Now, she just wanted everything to be over.
* * *
Fox was done.They weren’t even halfway through filming, and it was just too much. Sienna had gotten under his skin in every possible way, and now all he wanted to do was escape. He needed a way out, a way to break that stupid twenty-page contract, to get back to the safety of his boats, far from the confusing mess his heart and head were in right now.
He needed to find Harry. As much as the guy made his skin crawl, he was a lawyer. Hopefully a good enough one to get Fox out of the show without messing anything up for Eli and Audrey.
When Fox came out of the safe room, Wade was waiting for him. “Ready to head out?”
Fox wavered. Going out didn’t mean he had to drink anything, right? It would be a way to escape, for sure. One he had managed to avoid for years. And Harry would be around when he got back from wherever Wade planned on taking him.
“Let’s go.”
Sneaking out of the inn unseen by the cameras was no easy feat. Members of the crew were stationed by the tent they had set up around the front of the inn to keep some of their equipment. The two pulled up their hoods and walked toward the parking lot.
“Just need to grab a CD from my car for the awesome playlist we’re making for the wedding,” shouted Wade in the direction of the tent. Softer, he said to Fox, “Hopefully something as boring as that won’t draw their attention.”
“That’s ridiculous. Who has a CD player in their car anymore?” whispered Fox as his heart pounded in his ears.
They weren’t supposed to go off the property unless it was for the show, though Harper had a little more freedom because of her bakery. Heading out now was breaking at least one, possibly two, of the clauses in the contract.
Fox looked around. “Where’s Eli?” He suddenly realized the groom-to-be was nowhere in sight. “Waiting for us in the getaway car?”
Wade shook his head. “He said he needed to talk to Harry about something.”
A flicker of hope shot through Fox’s body. Maybe by the time they got back, it wouldn’t even matter that they’d broken the contract. Maybe it would be null and void anyway. Fox had meant what he’d said to Sienna. There was no way Eli and Audrey would continue if it was making all their friends miserable.
Thinking about Sienna sent a burning flicker of pain through Fox’s heart. He’d been beyond furious at her betrayal in the woods, but what if Eli had been right, and she really hadn’t meant it? Fox’s brain had told him to look at the evidence, but his heart had wanted to give her a second chance.
Except when he’d given her that chance, she’d lashed out at him in the meanest possible way. All he’d tried to do was help, and she’d thrown it back in his face.
No, he was done thinking about her. Done thinking about anything other than getting out of the Emerald Inn for the night.
They were finally at Wade’s car, but instead of opening the door, he pulled Fox down behind it, so they were out of sight from everyone. “You still run an eight-minute mile?”
Fox raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“We can make it to the highway in fifteen if you can keep up. From there it’s a quick rideshare away from town.”
And with that, Wade bolted through the parking lot, careful to crouch behind the cars as he circled along the edge. Fox hesitated for the briefest of moments before he followed, looking back only once to see if anyone had noticed. There was a flurry of activity at the entrance to the inn, and Fox picked up his pace. He caught up with Wade and flew past him down the long sloping drive to the inn.
After leaving the parking lot and making the long jog to the highway, they’d hid in the bushes at the end of the drive, to see if anyone was following them. Sure enough, five minutes later, two white production vans made their way down the long winding road that led to the inn. One went left and the other right.
Wade called a car, and it was an anxious eight-minute wait and ten-minute drive before they made it to downtown Wellspring. Once there, they played a game of hide and seek with the white vans through town. Wade and Fox ducked into stores whenever a car passed them on the street, then ran as fast as possible down the sidewalk.
Fox felt the thrill that only breaking the rules could give him. And in the grand scheme of things, these weren’t such terribly important rules to break. He hadn’t hurt anyone or stolen anything or broken any laws. This was the familiar exhilaration of youthful depravity, and he’d forgotten just how sweet it could be.
For the first time in what felt like years, though it had only been four days, Fox felt free.
***
They arrivedat the bar sweaty and out of breath, and the two friends took the booth the farthest from the door. The fruity smell of hops permeated the air.
“I’ll grab you a coke?” Wade was standing, halfway turned toward the bar.
Fox felt the country music pounding in his ears, and the rough, squeaky vinyl against his sweaty skin. It was a simple question with a simple answer. But the fire of rebellion had been lit inside by their escape from the inn.
“Rum and coke,” Fox said.
