Fox felt his face heat up. He could either let his friend's imagination run wild, or he could admit that he’d totally lost his cool. He closed his eyes. “I, uh, hit the wall and knocked the shelf over.”
“Oh, Fox,” Eli whispered.
When Fox opened his eyes, he was sure he would see disappointment on his best friend's face. Instead, he was met with a small smile.
“Here,” Eli said as he reached out to grab some of the towels. “Let me help you.”
“Thanks, man.”
“I guess I should grab some too,” Wade said with a sly smile. “But I’d better not find out you threw up in them.”
Fox rolled his eyes. “They spent all of two minutes on the ground. Other than that, they should be fine.”
“Cool,” Wade said as he shifted the pile of towels in his arms. “Any idea where we’re taking these?”
Fox pressed his lips together. “I think I saw a maid’s station on the other side of the building. Want to try that first?”
“Sure,” said Wade, and the three guys headed down the hall.
Fox didn’t see any cameras, and while he was thankful for the temporary semblance of privacy, his senses were on high alert after what happened with Sienna. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and down halls.
Eli raised his brows at Fox. “Want to talk about what’s going on?”
Fox grunted. “Not really.”
“Okay,” Eli said slowly. He was quiet for a beat longer. “Maybe you could start with why you were hitting things in the safe room.”
Fox sighed. He really didn't want to talk about it. But Eli was his best friend, and when he’d gone down his dark path all those years ago, talking to Eli had helped him tremendously. “Sienna.”
Wade laughed. “I knew you were going to end up falling for that girl.”
Falling? More like tumbling down the mountain onto a pile of jagged rocks.
The entire thing had been a game to Sienna. While Fox was putting himself out there for the first time in ten years, she had been trying to get good ratings. And the worst part? Fox should have known better.
Sienna was leaving after the wedding, and Fox would go back to his boats. Things would never work between the two of them. And because of that, he didn’t want to tell his friends just how much Sienna had hurt him. Fox returned Wade’s eager, teasing smile with a glare.
Wade shifted the pile of towels once more and lifted a hand. “Fine. No one is falling for anyone,” he said, but Fox couldn’t help but notice the way a corner of Wade’s mouth lifted as he said it.
Eli turned back to Fox. “But I’m still curious what this has to do with Sienna.”
“I talked to her about Becky.” He paused. “And everything that happened after.”
Eli’s eyes went wide. “You did?”
Fox nodded.
“She didn’t take it well?” Eli asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
“No, that wasn’t it.” Fox opened his mouth to elaborate but spotted the door to the maid’s station.
The three guys walked inside, much to the surprise of the staff, and explained what had happened. Fox apologized for giving them extra work to do when the show had already turned things upside down for them and was met with gracious smiles from the employees.
Once they were finished dropping off the towels and were back out in the hall, Eli stopped and put his hand on Fox’s shoulder. “If it wasn’t your past that freaked her out, what happened?”
Fox brushed Eli’s hand off of him and started walking again. To where, he wasn’t sure. Just as long as it was away from the cameras and Sienna.
“Dude,” Eli said firmly as he jogged to catch up to Fox’s quick pace. “What happened?”
