The Bridesmaid & The Jerk (Wedding Games Book 1)

by Daphne James Huff

  It wasn’t enough that she was on the verge of ruining the entire show for Eli and Audrey, but she had to ruin every moment in between with her plastic smile and desire to be in front of the cameras.

  She was going to be late to that morning’s meeting, and then had the audacity to mock him the second he turned the corner. He’d left the room, not gone deaf.

  How immature and self-centered could a person be?

  Fox looked down at his watch and saw that he would be cutting it close if he wasn’t careful, and he wasn’t about to stoop to her level. He picked up his pace and hurried inside the meeting room.

  “Who spit in your coffee?” Wade asked.

  Fox flopped down in a chair at the groomsmen’s table. “Sienna,” he said, before he could think twice about it.

  Wade and Eli chuckled.

  “Obviously, she didn’t actually spit in my coffee.”

  “Obviously.” Eli rolled his eyes.

  “But she made fun of me in the dining hall.”

  Wade gasped loudly and put a hand to his chest. “She didn’t!”

  Fox felt heat creep up his neck.

  “Do you want me to call her mom and tell her what a meanie she was to you?” Eli put a comforting hand on Fox’s shoulder, but his face was beat red from holding in a laugh.

  Fox slumped back in his seat. “Very funny,” he mumbled.

  “No,” Wade said, his face still serious. “Fox’s dreamy eyes having zero effect on a girl is no laughing matter.”

  “And neither is that sad excuse for a goatee you have going on,” Fox said.

  Wade’s loud laugh caused some of the crew to look in their direction. “You wish you looked this good with a beard.”

  Fox rolled his eyes. As if that monstrosity could be considered a beard. “So, what do you think we’re going to do today?”

  Eli lifted the bright orange shirt in front of him. “Let’s hope it’s not a paint gun battle, because this is going to be impossible to hide in these eyesores.”

  “Not to mention the bruises and welts that would come from something like that,” Wade said.

  “And I doubt Bruce is that ruthless,” Fox said. “They may want drama, but a bride with bruises isn’t a great image for Wedding Games, no matter how they’d want to spin it.”

  “Okay, so no paintball,” Eli said, looking down at the shirt today. “But it looks like it’s sponsored by that protein bar you’re always eating, Wade.”

  Wade’s cheeks turned red. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthy.”

  “What’s their slogan again?” Eli snapped his fingers. “Power to be brave.”

  “Every day,” Wade muttered.

  “That’s right,” Fox said. “I hope we don’t have to do something brave but stupid today like jump off a mountain.”

  “Think there’s any leftover bravery left in Wade from when he lived off these things?” Eli playfully elbowed Wade, who smacked his arm away.

  “You guys are a riot.” Now it was Wade’s turn to slump in his seat, the curious eyes of the others in the dining hall glancing over at their table.

  “That doesn't sound like a brave attitude to me,” Fox said, relishing the way they could slip back into this playful banter.

  It was something he’d told himself he didn't miss when he was in Kitty Hawk, and it had been easy to keep telling himself the lie when his best friend was seven hours away. But now that he was back in Wellspring, sitting with Wade and Eli, he could see how flimsy the veil he’d pulled over his eyes really was.

  “Well, regardless, if a protein bar sponsored the next event, then it’s safe to assume it’s something physical, right?” Fox asked.

  Eli shrugged. “Probably.”

  “And as much as you want to make fun of me for bulking up, these muscles are going to come in handy.” Wade flexed his biceps, causing the tattoos to dance.

  It was a parlor trick that Wade had practiced time and time again, wanting to impress the ladies. Fox rolled his eyes just as Harry slid into the seat next to him.

  According to the clock on the wall, it was 8:01 and Jason was just now getting his mic queued up. Apparently, Sienna wasn’t the only one who didn’t take this show seriously. Fox resisted the urge to chide Harry for his tardiness and looked over at the bridesmaids’ table only to notice that Sienna was still missing.

  Did that girl care about anyone other than herself? Doubtful.

