Fox watchedthe rude girl from the bathroom walk over to where Audrey and Harper stood. Once the third girl took her place beside them, they looked like Russian nesting dolls—all fair-skinned, blonde hair, and slightly staggered heights. It would be comical if Fox wasn’t so irritated about his earlier interaction with the newcomer.
The pit forming in Fox’s stomach already knew the answer, but he had to ask. “Who’s that girl standing next to Audrey?”
Eli turned to where his future bride stood laughing at something one of the other girls had said. “Which one?”
The prettiest one, Fox almost said, but caught himself. “The one in the blue tank top.”
Eli chuckled. “Oh, yeah. That’s Sienna. She’s Audrey’s youngest sister. Basically, everything you’d expect from the baby of the family.”
The baby. That sounded about right from what he’d seen so far. Plus, she looked at least ten years younger than Fox, which would put her in her early twenties. Girls that age had more beauty than sense, in his experience.
But, just to be sure…
“What do you mean ‘everything you’d expect from the baby’?” he asked, peeling his eyes away from where she stood and back to Eli.
“Only that she's a bit of a drama queen. Loves attention. Moved to New York right after college to pursue an acting career.”
Ha! He’d been right about her age. The acting thing fit too. She was a picture-perfect, spoiled cele-brat. “Actress, huh? Been in anything good?” He lifted his brows.
“If you call an off-off Broadway play that even Audrey wanted to bail on early and a three-episode run on a second-rate crime drama ‘good,’ then sure.” Eli shrugged. “It’s cool though, she’s got a big heart and enough grit. She’s been working, like, three part-time jobs or something the past year but she doesn't let it get her down. She’s convinced she’s a star.”
Fox laughed to himself. “Yeah, I can see that.”
A line formed between Eli’s brows. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Eli gave him a questioning look, but thankfully Fox was saved from having to explain any further by an unnatural hush that spread through the small crowd gathered outside.
A middle-aged man walked up the oversized steps that led to the front of the inn. His slicked back, dark brown hair was sprinkled with gray. He wore a suit that said, “Look at me, I’m important.” But the power that radiated off the man was enough to command attention even if he had been wearing old jeans and a ratty t-shirt.
“Good morning, everyone!” He flashed them all a blindingly white Hollywood smile. “My name is Bruce, the executive producer forWedding Games.Now that we’re all here, I’d like to go over some last-minute things you should know.”
What else was there to know about being on a reality show besides “bring all the drama” and “leave your brains and dignity at the door”? This was as close to a nightmare as Fox could imagine. But after everything Eli had done for him over the years, Fox had said yes without hesitation. That didn’t mean he hadn’t read the contract about fourteen times. After all the mistakes he’d made in the past, he’d wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he was getting into before he signed on the dotted line.
“The filming forWedding Gamesstarts at dinner tonight. We’ll have everyone gather into the meeting room, and then the host of the show, Jason Castle, will go over some of the challenges.”
There was a sudden rush of excited whispers at the name of the host. Fox vaguely remembered seeing him on TV as a kid, thinking he was pretty cool. Now he just looked old.
“What kind of challenges?” said a female voice from the crowd. Fox didn’t have to turn his head to know who it was. Not only was the voice familiar, but based on what he’d observed, and what Eli had just told him about Audrey’s youngest sister, there was only one person it could be.
“And ruin the surprise?” Bruce’s mouth curved into a smile. “Sorry, but we’re hoping to catch authentic reactions from everyone.”
“Authentic reactions?”
Bruce’s smile tightened to a thin line. “We know none of you are professional actors or actresses.” Fox turned his head just in time to see the scowl on Sienna’s face. “We’re not looking for you to feign shock, joy, or even anger. We want you to be yourselves.”
Fox shook his head at the young woman’s reaction. Someone must have forgotten to tell the producer that he was in the presence of Broadway’s next rising star.
Bruce’s jaw clenched slightly before his smile returned. “You’ll also be happy to know we set up one room on the bottom floor as a safe space. There’s a sign labeling it as such. This is the one room no cameras will be allowed. We encourage you to use this room sparingly.”
He paused and lifted an eyebrow, making sure they understood “sparingly” meant “never.” When he opened his mouth to start speaking again, the same female voice from earlier called out again.
“They’ll get a nice wedding no matter what, right?”
A chorus of groans went through the crowd, and Fox turned his head once more to where the three sisters stood. The other two were both whispering something in Sienna’s ears.
She shook her head and stood her ground.
