But she stayed firm in her resolution and didn’t open the door.
After forty minutes of singing, the knocking stopped. “Fine. Be like that. But I’m not the one you’re mad at, and it’s not fair to take it out on me. I even brought brownies and everything.”
The pain in Sienna’s voice ripped through Harper. She really wasn’t being fair. Harper took a deep breath, got off the bed, and opened the door. On the other side stood Sienna, and she looked as tired and confused as Harper felt.
Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and there were black smudges of mascara under her eyes. Her shoulders relaxed when she saw Harper. “About time.”
Harper lifted her mouth into a sad smile as she stood aside to let Sienna in. “Next time, try leading with the brownies.”
Sienna snorted and held out the brown paper Flour Girl carryout bag. “I’ll try to remember that next time.”
Harper took the bag and waved her inside the room. “Hopefully, there isn’t a next time.”
Her sister plopped onto the bed and considered this for a moment. “Where did you go earlier? None of us saw you leave.” Then her eyes spotted the suitcases by the door. “And where exactly do you think you’re going?”
Harper shrugged.
Sienna jumped up from the bed. “Seriously? After what Audrey put us through, you were going to do the same thing? Did you ever stop to consider what that would do to everyone? What that would do to me?”
No. Harper hadn’t. A wave of shame crashed over her. “I’m sorry. I’m just so confused. I don’t know what to do.”
“You and me both, sis.”
“Did Audrey explain why she left?”
Sienna shook her head. “No. Bruce welcomed her back. And then she judged the cakes like she hadn’t been missing for almost two days.”
Harper started pacing back and forth in the small room.
“Well, it’s obviously some kind of scheme. And everyone seems to be in on it besides me and you.” Harper paused to think. “And Fox.”
“Really?” Sienna looked doubtful. “You think everyone else knew except the three of us. Even Mom?”
Harper shrugged. Anyone was fair game at this point. But then, she got a great idea. She looked at Sienna with a bright smile. “Come with me.”
“What?”
“I planned to hide out at my house for the next few days. If Audrey and Eli get married, I plan to come back. But until then we can—”
“Are you crazy?”
Harper was stunned into silence.
“If they get married? Are you even hearing yourself right now? I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re not leaving.” Sienna put her hands on her hips. “It’s only four days until the wedding. Three, really, since today’s almost over. I know you’re upset, and trust me, I’m really angry too. But we are not going to mess this up for Audrey, because one day we won’t feel like this, and if we do anything to jeopardize her big day, we’re going to feel horrible. Forever.”
Wow. The mini tirade sounded nothing like the Sienna she knew.
When had her baby sister become such a grownup? Audrey and Harper liked to tease her about her big, glamorous New York City life, but Sienna had just as much determination as her older sisters. The Hudson women did not give up easily. If Harper left now, she’d be no better than the Hudson men. Or Austin.
Harper nodded. “Okay. I won’t leave, and I won’t do anything impulsive. But I still want to know what’s going on.”
“Me too.”
“Then maybe you’ll give me a chance to explain?” Audrey’s timid voice caused both girls’ heads to snap toward the door.
Their oldest sister lifted a corner of her mouth. “You left the door unlocked. Hope it’s okay that I let myself in.”
Twenty-One
4 Days Until Dream Wedding
Harper felt her stomach plummet for the second time that night. She and Audrey had become so close these last couple of years. At least, she thought they had. Now it felt like she didn't know the woman standing in front of her at all. With a thump, she sat down on the bed, Sienna right beside her.
“I’m sorry I disappeared.” Audrey shifted on her feet by the closed door.
“Are you?” Harper muttered under her breath, promptly earning an elbow in her ribs and a stern look from Sienna.
“Of course I am.” Audrey reached out her hands but dropped them at her sisters’ stormy faces. “But Bruce made me promise not to say anything. He came to me with a production assistant after the karaoke contest and told me I needed to go away for a couple of days.”
