Page 109 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

And as a man, Sienna could thaw his frozen heart with something as simple as her words.

Beau shook off the image of how the sky looked that day and tilted Sienna’s head up. “Say it again.”

She was still trembling, her lips just beginning to let go of their blue shade. “I love you. I never stopped,” Sienna whispered, just loud enough for Beau to hear over the shower. “I only wish that I had been brave enough to tell you sooner.”

chapterseventeen

Sienna had never felt warmerthan the moment she broke through the surface of the chilly ocean. It took a little more oxygen to realizewhatshe had actually done—stripped down to her bra and underwear on the beach and plunged into sixty-something-degree water. But before reality struck her, all Sienna could do was focus on Beau bobbing beside her and how good it felt to float and be weightless, something small and nearly invisible in the endless ocean, under the brightest star in the sky—the sun.

But as they stood in the shower and effortlessly passed words of affirmation and promises between them—in only the way it could be between two old friends—Sienna didn’t think about how the future might look—if Beau was in Dallas or California—only how itfeltwhen they were together. Sienna had never given much thought to reincarnation, but with Beau around, suddenly, she felt reborn. His stubbled jaw pressed into her neck when he smiled against it, the way his hands always knewhowto hold her, and the look in his deep brown eyes that always let Sienna know he was up to something.

All of it had recharged her so much that she hadn’t understood exactly how drained her battery had been.

As they remained under the shower’s stream and Beau told her, “I swear, I never stopped loving you,” she wondered if he knew that coming back didn’t just givethema second chance, it gave Sienna one too.

Hours later, dried and changed into comfortable, cozy sweats, Sienna sat on a lounge chair under the fading sun as Beau grilled, taking sips of beer between flipping burgers and turning kebab skewers. The sight of him—barefoot against the wooden deck, hoodie zipped shut, joggers low on his hips—brought a smile to her face. But Sienna didn’t need the backdrop of the ocean, the smoothness of the deck, or the shiny gas grill to feelhappy. She would have the same smile seeing Beau on the pavers in her backyard, using the charcoal grill that had been at the house since her dad had bought it almost twenty years ago.

“What will it be like?” Sienna asked after they had cleared the dishes. She was back in her lounge chair, watching Beau look for the switch to the small fire pit.

“What?” Beau asked, finally finding it. He backed away from the flame, watching it for a moment before moving to the chair, easing behind Sienna.

She hummed with delight as she leaned against him. “When the season starts.”

“Do you want to talk about that now?”

“Do you know what the hardest part of Grace’s cancer was for me? It was full of surprises, and I’m not even talking about the diagnosis. You get your treatment plan andhopefor the best possible outcome. But sometimes, she was too sick or too weak for chemo. Her blood count would plummet, and they’d have to hold off until she was strong enough for it. Or she’d get an infection from being so immunosuppressed. A cold nearly killed her.”

Beau brought an arm across Sienna’s chest, squeezing her shoulder.

“The unknown and I... we’re not very good friends these days.”

“Well,” Beau began, “it varies week to week, depending on what day we play or if we travel. If it’s Sunday, Monday can either be an off day or just film and meetings. Tuesday, then, would be totally off. Practice Wednesday through Friday, an all-day thing with training or meetings sandwiched between. Saturday, if we’re home, some walk-throughs, but yeah, all day. Game day, I’m at the stadium a few hours before kickoff.”

Sienna laughed.

“What?” Beau asked.

“It’s notsobad.”

“If I’m in Dallas, no, it’s not because I can come to you. You’ll be at all the home games.” He lazily rubbed her arm. “Travel weeks, well, it’s different. I’d bring you to every single one if I could. But Grace has school, that might get messy.”

Even though they were talking about being away from each other, Beau’s mention and thought of her daughter warmed Sienna’s heart.

“We’ll work something out,” Sienna assured him.

“It’s just a year. I mean nine-ish months.”

“I can do a few more months sharing you.” Sienna looked up at him.

Beau dropped a kiss to her lips. “You’re stronger than me, then.” He tightened his hold on her. “I don’t want a day without this.”

“Me? Or the sunset over the ocean?” she joked.

“Us,” Beau clarified.

The sincerity in his voice and eyes overwhelmed her. He held her face, preventing Sienna from turning away.

“Do you want to know a secret?” he asked quietly.

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