  “Alright, alright,” Jason said, his voice booming through the room. “It’s time to introduce the second competition. Today contestants will be showing how brave they are by tackling the Wedding Games obstacle course, sponsored in part by—”

  The door leading into the meeting room squeaked, and in walked Sienna. Her eyes went wide, and she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized she had interrupted Jason. But her look of surprise was quickly replaced by a serene smile.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” she said with a small wave, like the whole world revolved around her.

  Fox couldn't hide his irritation as effortlessly as Sienna masked her initial shock, and his angry gaze followed her as she sat down beside her sisters. Audrey gave Sienna a disapproving frown, but neither Reagan nor Harper said, or did, anything.

  Bruce walked over to where a confused Jason stood.

  “Let’s start from the top,” Bruce said and waved his hand above his head.

  Bruce sent a glare Sienna’s direction before he stepped out of the shot. Fox’s stomach twisted into knots. She’d destroy this whole show if she wasn’t careful.

  And Fox was determined not to let that happen.

  Eight

  8 Days Until Dream Wedding

  After walking into the meeting room late and listening to Jason Castle go over the rules for the next competition, Sienna trudged her way behind Harper to the giant field that was half a mile from the inn. Today’s winning team got to choose the music, and Fox would probably choose something depressing like The Funeral March.

  Sienna had to win.

  Reagan crossed her arms nervously when they saw what was waiting for them. “This looks like something straight out of basic training.”

  “Or one of those races you pay a ton of money for, just to prove just how tough you are,” said Harper, looking equally anxious.

  “Oh, look at me, I can run in the mud, and climb a wall, and jump over fire. I’m so amazing.” Sienna used her tough guy voice and was pleased to see it made the girls laugh.

  Though secretly, Sienna had always wondered what it would be like to run in a race like that. And now, it looked like she was going to have her chance.

  Jason Castle was standing off to the side, still wearing a perfectly tailored suit, while everyone else had been given the opportunity to change into more comfortable clothing. This event was sponsored by some protein bar company, and each contestant was wearing a shirt with the logo plastered on the front and back.

  Sienna hated the stupid thing. But bright orange wasn’t flattering on anyone so she wouldn’t be the only one looking washed out during today’s filming. Her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on Fox, who didn't look terrible in today’s uniform.

  It wasn’t fair that someone so grouchy could look so good in such an awful color.

  “We’ll let the winning team from our first competition choose who gets first stab at the obstacle course,” Jason said, breaking Sienna’s train of thought.

  The four girls huddled together in a small circle.

  “I say we go first,” Audrey said first. “It’s still cool enough that we might not get super sweaty.”

  That wasn’t a bad way of looking at it. The Hudson sisters all had pale skin that turned bright red when they did any kind of physical exertion. Reagan, the redhead, was even paler. If they went first, they would look good for the camera.

  “Harper?” Sienna asked, turning her head to face her other sister.

  “Huh?”

  Sienna suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t sure what was up wi
th Harper, but whatever it was, she needed to get her head in the game, like, yesterday. “I was wondering if you’d like to go first or second for this competition.”

  “Oh.” Harper bit her bottom lip. “Whatever.”

  This time, Sienna did sigh. She turned to Reagan. “What about you?”

  Reagan’s mouth curved into a sly smile. “Well, I was thinking we could let the guys go first.”

  Audrey’s head snapped in her best friend’s direction, mock betrayal written all over her face. “As maid of honor, are you even allowed to disagree with me?”

  Reagan rolled her eyes. “Hear me out. The guys are going to think they have this one in the bag, right? It’s a physical test, and I bet they’re all talking about how strong and manly they are right now.”

  The girls all looked over to Eli and his groomsmen. Wade said something that made the other guys laugh, and he pulled up his sleeve and flexed a tattooed bicep.

  Sienna started to laugh when she saw Fox doing the same. Even though he was slightly shorter and less stocky than Wade, that bicep was nothing to laugh about. Fox was made of muscles in all the right places.

