “I’m your Fairy Gaymother.”

He laughed, once again, at his joke.

“Just joking. I’m your stylist and personal assistant for
the day,” he said. “I’ll be taking you everywhere and helping you shop for your
new wardrobe.”

“Can’t wait,” I said.

The limo pulled up in front of a salon on the corner of a
busy street and we climbed out.

“You’re going to see Hudson’s personal hairstylist, Roxy,”
he said. “And his colorist, Maggie. They’re very difficult to get into, but
they’re squeezing you in as a personal favor to Hudson. Thank your lucky stars
and buy a lottery ticket, sweetheart, because this does not happen for just
anyone.”

Within minutes of checking in, I was soon whisked off for a
consultation with Maggie who decided to paint a few subtle, balayage highlights
into my chestnut hair. Once the color had been applied and processed, I had my
hair washed and scalp massaged by a young, aspiring stylist. Lastly, I was
whisked off to meet with Roxy for a cut and styled out by Roxy’s assistant.

Never did I ever think a haircut would make such a
difference, but the layers Roxy cut into my long hair completely changed the
shape of my face and brought out my hazel eyes.

“Do we need eyebrows today?” Alec said as he perched against
the wall behind me. He exchanged looks with Roxy who subtly nodded. “Okay,
we’re doing eyebrows.”

They escorted me to an esthetician who took her sweet time
crafting the most perfect arches I’d ever seen in my life.

“These really accentuate your eyes,” she said. “Your eyes
are incredible. Perfect almond shape. Not too wide set, not too close
together.”

I’d never had anyone pick apart my eye shape like that
before, but at least she was saying good things.

“Th-thank you,” I stammered. At least I assumed she was
giving me a compliment.

Alec glanced down at his big-faced watch. “We’ve got to go.
We have an appointment at Saks for makeup.”

“I’m all done here,” the esthetician said as she admired her
work. The skin beneath my eyebrows stung a little, but I didn’t care. They
looked fabulous.

We climbed back inside the waiting limo and headed to Saks
for our 2pm consultation at a Chanel makeup counter.

“When Hudson called me earlier and told me he had a friend
coming in, I’ll admit I was a little curious,” Shanda, the makeup artist, said.
“But he told me about how naturally beautiful you were, and I just love working
with natural beauty.”

Her skin was a flawless shade of cappuccino and she had the
longest eyelashes I’d ever seen. Her lips were soft and full and covered in a
pale, pink lip gloss. She was nothing short of beautiful herself.

“Thanks,” I said. “I usually don’t wear a ton of makeup, so
I don’t want to get into some crazy routine.”

“Absolutely,” she said as she held up different foundations
to my neck to try to find a match. “We can do a no-makeup look that’s perfect
for every day. Then I can find you some great lipsticks and eyeliners so you
can easily transition from day to night.”

“Sounds great,” I said while I stared at my reflection in
the mirror on the counter.

Alec sat in the bar stool behind me, eyes glued to his phone
most of the time.

“I can get a head start on wardrobe shopping,” he offered
after a few minutes. He was clearly bored with the makeup gig. “What size are
you?”

Alec himself was not a big guy, and Shanda’s bony wrists
told me she probably wasn’t a big fan of food either. She had to have been at
least a size zero, maybe even a double zero. She was a good three or four
inches taller than me too.

I blushed, not wanting to reveal my size. Back home, I’d
always been proud to be a six. Out here, I felt like that information should’ve
been private.

“Doll, your size?” Alec asked again.

“I guess it just depends on the brand,” I said. “Sometimes a
four. Sometimes a six.”

I was never a four. Ever. I kicked myself on the inside for
lying. He was probably going to run and pull a bunch of size fours and they
were all going to be too small and I was going to feel like a complete idiot
for lying about it.

“I prefer to go a size up and get everything tailored,” he
said. “I’ll pull some sixes and eights for you.”

I closed my eyes and thanked my lucky stars. “Thanks, Alec.”

Shanda finished up with me a little while later. My look was
stunning and flawless, and I could hardly see any of the makeup on me. It
looked so natural yet so polished.

“So? What do you think?” she asked with a huge grin on her
face.

“I love it,” I said. I couldn’t stop smiling at my
reflection in the handheld mirror in front of me. “You did good!”

She began lining up a bunch of products on the counter.

“I’ll take everything,” I said as I handed her Hudson’s
card.

She rang up a bag full of products and I couldn’t bring
myself to look at the total. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to spend the
rest of the day feeling like I owed him something.

I found Alec in the ready-to-wear section with an armful of
garments over his left arm. Evidently he’d been pulling like crazy.

“Wow,” I said. “You’ve been busy.”

“Oh, honey, you should see what’s in the dressing room for
you,” he laughed. “This is round two.”

“We’re going to be here a while aren’t we?” I asked.

“Go get started,” he said. “Last dressing room on the end.
That way. I’ll be over in a sec.”

I found the dressing room and stripped down, pulling on
various tops and jeans and pants and dresses. I started with the eights, which
were all slightly too big, and told Alec I agreed we should get them and have
them tailored.

Luckily a good portion of sixes fit me well enough to go
home with me that day. I wanted to get started with my new look. I didn’t have
time to wait for a tailor to take everything in.

