The Bridesmaid & The Jerk (Wedding Games Book 1)
Page 18
Austin struggled to keep his breathing steady and his hands from shaking as he led Harper down the hall. Ever since seeing her on the first day of filming, he’d been able to keep his distance from the one who got away—or rather the one he’d left behind like a total idiot.
But today, he’d finally gotten close enough to talk to her. And, after four years of silence, the first actual words out of his mouth were “is everything okay?”
Those three words weren’t even close to the script he’d gone over in his head since realizing that the Harper Hudson on his contestant list was, in fact, the girl he’d been in love with four years ago. The same Harper Hudson he might still be in love with. Over the last few days he’d mentally prepared half a dozen speeches to apologize for the pain he caused her.
But when he’d finally come face to face with her, he’d chickened out and fallen back on what he knew—production. He treated her like any other seemingly spooked contestant and asked if she was okay.
Austin half expected Harper to reach out and slap his cheek, but she didn’t. Her face flashed through several different emotions before settling on the face she always made when she was lying.
She wasn’t okay.
Harper was keeping a secret, and that was a very dangerous thing to do on Bruce’s set. The middle-aged producer was notorious for the way he demanded to be in control of every aspect of his shows. And this group of contestants wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping Bruce happy.
They’d had one argumentative actress-wannabe question everything and go against his demands. Then all the groomsmen went on a late-night escapade that the whole crew was sure would give Bruce a coronary. But Bruce had worked his magic, and everything was good for now.
Unfortunately, none of the contestants knew the thin line they were currently toeing. Not in the same way Austin did. He’d heard the stories from Jennifer, one of the other production assistants, about what had happened to the reality show Bruce had been producing before Wedding Games—the one that never even made it to an editing studio.
So now, Austin needed to figure out what was going on with Harper before Bruce decided he’d had enough. Austin couldn’t handle the idea of leaving another set and having to start all over again—especially now that he was so close to Harper again. And while he’d never met Audrey before filming began on Wedding Games, he didn't like the idea of Harper’s sister having to deal with the consequences of a broken contract.
Harper trailed behind Austin down the hall toward the safe room, her silence heavy and accusing. He was risking a lot by taking her there, but he knew she wasn’t going to open up anywhere a camera could be lurking behind a corner. But he wasn’t sure she would confess what was really going on in the small linen closet either.
Harper followed him inside without a word, but as soon as Austin shut and locked the door behind them, she crossed her arms and lifted a brow. “I thought we were looking at footage?”
“You knew that we weren’t,” he said with more bravado than he felt. He leaned back against the wall. It was a tiny space, and he was way too aware of how good Harper smelled. She hadn’t been at the bakery in days, but it was like the delicious aroma of cinnamon and everything sweet just followed her around. “What didn’t you tell me back there?”
Harper made the “get me out of this” face he knew so well. Or at least, had known so well. “There may be a problem with Audrey,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes.
His chest squeezed. So, he’d been right to suspect something. He just hoped it wasn’t anything serious. “You mean, like, she’s sick?”
“Uh, not exactly.” Harper looked down and shuffled her feet.
Austin bit his tongue. His first instinct was to ask a million questions and find out what was going on as quickly as possible, so that he could handle it in the same timely fashion. But he also knew Harper wasn’t a person to be rushed. She took her time, which was great when she was decorating a cake or waiting for dough to rise, but it would be great if, just for once, she could be on his schedule.
“Audrey seems to be...missing.”
Luckily, he was already leaning against the wall because Austin’s legs threatened to give out. He had to get it together, for the sake of the show and everyone on it.
“Any idea where she’s gone?” He winced a little at how stern he sounded. Why was it so hard to talk to her normally? He had no trouble giving directions to anyone else in the cast, but then again, he wasn’t secretly in love with anyone else on the cast.
“If I did, I would be there getting her, wouldn’t I?” Harper leveled her steely gray gaze on him and put her hands on her hips.
Austin swallowed hard. He’d forgotten how she could go from zero to pissed in about one point three seconds. He paused and tried to find a non-confrontational way to phrase his next question but didn’t have much luck. “Do you know what you’re going to do?”
“What am I going to do?” Harper shook her head and let out a harsh laugh. “Hmm, let’s see. I need to go down to Flour Girl at some point today and make sure my staff filled the giant order for a birthday party, and that they’re doing my prep for a wedding cake.”
Austin nodded but didn't interrupt.
“Then I need to find a way to somehow lose the cameras to keep looking for my sister, even though they’ve mysteriously managed to multiply overnight.”
“In all fairness, that’s because—” He stopped with the look Harper gave him.
“And this is all while trying to figure out how I’m supposed to handle seeing…” She shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. But to answer your question: no, I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
Austin looked back down at his clipboard, even though he’d memorized everything on it the night before. It was easier to stare at the words on the page than look into Harper’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Who else knows she’s missing besides us?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the notes in front of him.
“Besides us?” She paused just long enough for the word “us” to linger between them. “I told Sienna and Fox.”
Austin managed to look back up at Harper and instantly regretted it. At some point, she’d gotten closer, or maybe the room just felt smaller the longer the two of them hid inside. But with their sudden proximity, he could see her face better than he had the last few days.
A couple of stray blond hairs framed her face, and the longer he stared, the softer her eyes became. They were the same gray eyes he’d stared into day after day in college, but the face around them had changed in the last four years.