“And so you just went?” Harper folded her arms and glared at Audrey. Sienna might have made some excellent points about regretting their actions later if they did anything to mess up the wedding, but Audrey was acting like nothing had happened. Harper felt like a pot about to boil over.
“He told me we needed to build up more drama. He wanted to see what you two would do.”
“So you just left while we were freaking out, trying to cover for what we assumed was our runaway bride sister. I hope you and Mom enjoyed your spa day?”
Audrey shook her head. “No, it wasn't like that. Nobody else knew. And Bruce had a very good reason for me leaving.”
“Yeah, the drama.” Sienna rolled her eyes. “Which if he doesn’t get, you don’t get your wedding.”
Audrey bit her lip. “There’s that. But there’s another reason he had me leave.”
Harper lifted her brows waiting for the explanation that never came.
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. But I promise it’s a good thing.” She paused. “Or at least I think it is.”
Harper ran a hand over her face. “I’m getting really tired of this. Everyone has secrets, and I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
Audrey sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped her arm over her shoulders. “What do you mean?”
“Bruce, you, Austin.”
Audrey jerked back. “Who’s Austin?”
“He’s a production assistant that Harper is supposed to be flirting with,” Sienna explained. “Though I don’t know why she thinks she can trust him. He works for Bruce.”
Harper ignored Sienna and kept her eyes trained on Audrey. “You know, he’s the guy who went to you with Bruce after the karaoke contest.”
Audrey’s brows lowered. “It wasn’t a guy. It was a girl with dark hair.”
Huh. So maybe Austin hadn’t known about Audrey after all. But he was still part of the crew, and his job depended on abiding by the rules of whatever mind games Bruce wanted to play.
“But I want to know more about why you were flirting with this Austin guy.” Audrey gave Harper a sly smile that made her irritation flare.
“That’s none of your—”
“Because she was trying to cover for your disappearance,” Sienna said, crossing her arms.
Audrey’s face fell. “And I’m really sorry about that. I wanted to tell you guys, but Bruce made me promise not to. Not if we wanted the second part of the surprise.”
“You mean the thing you can’t tell us,” Harper grumbled.
“I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that,” Sienna said.
Audrey threw up her hands. “Because I don’t know what else to say. You’re obviously mad at me. I get that. But I can’t change anything now.” She paused. “I don’t know that I would even if I could at this point.”
“Is that supposed to be reassuring?” Harper glared at her. The more Audrey talked, the more upset Harper got. “You disappeared for two days and were more than willing to keep secrets from your sisters and best friend just to get your dream wedding. The same people who had put their lives on hold for two weeks, who were worried sick and covered for you.”
Audrey was almost as good at lying as Austin was. His earlier performance had been awfully convincing. Maybe he hadn’t known about Audrey, but he’d been following Bruce’s orders from day one. He had Harper beli
eving he was putting his job on the line to help her, and like a fool, she’d fallen for it. Of course he wouldn't risk his big break for the girl he’d left behind without a second glance at graduation.
He’d taken advantage of Harper’s feelings to get the footage they’d needed for the big dramatic reveal.
And now that things were all out in the open, he was free to go back to Jennifer, the gorgeous girl he’d obviously wanted all along.
It was all too much, and Harper started crying. She hadn't meant to, and definitely didn’t want to show how affected she was in front of Audrey while she was still mad at her. But her tear ducts didn’t listen to logic, and within seconds, she was sobbing loud and hard.
“Oh, sweetie.” Audrey wrapped her arms around Harper.
She shook her off, the tears still falling, and looked at Sienna instead. “I’m in love with Austin.”
Sienna’s eyes went wide a split second before she started laughing.
Audrey smacked her. “Stop. She’s obviously upset about it.”
“What?” Sienna covered her giggling mouth with a hand. “Reagan and I asked her to flirt with him to try to get information about Wedding Games while you were missing. She’s obviously overwhelmed because she can’t be in love with him after one night in Eli’s cabin.”
