I nodded my head and smiled. “I think that it’s nice that your brother found another shot at love. It doesn’t really happen to most.”
He looked at me and there was something about the way he stared at me that made me feel something that I wasn’t meant to. It’s been a week that I was his assistant and although we never saw eye to eye and we were vocal about our mutual hatred for each other, there were moments when sometimes even I forget that I hated him. It was in moments where he doesn’t see me staring at him or he would randomly burst in a song or dance during his photoshoots, it was the carefree way he carried himself that felt like a breath of fresh air for someone who lived life in a tight leash.
But then Julian cleared his throat and in a snap, we were reminded that we didn’t really like each other but tolerated the presence of the other. “Yea, I guess it is. Anyway, I don’t think Megan would be mad at me for giving Violet a few sweets but I’m sure the kid won’t tell her parents. My brother’s a little overprotective and strict at times. Nowhere near how my other brother parents.”
My eyebrows rose. I didn’t really know much about Julian even when I’d been working as his assistant for seven days and although I was certain that Amber talked about him and his background to me five years ago, it wasn’t as if I was interested to listen but now that I was working as his assistant- even just for a month- I think it would be better if I knew him a little more, even just the basics.
“Three older brothers,” Julian said as we turned to the aisle where all the breads were located, “and I have two nephews and one niece which you’re going to meet later tonight. Leo and I have this sort of competition going on about being the best uncle for Violet. Obviously, Everett can’t join the competition because while Violet grew up, he was the uncle that she mostly saw around since she still lived in Irving back then and I think he also has the best uncle slot bagged with Max at the moment until I can help it.”
I cocked my head to the side. “And Max is…”
“Leo’s son. We didn’t know about him until last year.”
“So he’s still a baby?”
“He’s seven.”
I blinked, thoroughly surprised by that. “So basically, your brother kept his son hidden from you all?”
By now, we were in the cereal sections and he kept tossing sugary cereals into our cart and I kept taking out the ones that were a little too much for a kid as I walked beside him. “No, it’s not like that. It’s not like his mother kept him a secret from us because we didn’t really know her. Leo…I guess you can say, he was a little like me. Set on breaking hearts and leaving women.”
I pursed my lips. “And he didn’t know he had a kid? What about the mom?”
“He was in love with Eleanor. He just didn’t want to acknowledge it,” Julian paused for a minute and he looked thoughtful and then he turned to face me, “I think my brothers have a bit of an issue with commitment."
His statement made me pause and I stared at him. “Are you sure they’re the only ones with commitment issues? You’re an Hudson too, Julian. Maybe you’re all commitment-phobes.”
Julian took a step closer to me until he backed me up against the array of cereals but stopped before my back could be pressed against the shelves. He leaned his face close to mine and there was a flicker of emotion in his blue and gray eyes and the corner of his lips twitched as he gazed at me. “They tell me that there might be a girl out there that would make me want to reconsider but we both know that commitment is a choice and if you ask me, I’m doing rather well with this bachelor lifestyle.”
“What if you find that girl you talked about in the interview?” I wasn’t sure why I asked him that but Julian paused at the question and seemed to ponder about it for a moment.
And then he pursed his lips and looked at me with a small smile on his face and for a second, he almost looked absolutely endearing. Almost. “Then maybe the stars will align differently and I’ll understand why my brothers seem to be unable to recover when they fall in love.”
“Do you want to?” I whispered, caught in a trance by his blue and gray eyes, trapped in cloudy daylight where the sun couldn’t even sliver through.
Julian’s face was so close to mine and at this close proximity, all I could see were his eyes and the tiny freckles that were on his face. I could see the streaks of green in the blue of his eyes and it reminded me of the ocean and along with the gray, Julian looked like the storm and as he stared at me, for a brief moment, I wondered where the course of his storm was.
“Is that Julian Hudson?”
“Oh my god, is she his girlfriend?”
They were quiet whispers but they were loud enough to break us from the trance we were in. Quickly, Julian pushed me behind him to cover me so that his fans wouldn’t see me. “Would you like a picture?”
He sounded so charming and I could hear the girls squeal with delight. I took it as my cue to leave and scurry into a different aisle, not far from where he was so he wouldn’t have the trouble to find me. Since I’d been his assistant, we’d never really bumped into any of his fans when we were out together and there hadn’t been any rumor going around that he had a mystery lady. Although I was certain that if there was, Julian would’ve squashed the rumors immediately, because there was no way he wanted people to assume that we had any kind of relationship.
“I think we should have these checked out,” Julian said, approaching me as he pushed the cart to where I was.
“Did they ask?”
He shrugged. “I told them the truth that you’re some girl desperate for my attention and stalked me despite the TRO I filed against you. And despite that, you continued on with your stalking ways.”
I scoffed and punched him on the shoulder and he winced, gripping his shoulder and glaring at me as I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s not funny, Julian. You’re not the one who’s going to be on the receiving end of malicious and hateful comments.”
He chuckled and then pushed the cart as I followed him. “There wouldn’t be any, Audrey, because I told them you were my assistant and that we were discussing something serious which was why we had to be in close proximity so no one could hear us.”
“How do I know you’re not lying and that there wouldn’t be any internet trolls sending me hateful comments on my social media accounts?”
“How do you even know that they already know who you are?” he asked, making a face.
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, do not underestimate the stalking tendencies of fan girls, Julian.”
Julian’s lips twitched into a smile, one that lit his cloudy daylight eyes and the sight of it made my heart flutter momentarily. He didn’t say anything and then reached for my wrist, tugging me forward as he pushed the cart so we could leave the supermarket and the part where his hand touched my wrist, it felt as if there was a chemical reaction because I could feel pinpricks of electricity, almost like bubbles in effervescence going through me.
We paid for all the items that Julian brought, brought the cart to the parking lot and Julian unloaded everything into my car and brought back the cart to the front of the supermarket where the other carts were. Neither of us spoke as I slid in the driver’s seat and started the car and Julian strapped himself with the seatbelt. He was playing with the radio until he stopped to an old song, She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5.