“What are you doing here?”
Fox’s angry voice cut straight to Sienna’s heart. She’d come out here for a few minutes of peace before diving into the ridiculous embarrassment that would be her singing and dancing with her sisters. Hopefully Reagan, the former beauty queen, had some tricks to getting them all synchronized in record time, because Sienna had zero ideas.
And zero clue what to say to Fox’s frowning face.
“Nice to see you too, grumpy.”
A corner of his turned down mouth twitched. Maybe they could pretend yesterday hadn’t happened, and she was still the annoying drama queen while he was the grumpy grandpa.
“Shouldn’t you be rehearsing?” he asked.
“Shouldn’t you?”
Sienna felt an odd satisfaction at the pink that tinged the apples of Fox’s cheeks.
“I needed a break,” Fox said, and Sienna’s heart nearly broke at the sad look that descended on his face.
“Last night wasn’t enough of a break?” She winced at how harsh her words sounded. Apparently she only had two modes with Fox: pouring her heart out or teasing meanness. Neither was appropriate at this moment, and she struggled to rein her emotions in.
“Who told you?”
“Harper.”
Fox leaned against a tree and crossed his arms. “It was just some stupid fun. Not my best moment.”
All because of me.The guilt in Sienna’s chest was an inescapable tightness that threatened to consume her. So, she changed topics. “Today should be fun, at least.”
He raised an eyebrow and his frown deepened. “This last competition is not what I was expecting.”
“You don’t want to sing?” Sienna would have been thrilled if they’d have been asked to put on a skit or play or something. She was also secretly dying to hear Fox sing again. She couldn’t get the memory of his voice out of her mind ever since she caught him singing in the woods.
“Not like this, when it doesn't mean anything.”
“It means something to Audrey and Eli.”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Judging by its unruly state, he had been doing that a lot during his walk. “When I sing—I mean, when I used to sing—it was to say something I couldn’t with words. It was to make people feel something.”
Sienna’s breath hitched. “And karaoke doesn’t make anyone feel anything except ridiculous?”
His lips twitched again, and a flutter of hope in Sienna’s chest gave her the courage to say the words she’d been mulling over during her walk.
“I’m sorry.”
His head snapped up, and a line appeared in between his eyebrows.
“I know, not what you’d expect from me, right?” Sienna gave a weak chuckle and flipped her hair over her shoulder. But that movement felt too playful for what she was about to say. She straightened her posture but felt too stiff.
Since when did she have a hard time acting the part? Since Fox. She didn't want to act around him anymore. She wanted to be herself. TherealSienna.
Sienna took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you we had cameras following us yesterday. I thought I’d avoided them, but clearly they’re smarter than me.”
“You’re smart.” Fox’s voice was so soft Sienna wasn’t even sure he’d spoken.
“For an actor, right?” She chuckled again, trying to bring forced levity to the situation once again. “I’m also sorry for what I said in the safe room. Just, you know, a blanket sorry for everything that happened yesterday.”
“Everything?” The quirk of his eyebrow just about melted her right there in the middle of the forest. Was he thinking about their almost kiss?
Her heart sped up, and she decided to ignore the flutters the memory gave her. “I’ve been having roommate issues. Money issues, really. And it turns out I need to find a new place to live.”