Audrey’s face whipped toward Harper. “You took one of the crew members to Eli’s cabin?”
“Calm down,” Sienna said. “They were looking for you.”
“And Harper thought she should take a total stranger to the middle of nowhere?”
“He was helping her!”
“Or maybe Austin was trying to help Bruce get his drama-filled show. He went out there to trick Harper into thinking she had feelings for him after one day.”
The two sisters were standing now, yelling into each other’s faces, and Harper didn’t want to know how much things would escalate if she didn't interrupt. Her tears dried up, she stood up from her spot on the bed and sniffed. “I’ve known him since college.”
Sienna and Audrey immediately stopped yelling at each other, turned to Harper, and screeched “what?” in unison.
“We met freshman year. We lived across the hall from each other and became best friends almost immediately.”
“Best friends?” Sienna asked. Her eyes narrowed, not in suspicion, but more like she was trying to process the information. “You never mentioned him.”
“You were still in high school dealing with your popular girl life, and Audrey was busy with her first year of teaching. It wasn’t important.” Or, at least, that’s what Harper had told herself as she’d slowly but surely fallen in love with Austin. And since there had been no chance of him ever loving her back, why bother her sisters with her dorm room drama?
“So, you’ve known Austin for eight years?” Audrey asked.
Harper nodded.
“Which meant you knew he was going to be here.” Audrey shook her head and huffed. “And you’re mad that I kept secrets?”
“I didn’t know he would be here.”
“But you just said you were best friends,” Sienna said.
Harper closed her eyes, not wanting to see her sisters’ reaction. She already felt utterly humiliated to realize that Austin had been playing her the entire time. She couldn't bear to see the disappointment on Audrey or Sienna’s face. Or worse—their pity. “We were best friends until I told him that I was in love with him...and he walked away. I haven’t seen him or talked to him in four years. Seeing him the first day of filming was a kick in the gut.”
The mood of the room shifted, and Harper could literally feel when Audrey’s accusations dissipated. With them went Harper’s anger at her older sister. This show was making them crazy, and it was foolish to fight with each other when there were other people messing with their lives way more.
“It’s why you were so distracted when Bruce interviewed us,” Sienna said. “And so absent-minded about everything.”
Harper shrugged “I thought I would work through it in a day or two on my own.”
“I wish we’d known,” Audrey said. “We could have listened while you gushed about him.”
“Not that it would do any good.” Harper sniffed as the tears finally started to dry. “He doesn’t feel the same way.”
“Are you sure?” Sienna asked. “Not even after a romantic night stranded together in the cabin?”
Harper’s cheeks heated.
“Oh my goodness.” Sienna’s eyes went wide. “What happened in the cabin?”
Harper covered her face in her hands. “We may have kissed.”
“And yet you don’t think he feels anything for you?” Sienna asked.
Harper dropped her hands at her sides with a resigned sigh. “I don’t know. I thought he did. But now I think it was just a ruse to keep me distracted and to get me to do whatever the show needed. Using my bakery. Getting good footage of me running around the inn all panicked.”
“Maybe...” Audrey rubbed her chin. “But I swear he didn’t know. It was only Bruce, the female production assistant, Eli, and me. He said we had to keep it a secret.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah. Because Bruce is so trustworthy.”
“I’m serious. We signed a contract.”
“Another one?” Sienna sighed loudly. “I tried to tell you that this whole thing was a mistake.”
“Can we not get into that right now?” Audrey whined. “We’ve got other things going on.”
Like the endless secrets between crew and contestants, and even family members. Harper didn't like being suspicious of her own sisters. But she still wasn’t sure if she could trust anyone. Especially not Austin. If Audrey was right, and Austin wasn’t the person who snuck Audrey off The Emerald Inn property, then…
Harper sat up. “What was the name of the production assistant?”