  “Well,” Reagan continued. “I bet they’ve all underestimated how hard we’ve worked to look good in our dresses. Audrey, you’ve been in the weight room four times a week for the last month to make sure your arms look amazing in your strapless dress.”

  Audrey nodded.

  “And Sienna.” Reagan gave her a smile. “You’re always making sure you’re in shape for whatever role might come your way, right?”

  “Of course.” No expensive gym membership required when you spent your days running heavy trays back and forth from the kitchen.

  “So, if we let the guys go first, they may underestimate us. And it’s possible we can surprise them with how well we do.”

  “Oh, I like the way you think.” Sienna’s smile grew. “Then it’s decided, we’ll go second.”

  The four girls broke apart and turned to face an expectant-looking Jason Castle.

  “Have you decided?” he asked.

  Sienna stood up straight, and after a brief, but dramatic pause, she answered. “We’re going to let the groomsmen go first.”

  All the guys started bumping fists with one another. Wade went so far as to pound his chest in an over-the-top macho display. Harry stood off to the side, however, looking a little bewildered. Or maybe just bored.

  At least Fox seemed to have changed his tune and was finally taking things seriously. He flexed his arms above his head and then ran in place.

  “Alright, alright,” Jason said to the guys. “You heard the ladies, you’re up first. You’ll start off with the tire run, climb over the wall, swing from the monkey bars over the mud pit, army crawl under our rope course, jump from trunk to trunk in our stepping stone area, and then sprint to the bell at the opposite end of the field. We’ll be taking an average of everyone’s times, so there’s no need to show off in this one. You’re only as strong as your weakest link.”

  Sienna smiled triumphantly as Harry continued to pout off to the side. She wasn’t sure what Reagan saw in the guy, but right now, she was happy he was the third groomsman. The moody peacock was sure to slow down their average.

  “On your mark, get set, go!”

  The guys started running. The first obstacle was the tire run. It consisted of about twenty tires tied together, flat on their sides. It seemed simple enough, and the guys all made it through the obstacle without a hitch.

  After that, it was the climbing wall. It was tall and had several ropes hanging down the side for people to use to get over. Fox was the first one to the wall, and he immediately grabbed the rope and started climbing. His sleeves were still rolled up, and Sienna could see his muscles bulging from the effort of climbing up.

  She couldn’t decide if she should be happy that Fox was making an effort after her little pep-talk yesterday, or be upset that she was now in danger of losing.

  Wade beat Fox over the wall by a second, with Eli close behind. Who knew teachers were so buff? Even Harry was only a few seconds behind the rest of the guys as they ran over to the monkey bars.

  “Come on, babe,” Audrey yelled from beside Sienna. “You got this!”

  Sienna smacked her sister on the arm. “Don’t cheer him on,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Audrey looked toward her with an unapologetic smile and shrugged her shoulders. “What? He’s still my fiancé, and I want him to do well.”

  “But we don’t want them to win.” Sienna rolled her eyes.

  “Wanna hear a secret?” Audrey leaned in toward Sienna. “I really don’t care. As long as I get to marry him in eight days, they can play Chopsticks as I walk down the aisle for all I care.”

  Sienna shook her head and turned her attention back to the obstacle course. Wade and Fox were hurrying across the monkey bars and…wait. Were they trying to knock each other off? What idiots. At least if they succeeded, that would give the bridesmaids an advantage.

  She watched them play around for another moment, before her eyes went to where Harry stood hesitating at the edge of the mud pit.

  “What is he doing?” Sienna asked under her breath.

  Reagan sighed. “His phone.”

  Sienna turned toward Reagan and raised her brows.

  “He’s afraid of falling into the mud and ruining it.”

  “Why doesn’t he just set it down?” Audrey asked.

  “You don’t understand the relationship he was with that thing,” Reagan said before she ran over to where Harry stood, his face red.

