“Why not? Sienna is adorable,” said Wade.
“Then why don’t you go for her?” Fox countered.
“Nah, you know she’s not my type,” Wade said. “Plus, she’s in the entertainment business, so I thought you guys may have a lot in common.”
“I thought I had a lot in common with Becky too.”
Eli and Wade looked appropriately disgusted at the mention of Fox’s college girlfriend. The one who’d betrayed him and broken his heart in every possible way.
The one who looked and actedexactlylike Sienna.
“She is nothing like Becky,” said Eli. “Sure, she’s a little overly dramatic when she’s with her family and knows she can get away with it. But she’s been in the city for a few years now and still has her head on straight. She’s a good kid.”
Fox laughed. “‘Kid’ being the operative word here. She’s going to wake up one day and realize the world doesn’t revolve around her, and it’ll be the end of her.”
“Wow, harsh, dude,” said Wade. “You just met her this morning and said what, all of ten words to her? Give her a chance.”
Fox shook his head. Spending more time with that beautiful, shallow woman would just remind him of when he had been that young and hopeful and stupid.
“She’s not the maid of honor, so I won’t really see much of her, will I?” Fox was snapping off leaves from branches along the path. “They’ll probably pair me up with Reagan for stuff.”
“Maybe,” said Eli, suddenly running ahead on the trail. “Look, we’re here.”
Stepping around the final bank of trees, the three friends stood on an outcropping of rocks, looking over a green valley on fire in the golden evening light.
“Wow.” Fox and Wade laughed at their identical breathless reactions to the view.
“Are you sure you guys don’t want me to find you a teaching gig at my school?” Eli grinned. He spread his arms out wide. “You could be looking at this every day instead of the asphalt jungle or smelling fish on the docks.”
All the happiness left Fox at the reminder of his miserable job, but before he could dwell on those feelings, a woman he recognized as Audrey’s mom came rushing around the turn in the path.
Emily Hudson had the same fair skin and blonde hair as her daughters, only the smile lines around her lips were more defined ,and her crow’s feet were more noticeable. Other than that, she could have been the smallest of the little Russian nesting dolls he had imagined earlier.
“There you are,” she cried and entered the clearing with a cameraman close behind. She quickly walked over to where Eli stood, grabbed his face, and kissed his cheek. “Everyone is looking for you.”
Eli looked down at his watch with a good-natured smile. “What do you mean everyone is looking for us? I didn’t think we were supposed to be down there until six.”
A blush hit Emily’s cheeks. “Fine, not everyone. But I was outside walking around the property while Bruce interviewed the girls, and I met the owners of this place. They’re a young couple just like you, and I thought you might like to meet them.”
A quick glance in Eli’s direction told Fox that he most certainly did not want to meet some random couple that happened to own the Emerald Inn, but Eli nodded and said “sure” anyway.
“Then, come on,” Emily said, and grabbed Eli’s hand to drag him away.
Fox lagged behind on the trail as Mrs. Hudson and Eli shuffled down the path with the cameras behind them. But before Wade could follow them, Fox reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “So, what’s up with this family?”
A line formed between Wade’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
He was Eli’s best friend, but that didn’t mean he knew Audrey’s family very well. He’d always thought Audrey was really cool, but he’d been caught off guard by her kid sister. And it seemed like Mrs. Hudson was just as prone to drama.
Fox sighed. “Is everyone so high strung all the time?”
Wade chuckled and put his arm around Fox’s shoulder. “Maybe if you didn’t spend all your time scraping barnacles off the bottom of boats, you would know.”
“That’s not what I do, and you know that,” Fox said, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Wade. “I’m a motorboat mechanic.”
“Fine, you scrape barnacles off of motors, then.” Wade gave Fox’s shoulder a shove. “And I’d be high strung too if I’d been through what Mrs. Hudson has. Her husband left her with four young children and an empty bank account. Milo disappeared off to who knows where. Now she’s about to celebrate her first daughter’s marriage on television. I think she’s allowed to be a little...excitable.”
“You’re right,” Fox said and turned his eyes up to the canopy of leaves above his head. He’d heard Audrey talk a little about her family, but hearing about it and seeing it in person were two different things.
