And did he mean it when he said, “or else?” Did he mean taking legal action? What would happen to Sienna and her family if he followed through on that threat?
While Harry worked at his father’s law firm, Sienna wasn’t sure he’d be willing to defend her, or anyone in their family, if push came to shove. Harry cared about Harry. And, in his weird, harsh way, Reagan as well.
This meant she would need to be extra good from here on out. No more letting Lila drama distract her. No more trying to open up to Fox and be his friend. Sienna needed to keep her eye on the prize.
And warn her sisters.
Seventeen
7 Days Until Dream Wedding
Sienna hurried to the second floor and knocked loudly on Audrey and Harper’s door. “I need to talk to you.”
The door flew open to reveal Audrey, makeup-free and in her pajamas—and she looked ticked off.
“What do you want?” Her sister’s tone stung, but this was important.
Sienna looked up and down the hall. “Can I come in?”
Audrey huffed. “I guess.”
Sienna rushed inside and closed the door behind her. “Are Harper and Reagan here?”
“No.” Audrey shook her head. “Harper had to run down to Flour Girl and take care of some business stuff, and Reagan is off somewhere with Harry.”
Sienna bit her lip. She really hated the idea of having to tell this story multiple times. It was embarrassing and painful, and Sienna would have much preferred ripping it off once like a Band-Aid. But she couldn’t wait. Audrey needed to know.
She bounced on the balls of her feet. “Listen. I made Bruce mad.”
“What?”
Sienna hurried to explain everything—how Bruce had pulled her aside and asked for her help, how she’d been caught on camera talking to Fox, and the way Bruce had threatened Sienna with, well, she didn’t know exactly, but it couldn’t be good, could it?
The only thing she left out was the drama with Lila.
When Sienna was done, her sister stared at her with an unnatural calm. All the air seemed to drain out of Sienna’s lungs. The lack of emotion on Audrey’s face was worse than if she was yelling at her.
“This is great.” Audrey threw up her hands and plopped down on her bed. “Just great. As if things could get any worse.”
Get any worse?
Sienna thought everyone was having fun competing against the boys and being out in the mountains. It had been a welcome break from the stress of her life in New York until the craziness of today had thrown everything off-kilter.
But maybe she wasn’t the only one hiding her worries behind a fake smile.
She took a step closer to Audrey. “Is everything okay?”
Audrey dropped head into her hands and sighed. “No. Everything isn’t okay. Eli and I had a huge fight.”
A fight didn’t sound too bad. “I’m so sorry, but I’m sure it’s just nerves. When you’re not used to being ‘on’ all the time, it can be draining for people.”
Audrey glared at her. “You don’t have to bring up your acting career in every conversation, Sienna. Not everything is about you.”
Ouch. That stung. Sienna took a deep breath and brought her focus back to her reason for coming: warning Audrey that the whole wedding may be in danger. This wasn’t about her, this was about everyone. But first, Audrey clearly was dealing with something, and Sienna wanted to help.
“What happened with Eli?”
Her sister shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go to bed.”
Another deep breath kept Sienna from saying something rude. She was exhausted and looking for comfort, too, and had thought she’d be getting it from her sister. Now she had to deal with two crises.
“You don’t have to tell me about Eli, but what should we do about Bruce?”
Audrey’s face went scarlet. “We? I’ve been doing everything right, Sienna. You’re the one that went rogue and decided to make this the Sienna and Fox show.”
“But you said that he…” Sienna swallowed hard to keep the tears prickling at her eyes from falling. “You and Harper and Reagan made me think that…” She shook her head.
“If I had known you’d blow up the entire show because of some silly crush, then I wouldn’t have teased you so much about him. Or told you all that personal stuff.”
“It’s not a silly crush, I—” Sienna stopped. What, exactly, did she feel for Fox?
Audrey sighed, long and deep and tired, and rubbed her temples. Sienna’s heart dropped. That was the classic end-of-her-rope Audrey move. Even her students knew when the temple rubbing started, that they were really in for it.
“Look, we’re both tired,” said Audrey. “If you could just try to make it through the next few days without adding more drama or making this somehow about you, that would be great.”
Sienna opened her mouth to say something, but the words never came.
“Why don’t you go back to your room and try to stay out of trouble. I’ll see you at breakfast.” Audrey walked over to the door and opened it. She stood standing next to it in silence waiting for Sienna to leave.
“Yeah, okay,” Sienna said as she walked out into the hall.
The door immediately closed behind her.
How had everything gone so terribly wrong so quickly? This morning, Sienna had a place to live, was looking forward to her sister’s wedding, and was eager to see what would happen with the thing building between her and Fox.
Now, she just wanted everything to be over.
Fox was done. They weren’t even halfway through filming, and it was just too much. Sienna had gotten under his skin in every possible way, and now all he wanted to do was escape. He needed a way out, a way to break that stupid twenty-page contract, to get back to the safety of his boats, far from the confusing mess his heart and head were in right now.
He needed to find Harry. As much as the guy made his skin crawl, he was a lawyer. Hopefully a good enough one to get Fox out of the show without messing anything up for Eli and Audrey.
