Thankfully, Jason nor Bruce made any mention of the missing groomsman, and with any luck, his absence wouldn’t affect Audrey and Eli’s wedding. Fox could only hope the same could be said for the secret performance Fox had planned.
Fox hadn’t told anyone about the details of his plan to woo Sienna. He was too afraid they would talk him out of it. And Fox knew he would look for any excuse not to bare his soul on reality TV. The only reason he could follow through was knowing it would mean so much to Sienna. Or, at least he hoped it would. It was entirely possible Fox completely misread the situation.
Jason reached out and put a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “So, what do you guys have in store for us tonight?”
Eli’s mouth stretched into a large grin. “We’re going to sing ‘The Sweetest Thing’ by U2.”
“Sounds like a great choice. Good luck.”
Eli thanked Jason as he exited the small stage, and the music started playing through the speakers.
Eli, Wade, and Fox all rushed to the back of the stage where they had stashed their costumes. Eli had the bright idea of dressing like the guys from U2 in the music video. Since Fox was uncomfortable, he got to hide behind dark sunglasses and a black cowboy hat, while Wade decided he would be all the random people in the background and had about ten costume changes. Meanwhile, Eli kept his Bono impression simple and wore a fedora and frameless glasses.
When they returned to the front of the stage in their new digs, the girls all squealed in delight.
Audrey clapped her hands and yelled Eli’s name as he began belting out the ballad. Wade danced wildly from side to side, while Fox managed to get away with a lame, swaying back and forth move.
When Eli had finished singing the final note, Jason ran back on stage. “I must say, I’m impressed, Eli. Let’s see what the judges have to say.”
Fox held his breath as the judges held up signs similar to the Olympics. The groomsmen got a couple of eights and a nine.
“Looks like that risk paid off,” Jason said once the scores were tallied. “What do you have next for us?”
Eli opened his mouth to say “Pour Some Sugar on Me”—another dessert-based song, though the lyrics were questionable—but before he could get a word out, Fox rushed over and pushed himself between Jason and Eli.
His heart pounded in his ears, and his palms were sweaty. He took a steadying breath and smiled at Jason. “Actually, I’d like to sing a solo, if that’s okay.”
Eli leaned in and whispered, “What are you doing?”
Fox shook his head and glanced at Wade. “When you know, you know. And I think it’s time for me to put myself out there.”
A line formed between Eli’s brows, but thankfully, a grinning Wade pulled Eli aside and whispered in his ear.
Satisfied that Wade would explain everything to Eli, Fox looked over to the DJ and nodded. He’d snuck in just before everyone was supposed to gather inside the meeting room and asked if he could be ready to play a song for him when the moment was right. And it had only taken Fox slipping the DJ a couple of bills to make it happen.
Fox only hoped that the guy manning the equipment knew this was the moment he’d paid him for. He walked up to the microphone, looked Sienna directly in the eyes, but didn’t say anything.
Instead, Fox then put on a giant pair of rhinestone sunglasses and waited for the music to start playing through the speakers.
Fox didn’t have a lot; he worked on boat motors for a living. But music was his passion and was what he could give Sienna. Even though they were someone else’s lyrics, Elton John’s “Your Song” said everything Fox wanted to.
He ignored the pit that formed in his stomach as the lyrics appeared on the small screen in front of him. He gripped the microphone as if it were the only thing keeping him upright as he sang the first line.
Once he did, everything else faded away. The stage fright, the cameras, even Wade and his stupid, knowing grin. There was only Sienna, and she was sitting perfectly still as she stared back up at Fox.
When his voice cracked, he hoped Sienna could hear the emotion he was putting into every word. He hoped she knew that he wasn’t mad about what had happened. But most importantly, he hoped she could see that this was him telling her that he cared about her, and it didn’t matter that all ten million viewers knew.
But Sienna hadn’t moved a muscle, and Fox felt a creep of panic start in his stomach and reach up through his throat. He swallowed hard to loosen it up and put everything he had left behind the swell of the chorus and the words he felt with his whole heart.
When Fox finished singing the last note, and the music stopped, there was complete and total silence. Fox was breathless and the adrenaline pumping through him left a haze around his vision.
This was a huge mistake.
Suddenly, everyone burst into applause. Jason rushed back on stage, but frustratingly, Sienna stayed glued to her seat.
Jason patted Fox on the back. “Wow, someone give this guy a record deal! You’ve got a great voice. Let’s hear what the judges have to say.”
Just like before, the judges held up signs with a numeric score on them. A couple of sevens and a couple of eights.
