And then louder still, until his voice drowned out every other sound.
He belted out the last verse, feeling even more ridiculous than when he’d started. But man, it felt good to sing.
At least until he turned around the bend and saw Sienna standing there.
Of course she would appear when he wanted nothing more than to be alone.
She wasn’t walking, instead leaning against a tree like she was in the middle of a photo shoot.
Panic shot through Fox’s veins, and he looked around. No, there were no cameras. That’s just the way she stood, apparently, like the whole world was looking at her.
He certainly was right now.
“You know, most people move when they’re hiking,” he said, stopping a few feet away from her. His heart was pounding. Maybe she hadn’t heard his singing.
“You know, most people who sing like that don’t just give it up for no reason.”
Or maybe she’d heard it all.
“I don’t sing that well. And I didn’t give up for no reason. I had agreatreason.” He walked past her. “Maybe I don’t like talking about it with strangers in the woods.”
Though “stranger” wasn’t exactly a fitting description of Sienna. In just a few days, she’d learned more about him than he’d ever shared with his colleagues he’d known for years. And soon, she’d be his best friend’s sister-in-law.
Regardless, he didn't want to talk about it withanyone.
“Audrey told me you were amazing on the guitar,” she said, following him down the trail. “That you had a record deal.”
“Audrey shouldn’t have told you that. That’s all in the past.”
She walked in front of him and stopped, hands on her hips. He pulled up short to avoid plowing into her.
“There’s only two reasons someone with that much talent gives up.” She held up a finger. “Either you partied too hard, and they dropped you for your antics, or you choked during a major performance, and they dropped you.”
Fox snorted. If only one of the options she provided was the reason. He pushed past her, refusing to give her an answer.
Unfortunately, she followed, not picking up on the obvious I-don’t-want-to-talk-about-it vibe he was throwing out with his silent retreat.
“Did you get stage fright?”
Fox rolled his eyes but kept walking.
“Crazy stalkers who carried locks of your hair in a locket around their neck?”
Like he’d even gotten close to that level of fame.
“How about—”
Fox spun on his heels and faced Sienna. “How about my girlfriend, and co-writer, ditched me the second she came across someone more famous and took all my songs with her. Let’s just say, it was really hard to finish the album after that.”
Sienna’s mouth dropped open. For once in her life, she appeared to be speechless.
“Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it.” He gave her one last hard look before he turned back around and started walking down the trail again.
And yet, she still followed him.
Fox growled under his breath. Did she ever pick up on body language? It seemed like a glaring problem for someone whose very job depended on portraying different personalities.
“I can’t even imagine my life without acting,” she said, surprisingly close behind as Fox picked up his pace. “How have you gone ten years without performing?”
