He looked down at her, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Ugh, guys needed everything spelled out for them, didn’t they? “Icare about you.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Me? The scowling grump?”
Sienna’s lips curled up in a smile. “You’re so much more than that.”
He dropped his arms and looked down at his feet. “You’re so much more than an attention-seeking phoney.”
Sienna’s heart went into overdrive. If only that were true. Shewantedit to be true, but the cameras—and how to act in front of them—was always in the back of her mind.
Even now, she needed to tell Fox about Bruce and how she’d promised to give him some good footage for the show. Fox wouldn't like the idea of playing it up for the cameras, but maybe if he knew about the roles they were playingbeforethey showed up, he wouldn’t be so resistant. Especially if it was for Eli.
Just as she opened her mouth to tell him, he sat down next to her on the log.Rightnext to her. As in, no space whatsoever. Their legs were pressed together, and his hand settled somewhere on the log behind her back. Her senses were completely overwhelmed by him, and she instantly forgot whatever she was going to say.
She turned her head and looked up in his eyes. The night air was cool, but warmth flooded her and made it hard to breathe. She struggled to keep her breaths even, not wanting Fox to see how affected she was by him.
“Do you really care?” he asked softly, his words sending shivers down her spine when his breath touched her face. “Or is it just for the cameras? Because Bruce said we looked good together?”
“Wedolook good together,” she said with a slow smile.
He chuckled, and she could feel the rumble in his chest pressed against her side.
“But I do truly care. I didn’t expect this to happen. It kind of ruins all my plans for kicking your butt in this competition.”
At this, he threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing into the dark night. “I have laughed more this week than I have in months,” he said, and drew up his hand to brush it across her cheek. She closed her eyes, wanting to remember everything about this moment. “And I think it’s because of one very annoying, very cute bridesmaid.”
“Reagan?” She smirked but felt a tug at her heart.
“She’s a friend.” Fox smiled and relief flooded her veins. “A good one. But she’s more like a sister after everything she’s been through with me.”
She smiled up at Fox. “Did Harper win you over with her amazing s’mores, then?”
He rolled his eyes playfully at her. “You’re going to make me spell it out, aren't you?”
Sienna loved seeing this fun, flirty side of Fox. And seeing him like this made her relax. She was absolutely going to make him spell it out for her if that meant she would get to see more of it. She shook her head and lifted one shoulder. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Fox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m having a good time, and I think a big part of that is you.”
When Fox opened his eyes again, Sienna’s breath caught in her chest. If playful Fox was fun, this smoldering version threatened to consume her.
Fox brushed a stray strand of hair out of Sienna’s face, and let his fingers linger on her cheek. The tips of his fingers were rough against her skin, and Sienna leaned into his touch.
He closed the distance between them as his other hand reached out and gently wrapped around the back of her neck. Fox’s gaze stayed glued to her the entire time, and Sienna suddenly felt the world shift.
Oh my goodness,Sienna thought.He’s going to kiss me.
But that realization was nothing compared to the fact that she wanted to kiss him too. She licked her lips and held her breath. Was this really happening? How could someone so good, so loyal, feel this way about her?
Fox bent down, so close that their lips were almost touching and—
A loud sneeze broke through the clearing.
Fox and Sienna jumped apart from each other, and their heads snapped in the direction of the sound. There, crouching behind a small tree with a camera propped on his shoulder, was the cameraman from earlier. The red light was blinking, which meant he was filming.
It was suddenly very hard to breathe. Sienna wasn’t sure if she was more upset about her kiss with Fox being interrupted, or the fact that they’d been caught. Either way, this was bad. Really bad.
What had she been thinking? She had been genuinely worried about Fox, otherwise she would have realized how naive she’d been when she didn’t think the cameraman would follow her. Of course he followed her even when she told him to wait. If she thought she’d have an opportunity to warn Fox about getting more footage, she was living in a dream land. Now her thoughts raced as she tried to figure out the full extent of her carelessness. Maybe the cameraman had just started filming. Maybe he hadn’t captured the entire very personal and very private conversation, or their almost kiss?
