Page 101 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

Sienna looked around. “Andwhyare they here?”

“You needed an influx of cash,” Beau said. “And you wouldn’t takemine. And these guys have been working hard all week. They wanted a little fun. Their Dole Whips are on the house, by the way.”

“So, you made them strip.”

Beau rolled his eyes. “I’m not apimp. Just a guy helping his girl out is all.” Beau took another scoop. “This is the fun crowd, don’t worry. They like to let loose. But I’ve got the other guys contributing even though they couldn’t come tonight.”

“What?” Sienna asked exasperatedly, bringing a hand to her head. “Whatare you talking about, Beau?”

“One sec.” He turned to the machine on the counter and began to fill more Dole Whip cups when Frank approached with a tray, waiting.

She sighed, picking up the bottle of rum. “You pour too slow.”

“Don’t worry,” Beau said, reaching for a rag to wipe away a drop of ice cream that hit the counter. “We’ll clean up. How was the concert? Did the girls have a blast?”

“Are you seriously making small talk with me right now?” she asked when Frank took the tray.

“Giles!” Between the dancing players and the music, Sienna hadn’t noticed that at the far end of the bar was another of Beau’s teammates. “Meet Sienna. Sienna, this is Giles, the team’s second-best wide receiver. He also bartended during the off-season when we were at Florida State. No one makes better Jell-O shots.”

Sienna’s eyes bounced between the two of them.

“This place is great,” Giles said. “Hope you don’t mind us doing our thing. We wanted to help out.”

Help out?“Yeah, thanks,” was all she could manage before Beau took her hand.

“You got it up here for a minute?” Beau asked Giles. “I need my fifteen.”

“Oh, you work here now?” Sienna asked as he tugged her toward the back, leading her to the hallway where the noise was still loud but muffled.

“I know you’re kind of mad—”

“I’m... ”I’m what?Sienna didn’t knowwhatshe was because she had no idea what was going on.“What... what exactly are you doing here?”

Beau chewed on his bottom lip and fiddled with his baseball hat. “You wanted a cash influx. Then you can pay your people, fix the dishwasher, take abreak, whatever.”

Sienna peeked over her shoulder at the jam-packed bar. “They allpaidto get in here?” she asked. “To see you guys?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Beau asked, sticking his hands on his hips. “We’re the Dallas Sparks, for god’s sake.”

Sienna looked back at Beau. “So you what? Told them your girlfriend wouldn’t go on vacation with you because she’s too broke to pay for someone to cover for her at work?”

Beau shook his head. “No. I told them that if they matched all the money the bar brings in tonight, they drink for free and get to choose the music.” He groaned when Gloria Estefan’s “Everlasting Love” began to blast through the speakers. “Remind me not to do that next time.”

“Why would they match anything? And match it for what? I don’t want—”

“Relax,” Beau interrupted her. “You keep the bar money. Don’t be greedy. You probably could put a dent in Grace’s hospital bills with that.”

Sienna squinted. “Then what’s their money for?”

“The Golden Penny Foundation. We’ll do a team contribution.”

Sienna swallowed. “Beau—”

“It’ll never be enough,” Beau continued. “Disney World. Football games. Concerts. All that shit. Because wishes for sick kids arepriceless.”

Spasms seized Sienna’s chest and made her sway. Beau noticed, reaching out to steady her by the arm. But the contractions simmered into a slower, steady beat, one that matched Beau’s pulse, which Sienna could feel through his grip. Shaking her arm free, Sienna jumped, tugging him down for a kiss, one full and deep, filled with the capacity for something she hadn’t felt in a long time—hope.

“You make it hard to be mad at you.”

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