“Thank you.”
Shaking her head, Sienna pulled back, letting Beau wipe the tears from her face. “For what?”
“Maybe you wrote us in the stars with that one.”
* * *
Hours later, after Sienna had calmed down, tamed her half-dried hair into a tight bun, and put on a pair of jeans and a sweater, they left the house in the convertible. SheletBeau drive this time, her hand resting on his thigh as they made their way up the Pacific Coast Highway at what appeared to be lightning speed.
“Can a Dallas wide receiver talk his way out of a ticket out here in LA?” Sienna asked, gripping the door of the car.
Beau shook his head. “We’re racing the sun. I’ve got to maximize every minute I have with you.”
They drove another ten minutes, pulling into a small harbor. “Come on.” Beau rushed Sienna from the car even though she was unsure they could even park where he had.
Sienna paused when Beau continued down the dock. “No way.”
“Wish list.” Beau reached back, waving his fingers to motion her forward. “Come on.”
The Wanderlustwas far from the kind of sailboat Sienna had in mind when she was younger.That one could fitonthis boat, she thought, slipping out of her sneakers and accepting a crew member’s hand so she could step on. But like everything else with Beau, he somehow managed to not just make her wishes and dreams a reality but a magical, nearly unbelievable one at that.
Sienna gripped the railing as the boat left the harbor.
“Where are we going?” she asked when Beau approached, standing next to her.
“Does it matter?” he asked.
Beau’s question made Sienna laugh. Because it didn’t matter. Sienna could be behind the bar of Maloney’s with sweaty, thick legs and asses of gyrating football players in front of her, on a beach in Malibu, or on the creaky roof of her old home. Sienna knew if Beau was there, it would always be fun.
“No,” she said, leaning into him. “It doesn’t.”
Beau wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s just chase the sun for a while, then.”
“Alright.”
And that’s what they did, sailing off into the horizon—the point where the endless sky crashed into the bottomless sea. She wondered, as the boat tilted, captured by the wind, and as it bounced, the surf creating a playground for a school of dolphins dancing in their tale, if the horizon wasn’t the destination after all.
“This is just the beginning,” Beau said. “There’s still a lot on your list.”
Sienna laughed again. “You’re right. A trip to NASA. I also wished I could own a lavender farm one day.”
“There’s one for sale,” Beau said, pointing to the coast. “About forty miles inland. I already checked.”
She elbowed him in the side. “Stop it.”
“The lavender farm, because your Mom told you what Provence was like. NASA for obvious reasons. Graceland... ” Beau paused, scratching his head in thought. “Okay, honestly, I can’t remember the reason for Graceland.”
Sienna shrugged—she couldn’t remember either. “My mom loved Elvis.”
“We’re going to do it all. I promise. And we have plenty of time now.” Beau nudged her shoulder with his. “Alifetime.”
The promise of forever didn’t scare Sienna or riddle her with anxiety that if she didwishfor it, she might jinx their outcome. Instead, she was struck by a peace that could only come from the bobbing of the beautiful sailboat, the nearly setting sun, and the man who had stepped a thousand miles away before. Only now, it was just to the front of the boat. But Sienna smiled, understanding even if he left at the wrong time, he returned at the right one.
She pulled out her phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to Grace.
Her daughter responded immediately with twelve smiley face emojis, followed by another text.
Dreamy. Like a fairy tale.