Audrey’s face crinkled up. “Jessica…? Wait, no. Jennifer. Her name was Jennifer.”
Harper let out a weak laugh. “Well, that explains how Austin knows. The two of them are an item, and I’m sure she told him so he could distract us. I feel like such an idiot.”
“What a jerk,” Sienna said. “I know this isn’t going to be easy to hear, but maybe it’s for the best. Can you imagine if you had started dating?”
An image of her and Austin curled up together on the couch laughing filled her mind. What would it have been like if he’d turned around and kissed her on graduation day? Would they be married by now? Even with his betrayal, it was hard not to want that. She felt like the biggest sucker in the world.
“You know what?” Audrey stood up, her eyes blazing. “Screw the contracts and the secrets. I don’t care about the wedding anymore. I don’t care about the secrets. This show is tearing our family apart, and I’m going to fix everything.”
Audrey ignored Sienna and Harper’s protests as she stormed out the door. She was in scary teacher mode, and her younger sisters exchanged wary glances at her intensity. Whatever she was going to do wasn’t good.
Sienna bit her bottom lip. “I think I’m going to check in on Reagan and see how she’s doing. Audrey’s disappearance was hard on all of us, and she’s been out of the loop for a lot of major revelations.” Her eyes went to the suitcase that was still in the corner of the room. “Do I need to worry about you running away if I leave?”
Harper shook her head. “I promise I won’t leave.”
“Good.” Sienna leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I love you. I’m sorry that this Austin guy is such a jerk. You’re gorgeous and amazing. And until you find a guy who can appreciate you, and won’t lie to you, don’t settle.”
Harper’s chest tightened at the compliment. Sienna had never called her gorgeous before. “Thanks.”
“I’ll check in on you later, but I don’t know when. I’ll need to make sure there are no cameras around.”
Harper nodded. “I know.”
With one last hug, Sienna was out the door, leaving Harper alone in the room. She fe
lt better now that everything was off her chest. If nothing else good came from this stupid show, at least her relationship with her sisters was back on track.
Despite all of that, she knew it could never totally fill the hole that Austin had left in her heart.
Twenty-Two
4 Days Until Dream Wedding
“That couldn’t have gone better if I had planned it,” Bruce said to the production team once they were back at The Emerald Inn. His remark was met with laughter, but Austin wanted to throw up.
He had planned it. Bruce had known the entire time where Audrey had been, and now Harper thought Austin was in on it. When he’d tried to explain the truth of the situation to her, everything had come out wrong.
He’d spent the last hour overanalyzing his every word and hating himself for losing his temper in her messy office. As difficult as being in a cluttered workspace was for him, it was a nice reminder that the Harper he knew and loved hadn’t completely disappeared. She was a successful business owner with her life together, but still let papers pile up. He loved that about her. Instead of saying that, however, he’d snapped at her and ruined everything. The shock of Audrey’s return combined with the smug smiles on some of the production crew’s faces had put him on edge right before he’d followed her into the kitchen.
Austin shook himself out of his thoughts when Bruce started diving into instructions for the next few hours. “We still need to get interviews with everyone asking them what they think about Audrey’s return.” Bruce looked at his watch. “And we need to do it fast before they have a chance to calm down. I want a camera on her sister, Harper, ASAP. She looked like she’d had the rug pulled out from her. And why wouldn’t she after trying to cover for Audrey for two days.”
Another wave of laughter went through the crowd. They were all laughing at Harper. They found her pain entertaining, but they hadn’t seen the way she’d made herself sick over finding Audrey.
Austin swallowed the unease brewing in his stomach. Reality television had always been something far removed from him. Just a bunch a nameless faces who were dumb enough to sign up for their own humiliation. Working on different sets over the years and seeing the things producers put these people through, it was no wonder the stars of some reality shows lost it. The game was rigged, and the house always won—or in this case, Bruce always won.
The Bridesmaid & The Ex (Wedding Games Book 2) Page 14