When Fox came out of the safe room, Wade was waiting for him. “Ready to head out?”
Fox wavered. Going out didn’t mean he had to drink anything, right? It would be a way to escape, for sure. One he had managed to avoid for years. And Harry would be around when he got back from wherever Wade planned on taking him.
“Let’s go.”
Sneaking out of the inn unseen by the cameras was no easy feat. Members of the crew were stationed by the tent they had set up around the front of the inn to keep some of their equipment. The two pulled up their hoods and walked toward the parking lot.
“Just need to grab a CD from my car for the awesome playlist we’re making for the wedding,” shouted Wade in the direction of the tent. Softer, he said to Fox, “Hopefully something as boring as that won’t draw their attention.”
“That’s ridiculous. Who has a CD player in their car anymore?” whispered Fox as his heart pounded in his ears.
They weren’t supposed to go off the property unless it was for the show, though Harper had a little more freedom because of her bakery. Heading out now was breaking at least one, possibly two, of the clauses in the contract.
Fox looked around. “Where’s Eli?” He suddenly realized the groom-to-be was nowhere in sight. “Waiting for us in the getaway car?”
Wade shook his head. “He said he needed to talk to Harry about something.”
A flicker of hope shot through Fox’s body. Maybe by the time they got back, it wouldn’t even matter that they’d broken the contract. Maybe it would be null and void anyway. Fox had meant what he’d said to Sienna. There was no way Eli and Audrey would continue if it was making all their friends miserable.
Thinking about Sienna sent a burning flicker of pain through Fox’s heart. He’d been beyond furious at her betrayal in the woods, but what if Eli had been right, and she really hadn’t meant it? Fox’s brain had told him to look at the evidence, but his
heart had wanted to give her a second chance.
Except when he’d given her that chance, she’d lashed out at him in the meanest possible way. All he’d tried to do was help, and she’d thrown it back in his face.
No, he was done thinking about her. Done thinking about anything other than getting out of the Emerald Inn for the night.
They were finally at Wade’s car, but instead of opening the door, he pulled Fox down behind it, so they were out of sight from everyone. “You still run an eight-minute mile?”
Fox raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“We can make it to the highway in fifteen if you can keep up. From there it’s a quick rideshare away from town.”
And with that, Wade bolted through the parking lot, careful to crouch behind the cars as he circled along the edge. Fox hesitated for the briefest of moments before he followed, looking back only once to see if anyone had noticed. There was a flurry of activity at the entrance to the inn, and Fox picked up his pace. He caught up with Wade and flew past him down the long sloping drive to the inn.
After leaving the parking lot and making the long jog to the highway, they’d hid in the bushes at the end of the drive, to see if anyone was following them. Sure enough, five minutes later, two white production vans made their way down the long winding road that led to the inn. One went left and the other right.
Wade called a car, and it was an anxious eight-minute wait and ten-minute drive before they made it to downtown Wellspring. Once there, they played a game of hide and seek with the white vans through town. Wade and Fox ducked into stores whenever a car passed them on the street, then ran as fast as possible down the sidewalk.
Fox felt the thrill that only breaking the rules could give him. And in the grand scheme of things, these weren’t such terribly important rules to break. He hadn’t hurt anyone or stolen anything or broken any laws. This was the familiar exhilaration of youthful depravity, and he’d forgotten just how sweet it could be.
For the first time in what felt like years, though it had only been four days, Fox felt free.
They arrived at the bar sweaty and out of breath, and the two friends took the booth the farthest from the door. The fruity smell of hops permeated the air.
“I’ll grab you a coke?” Wade was standing, halfway turned toward the bar.
Fox felt the country music pounding in his ears, and the rough, squeaky vinyl against his sweaty skin. It was a simple question with a simple answer. But the fire of rebellion had been lit inside by their escape from the inn.
“Rum and coke,” Fox said.
Wade frowned. “You sure?”
Fox took a deep breath and looked his friend in the eyes. “Yeah.”
Wade spent the next thirty minutes talking about everything and nothing, while Fox’s drink sat untouched in front of him, sweating beads of condensation onto its cardboard coaster. While Wade prattled on, Fox watched the ice slowly melt to the sound of his heart hammering in his ears.
“Dude, have you been listening at all?” Wade waved his hand in front of Fox’s face. “You gonna drink that or just stare at it all night?”
“I...” Fox looked up at his friend, and down at the watery rum and coke sitting in front of him. The air was suddenly too noisy, too thick, and he was having trouble breathing. “I have to go.”
Fox shot out of his seat before Wade could even open his mouth. Back outside in the cool North Carolina night, he took off down the street in the direction of the Flour Girl Bakery. It wasn’t because he wanted to see Harper—he didn’t want to see anybody right now—but it was in the opposite direction from the inn. By now, anyone out looking for them had most likely given up the search.
This was not how Fox thought this night would go. Just a few short hours ago, when he’d been in the woods with Sienna, it had felt like the beginning of something.
But what, exactly?
