Page 106 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Sex thirty thousand feet in the air. You were right. Itwasheaven.” Sienna giggled when Beau blew a warm breath across the plain of goosebumps.

He sighed, replacing his mouth with his hand when he slid up to her. “No. About that... I was wrong.”

Sienna knit her brow tightly together. Beau ignored the soft frown lines, focusing on the pout of her pillowy lips, her tangled hair, and the way her eyes sparkled in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

“This is heaven,” he said quietly. “Just you and me.”

Her eyes softened, and she ran her hand down the side of his face. “It is, right?”

Beau kissed her palm and nodded into it, still not liking the pout that didn’t leave her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just... I want to stay right here. I don’t want it to end.”

The uncertainty in her voice tugged violently at Beau’s heart, and he covered her hand with his own.It doesn’t have to. I need you to believe that. Believe in me, believe in us, and it won’t.Please stop looking at me like you’ll think I’ll vanish.But the look on Sienna’s face didn’t fade, and Beau squirmed uncomfortably.I broke her. I left her. She had to go through all of it alone.

“We’ll run out of gas at some point,” Beau offered, trying to lighten the heavy moment. But the look on Sienna’s face didn’t falter. “I promise. We’re just getting started, alright? I know you love to have your head in the clouds, I’m here to lay the world at your feet. Nothing makes me happier than seeing you happy. Nothing. No draft, no contract, no game or win. Nothing will ever compare tothis.” Quickly, he kissed her. “I’ll pull out of the contract if you want me to.” Sienna’s eyes widened, but Beau continued, “I know it’s only a year, but it’s a lot.”

Beau chewed on the inside of his cheek. Preseason was approaching, and it meant he would be tied to an intense, rigorous schedule from essentially July into January. It meant there would be little time for impromptu drop-ins at Maloney’s, that he would be on the road a few days a week.

It means less time for us.

He squeezed Sienna’s side tightly as the realization made his chest constrict.

“No,” she told him, her eyes dropping from his. “You have one more year left. We have... ”

“What? We have what?”

Sienna focused on the space between them, winding her fingers with his. “We have forever after.”

“I’ve been waiting for the forever part for a long time, you know? I’m sorry it took me so long to start.”

Sienna shook her head against the pillow. “Beau, don’t—”

“I can’tnot. Ihatethat I didn’t choose you.”

“We were kids,” she reminded him. “We were young and had no idea how any of this would work. And besides... ”

“Grace,” Beau said. “I know.”

He thought back to the final game of last season just a few short months ago, about the lanky, tall girl with the wig who appeared nervous as she walked out from the tunnel flanked by Golden Penny Foundation representatives. But the twisting hands and anxious steps disappeared when Grace and Beau made eye contact, their dark eyes locking and doing something to Beau’s heartbeat—giving it a jump.

He hadn’t seen Sienna at that point, but Beau realized he had felt her through her daughter. When their dark brown eyes held each other’s, it was as if they both said, “It’s okay now.”

Sienna pulled her hand free and pressed it against his chest. “I don’t want to keep thinking abouthurt.I don’t even want tothinkanymore. I’ve spent years thinking, about cancer, about chemo, about hospital bills.” She sighed. “I just want tolive, you know? I wish I could be that girl with her head in the clouds instead of the one on the cold, hard, realistic ground... ” She stopped, her lips flattening and tipping into a grin as she peeked out the window behind him. “Well, damn, Beau. You made that come true too.”

Beau laughed. “We have three days, just us. Lots of fun. Lots of adventure.”

“Like what?” Sienna asked.

“Surprises.” He wiggled his eyebrows, pushing back and reaching down for his underwear.

“That looks so painful.” She motioned to the scar on his leg. “You never told me what happened.”

“Swerved to avoid a pothole right on a gear change. Bike spun out and landed right on my leg. Bone popped right through the skin. It was ugly.”

Sienna flinched, and he could tell she was trying hard to hide her grimace. “And youkeptriding?” she asked, the shock in her voice heavy.

“I did.”

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