There were the smallest lines forming in the corners, like her eyes were smiling even when her mouth wasn’t. It was so unlike the botoxed starlets Austin was used to seeing. Even the production crew all seemed to get work done and spent hours obsessing over their weight and looks in an effort to fit in with the actresses. Harper’s untouched face was a breath of fresh air he hadn’t realized he needed.
“Austin?”
Her voice broke the trance, and he shook his head.
“Yeah, sorry.” He cleared his throat. “So, um, can we trust Sienna and Fox not to say anything?”
We. Another one of those words that felt louder than the others. Or had he just said it louder? He needed to get out of this small room, and yet it was the only place he could actually talk to Harper without getting in trouble.
Harper nodded. “Yeah. Sienna is a little over the top, but she knows that we can’t have any other problems. And Fox, well, he’s as loyal as they come.”
Loyal. Everything Austin wasn’t. “Okay. That’s good.” He nodded. “But we still need to figure out what to do about Audrey. This is supposed to be dress day.”
Harper bit her bottom lip. “And what exactly is supposed to happen on dress day?”
Austin looked back down at the clipboard—again. “The bridesmaids won the table decorating contest, so you’re supposed to go dress shopping at a couple of boutiques today. Audre
y has to be there.”
A small sound of frustration came from Harper. “Well, she won’t be. Isn’t there anything you can do? You’re a production assistant, right? Can you stall?”
Austin shook his head. “I can’t.”
“But you’re a part of this whole crazy show.”
Austin sighed. He really didn’t want to admit how little power he had, but they were running out of time. Eventually, someone would come looking for him, or Harper—or both. And it would be bad news for everyone if they got caught together, especially in the safe room.
He took a deep breath. “Most days, I’m little more than a glorified coffee guy. Trust me when I say there is literally nothing I can do.”
Harper stared at him for a moment before she nodded. “Okay, but even so, you’ve got to know a believable reason for Audrey to be missing.”
He didn’t.
The two stood in silence, both frantically trying to come up with an excuse. The seconds seemed to drag on until they both looked at each other and said at the same time, “We can pretend she’s sick.”
It felt like old times, when they would constantly say the same thing at the same time, or finish each other's sentences. Austin couldn’t count how many times his college girlfriends would get jealous of his and Harper’s friendship and the way they were always in tune with one another.
Austin and Harper laughed, but it only lasted a minute before they both seemed to realize that this wasn’t like old times. Things had changed. By some unspoken cue, they both sobered.
Harper played with the hem of her shirt. “So, we pretend Audrey’s sick. How do we do this?”
“I don’t know. I can go talk to Bruce and let him know she’s been throwing up all morning.”
Harper’s face scrunched up. “Does it have to be something so unflattering?”
“If it’s just a stuffy nose, he’s going to tell her to take some cold medicine and suck it up. Even with this, I can’t promise he won’t shove a bottle of the pink stuff in my hand and tell me to give it to her.”
“Okay.” Her eyes went to the ground. “Well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Harper’s eyes met his. “So what do we do now?”
Now?
Now, Austin wanted to explain why he’d left without saying goodbye and apologize for hurting her. But he knew he couldn’t. Not with his entire career and her sister’s wedding hanging in the balance.
“I’m going to have you go out first. See if there are any cameramen or other crew members in the hall. If not, knock on the door three times, and I’ll know it’s safe. You go find Sienna and Fox, and explain to them what’s going on. And I’ll go find Bruce.”
Harper nodded. “And if there’s someone out there?”
“Don’t knock.”
She took a breath, her annoyance barely contained. “What if it’s someone from the wedding party looking to take a break in the safe room?”
Austin wasn’t sure. Harper had said Sienna and Fox were trustworthy, and he wanted to believe her. But what about the other contestants? He didn’t know much about Harper’s family other than what she’d told him ages ago and what he’d seen. Mostly just the normal kind of family drama, though that Harry guy seemed like a real jerk.
He met her gaze. “Let’s just hope that the coast is clear.”
Harper agreed and slowly opened the door to the safe room. She peeked out the door, and Austin wanted to yell at her to just act casual but was afraid that if anyone was in the hall, they’d recognize his voice.
Mercifully, Harper finally walked into the hall and closed the door behind her. But once he was alone, time seemed to stretch on. Austin held his breath for what felt like an eternity as he waited for the knocks to come.
Eventually, they did.
He let out a relieved sigh and walked out. Harper was already walking left, not bothering to look back at him over her shoulder. And that was good. It was better than good. That meant she was taking Audrey’s disappearance seriously.
With a tug at his heart, he watched Harper walk away for the briefest moment before he turned and walked in the opposite direction in search of Bruce.
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Acknowledgments
Daphne and Kayla would like to thank their husbands for putting up with their crazy, and their kids for being so darn adorable.
Thank you Designed with Grace for this amazing cover.
Thank you EditElle for proofreading this book.
And to our AMAZING readers, thank you for letting us keep this dream alive.
About the Authors
Daphne and Kayla have been writing buddies since 2017.
They have three joint series together, but this is their first cowriting project.
Between the two of them they have: four kids, three cats, two husbands, and one fierce love of writing.
Kayla wishes she could eat tacos every day, and Daphne will never turn down free cake.
You can find them online at:
www.daphnejameshuff.com
www.tirrellblewrites.com
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