It had been so many years since he’d let himself feel this much that it had taken him completely by surprise. His teasing had shifted at some point during the past few days from a place of annoyance to a place of attraction. Sienna had let him see past the fake smiling facade, and he’d fallen for the soft, beautiful, caring girl hiding behind it. He knew that she could be better, could be so much more than what she was showing people.
Could he accept both parts of her, knowing that her dreams depended on her keeping that facade in place?
Or would saying yes to whatever was happening with Sienna have the same effect as saying yes to a drink? It could take him down a familiar, shameful spiral, scraping bottom all because he let his feelings for someone else cloud his judgement.
There was no way to know.
So he had to do what he’d been doing so well the past ten years: protect himself. The risk was just too great, and he’d already lost so much. Sure, giving Sienna another chance and letting his heart call the shots might lead to something amazing, but it could also blow up in his face. So, he had to stay away.
It was the only way to be sure.
Eighteen
6 Days Until Dream Wedding
If it weren’t for her need for coffee, Sienna would have stayed in bed all day—all week even. She had no desire to go downstairs or see anyone. Audrey. Bruce. Fox. They were all sources of pain, in their own unique ways.
But the bright sunlight on her face reminded her that it was a new day, and no matter what kinds of new pain it might bring her, she would need caffeine to face them. So Sienna pulled on her cutest pair of jeans and ran a brush through her hair. Then she put on the smile she’d spent hours in front of the mirror practicing and went downstairs.
The quiet and subdued mood in the dining room was a surprise. Voices were low and it was like the energy had been zapped out of everyone.
Sienna looked around in a panic, but her heart rate slowed when she saw that both Audrey and Eli were in the room. They weren’t sitting at the same table, but at least they were here.
Sienna was still too hurt from what Audrey had said last night to go over and talk to her sister—especially since she was at a table with their mother—but she was still happy that, for now, the wedding appeared to still be moving forward. She didn’t want Audrey to be unhappy just because she was mad at her.
Sienna grabbed a large cup of life-giving java and plopped down next to Harper and Reagan just as Bruce came up to the front of the room.
“Good morning, everyone.” His smile was wide, but his eyes were dark. “I think we’re all feeling the pressure of shooting on such a tight schedule, so I wanted to tell you all how great you’re doing.”
Sienna’s stomach twisted, and not just from the way Bruce looked at everyone in the room. She’d need food soon, not just coffee, if she was going to get through today without bailing.
“It appears that you all need a break, so instead of shooting the next competition this morning, we’ll shift it to the afternoon. Enjoy a quiet morning, but make sure to stay on the Emerald Inn’s property. In a few hours, we’ll meet back here, hopefully refreshed.”
“Well that was nice of him,” said Sienna, her eyes wide. After the way he scolded her outside the safe room, she was surprised that he was being so compassionate.
Harper and Reagan, however, looked skeptical.
“Not really,” said Harper. “He’s hoping we’ll all walk around the woods talking about what happened last night.”
“What happened?” The panic was back in Sienna’s veins, making her as jittery as if she’d had three cups of coffee instead of one. Her head spun around, and she realized that Fox was not in the room. Had something happened after she’d run off?
“Fox and Wade escaped into town.” The corner Harper’s lip twitched up. “They said they were getting something from his car and then just ran down the mountain. A rideshare picked them up at some point, and they hid out in a bar.”
The coffee sloshing around in Sienna’s stomach threatened to come right back up. Fox had run away because of her. He’d been worried about
her, but she’d made him feel bad about everything, even when she’d been the one at fault yesterday. She’d pushed him to the edge and look where he’d ended up.
“How do you know all that?” Sienna asked.
Harper’s cheeks flushed pink. “I was down at the bakery last night dealing with a delivery issue,” she said, not quite meeting Sienna’s eyes. “I had a camera guy with me at first, though who knows what an hour of footage of me sorting through inventory will do for the show. But then he got a call and was picked up by one of the production vans. I knew something big must be happening but didn’t know what until I saw Fox an hour later wandering the streets on my way back.”
“Wandering...Drunk?” Sienna felt the shame wash over her. This was all her fault. He’d told her about his destructive past, and she’d pushed him anyway.
Harper shook her head. “Just tired, I think. He didn’t talk much on the way back but told me all about his and Wade’s daring escape.”
Reagan snickered into her cup of tea, but Sienna didn’t see what was so funny.
“How could they have just run off like that?” Sienna clutched her coffee mug. “We’re not supposed to go anywhere. What about the contract?”
“It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it,” said Reagan, putting her hand on top of Sienna’s. “They just needed a break. So now we all get one. Be happy. We can go back to our rooms and do a face mask or something.”
Pampering and forgetting about everything else? Sienna’s desire to sit around and do nothing warred with the one to find Fox and make sure he was okay.
Reagan smiled up at her, giving Sienna pleading puppy-dog eyes. And though Sienna still wanted to make sure Fox was okay, she also had heard, first-hand, the way Harry had been talking to Reagan since they all arrived at the Emerald Inn.
She sighed. “I’ll meet you in your room in ten?”
Reagan nodded.
The Bridesmaid & The Jerk (Wedding Games Book 1) Page 13