Alec helped me find a
California-Coastal-meets-laid-back-Midwestern style, which he insisted I could
pull off well. He customized every outfit and told me what went with what. He
even offered to come by and take Polaroids of the different outfit combinations
so I never had to worry about coming up with something on my own.

“You’re too amazing,” I said to Alec as I hugged him at the
end of the day. “You really made this day so special.”

“Don’t thank me,” he said as he squeezed me back. “Thank
Hudson. He set everything up for you.”

“He’s pretty great, isn’t he?” I asked Alec.

“He likes you a lot,” Alec replied.

We trekked out of Saks and it was already starting to get
dark. I was exhausted and I knew Alec was too. I almost wished we had more time
together so I could pick his brain about Hudson, but I knew neither of us had
the energy. The ride home was pure silence.

“See you,” I called to a half-asleep Alec as I exited the
limo back at Hudson’s.

“Bye, doll,” he said back. He closed his eyes and reclined
back onto the buttery leather seats.

The driver helped me carry my huge bags of clothes and
makeup into the house, where Hudson was vegged out on the sofa watching some
sports game on his giant T.V.

“You’re home,” he said as he popped up. He flipped the light
on in the kitchen. “Let me get a good look at you.”

I smiled sheepishly and prayed that he was okay with my new
look.

“You look stunning,” he said as he drank me in. “You were
gorgeous before and now you’re just stunning.”

“Thank you,” I said. I studied his face for sincerity and
found it in his eyes. He meant what he said, and he liked how I looked either
way.

“But more importantly, how do you like it? How do you feel?”
he asked.

“I feel like a new woman,” I said. “I feel like I might not
stick out like a sore thumb anymore.”

He laughed as he put his arm around me.

“Your feet must be killing you,” he said. “All that time
spent shopping today.”

Now that he’d mentioned it, they were pretty achy. I
followed him over to one of the sofas in the family room where he sat me down
and pulled my flats off my feet. One by one, he began to rub them.

“Thanks,” I said to him. “Thanks for everything today.
Seriously. You have no idea how much fun I had and how much this all meant to
me.”

He looked pleased. “I just want you to be happy, Brynn.”

I leaned back onto an oversized throw pillow and shut my
eyes as his firm hands worked out every kink and ache in my poor feet. I
could’ve passed out right then and there.

I stood on the scale that morning not knowing what to
expect. It had been two weeks since my makeover, thirteen days since I began
taking advantage of Hudson’s amazing home gym, and ten days since I’d read
about a maple syrup/cayenne pepper/lemonade cleanse that all the celebrities were
doing to shed serious weight.

The numbers of the scale bounced back and forth, high and
low, before settling on a number I hadn’t seen in a long time. I was down twelve
pounds in two weeks. No wonder my clothes had been hanging off me a bit lately.

I squealed silently and clapped my hands together as I did a
happy dance. Those trolls are never going to call me fat ever again, I told
myself.

I hopped into the shower and lathered up under the hot
water. My fingers traced my ribs, and I could even feel a few bulging out. Iowa
Brynn wouldn’t have been happy about that, but California Brynn was elated.
Almost three weeks in L.A. and I was already evolving into someone I barely
recognized, inside and out.

I emerged from the shower and wiped the steam off the mirror
with a towel. My face was looking a little gaunt, but it was nothing that some
smart highlighting and contouring couldn’t fix. My eyes looked a little sunken
in, but it only made them look even bigger.

“Good morning,” Hudson said to me as I sauntered out to the
breakfast table with a little extra pep in my step. “You going to actually eat
something today?”

I’d been using tons of excuses lately not to eat much around
him, but I knew I was running out of them. Sometimes I’d eat a piece of toast
at breakfast and then mentally calculate how many minute I needed to log on the
treadmill or how many laps I needed to swim in his pool.

“Sure,” I said as I grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. I
wondered if Hudson was admiring my new frame or my outfit, but I couldn’t bring
myself to ask. I almost didn’t want to know.

“Listen,” he said. “I’ve got a press tour coming up this
weekend. I have to fly to New York.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “You did mention that the other day.”

“Then I’ve got one more week here with you before I have to
start shooting again,” he said. He still hadn’t brought up the fact that he was
shooting a movie with Ava Fox, and I still hadn’t mentioned that I knew
anything about it.

“Do you want to come with me to New York this weekend?” he
asked.

As much as New York sounded amazing, we’d been spending a
lot of time together, and I was growing slightly homesick.

“That sounds great and all,” I replied. “But if it’s okay
with you, I think I should go home this weekend. I need to check on my mom.
Catch up with Piper. That sort of thing. I’ve never been away this long
before.”

“Brynn, that’s totally fine,” he said, almost insulted by
the fact that I would need to ask his permission. “I’ll book your tickets
today. Not an issue.”

My face lit up as relief washed over me.

“I’m going to hate being away from you though,” he said with
a pained look on his face.

“We’ll talk and text every day,” I promised. “Or iChat or FaceTime
or whatever. It’s just a couple of days.”

“I know,” he said as he stood up and walked over to me. “I
just hate letting you out of my sight.”