Fox sighed. “Yeah.”
“So, let’s head back into the woods. Get you some fresh air,” Sienna said, pleased her voice sounded steady despite the excited thrumming of her heart.
Why did she have such a hard time controlling her emotions around him?
His smile grew and transformed his entire face. “That would be great.”
Oh yeah, that’s why,she realized with a twist of her stomach.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. Sienna told Bruce she’d try to get some good footage, and she would, but that didn’t mean she wanted everything to be caught on camera. That would be something for later. Now, she just needed to get Fox out of here without getting noticed.
It surprised Sienna that the desire to be alone with Fox was stronger than the pull to shine onscreen. But maybe it was just because he actually liked her for who she was, when no one else seemed to. Even Audrey and Harper had given her a talking to before they started the table decorating, telling her she needed to tone it down.
Like she needed the reminder how over the top she was being. For every question Audrey had gotten right, Sienna had whooped like it was the winning shot at the state finals. Her victory dance when the boys had lost had been part drumline, part chicken dance.
But their comments hadn’t been as painful as Fox’s scowl from across the room. Its silent judgement of her phoniness had almost taken all the fun out of winning.
Sneaking out of the inn with Fox, however, was turning out to be a lot of fun.
He held her hand tightly in his as they made their way to the trailhead at the end of the long gravel driveway to the inn. Sienna didn’t see cameras anywhere and prayed it would stay that way. She wanted Fox to open up to her again. She wanted to see the soft and kind version of Fox that made her heart race.
“What happened back there?” Sienna asked once they were safely under the green canopy of fir and spruce. Night was falling, but she’d grabbed a flashlight from the front desk on their way out.
He dropped her hand and ran it through hair. “Harry.”
Sienna waited to see if there would be more, but Fox stayed silent.
“You let that jerk get you all riled up?”
“You didn’t hear what he said about Reagan. He’s such garbage. She deserves so much better. And he deserves a punch in the face.”
“Why didn’t you do it then? You seem strong enough to do some real damage.” She flushed at the way the compliment sounded like she was drooling over him. Had that been too over the top?
“Icoulddo some damage, that’s why I left.” Fox looked down at their feet, grabbing Sienna’s hand to lead her over some rocks in the path.
Her heart fluttered at his unexpected touch.
“I’ve done a lot worse to people and told myself I never would again.”
The air hung heavy with his revelation. Sienna swallowed hard. “What have you done to people?”
Fox pressed his lips together. For a long time, it didn’t seem like he was going to answer, but then he took a deep breath. “I told you about my ex and how she left. That wasn’t really the end of my career. I could have recovered, but I let that pain destroy me. I lashed out at everyone around me. Most of the band stuck with me when Becky left, but I’d get into fights with them over dumb stuff. I would throw a punch at the smallest provocation.”
He looked to the sky and breathed in through his nose.
Sienna squeezed his hand.
“I also started drinking and partying, way more than what you’d expect from a normal college kid,” he said. “Which obviously didn’t help the fighting. Within a few months, the label had dropped me, and everyone had left.”
“Everyone but Eli?” Sienna asked. When Fox nodded, she started putting the pieces together. No wonder he was so loyal to his friend. Going on this ridiculous show must have been Fox’s way of paying back Eli for his help years ago.
“Eli, Audrey, even Reagan, they were all there for me during the hardest year of my life. There’s no way I would have survived without them.”
“You’re lucky to have so many people who care about you,” said Sienna and stopped walking in front of a fallen log to sit down.
Fox stayed standing and shrugged. “A few people.”
Sienna took a deep breath. “Well, you have one more now.”