  While Sienna was too far to hear what was being said, the way Reagan frowned probably wasn’t a good sign. She didn’t know Reagan’s fiancé that well, but she’d seen enough entitled jerks in New York to spot one a mile away. Harry slammed the phone into her hand and wiped his hands on his athletic shorts. Then he jumped up and grabbed the monkey bars.

  Harry had only made it halfway, when his grip faltered, and he fell into the mud. Sienna laughed, until she saw the murderous look on Harry’s face when he stood up. He said something to Reagan that had her rushing back to where the rest of the girls stood.

  “Are you—”

  “I’m fine,” Reagan answered quickly and turned to gaze back to where the guys were still competing.

  Wade and Fox still led the pack as they finished the army crawl and jogged over to where tree trunks of various heights were scattered. They started jumping from trunk to truck, with Eli still close behind.

  Sienna looked at Harry just in time to see him shake his head and get down on his stomach for the army crawl. Moments earlier, she’d been happy to see him lagging behind, but after watching him speak to Reagan the way he did, the victory felt hollow.

  Ding! Ding! Ding!

  Wade rang the bell wildly until Fox caught up and pushed him out of the way. He, too, rang the bell enthusiastically. Wade pushed him back, and the two guys started laughing.

  Fox was actually laughing.

  It completely transformed his face. Even as Eli ran up and rang the bell, Sienna couldn’t look away from Fox. The sight of him happy had her transfixed. That was, until his gaze found hers. His gorgeous smile dropped, and the familiar scowl fell back into place.

  Freed from her trance, Sienna looked away and tried to push down the flutter of disappointment at his reaction. Why did he hate her so much? Okay, so she’d accidentally mistaken him for the janitor that first day, but she’d apologized. And then she’d called him out for not trying hard enough for his best friend, but clearly, he’d listened.

  Maybe it was just her. She wasn’t enough.

  Was she really that surprised someone like him wouldn’t like her? He was this gorgeous specimen of a man that even her big sister sounded half in love with when she talked about him. Sienna just wasn’t the kind of girl that mattered to people like that. She hadn’t been enough to make Dad stay. Or bring Milo back from wherever he'd disappeared to. Or even enough for Fox to be decent to he
r.

  She felt the sting of tears filling her eyes and fought to keep them at bay. She didn't want anyone to see her cry, and especially didn't want it captured for the entire world to see.

  The bell rang out again as Harry finally made his way over to where the rest of the guys stood waiting.

  Jason Castle called for everyone to gather around him. “The judges are tallying the final scores. Once they’re finished, we’ll have the time for the bridesmaids to beat. In the meantime, take five.”

  With that, everyone dispersed.

  Sienna decided to take the opportunity to compose herself—something that should have come easily to her since she was an actor. But yesterday had been a long one, and she was operating on zero caffeine, so she needed to find an area away from the cameras to get it together.

  She wandered over to a lightly wooded area just off to the field where the obstacle course had been set up. She leaned against the trunk of a fir tree and closed her eyes.

  Just because Fox didn't want to smile at her, didn't mean Sienna could start breaking down now. She had to lead the bridesmaids to victory this week. She needed to support her sister. She needed...

  To be quiet.

  Someone was coming.

  Sienna stiffened at the sound of footsteps falling on the twigs and leaves that littered the ground. There was no telling who was walking toward her. With her luck it would be someone with a camera propped over their shoulder. They’d wonder why she was hiding, and then she’d have to lie and say she wasn’t.

  “Is this far enough from everyone?” asked a female voice that Sienna instantly recognized as Reagan’s.

  “You don’t have to be snippy with me.” That was definitely Harry.

  Oh crap. I shouldn’t be here.

  Sienna held her breath in an attempt to stay completely silent.

  “Snippy? You just told me you're leaving in the middle of the competition. That you won’t be here for Eli and Audrey’s wedding. How am I supposed to feel right now?”

  “Maybe grateful that your fiancé has an incredible job? That way, when we get married, you won’t have to go on one of these ridiculous shows to pay for the cake and flowers. You’ll be able to get whatever your little heart desires.”