Page 127 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“Don’t,” Sienna huffed, sliding on her jeans. “Don’t you dare say my daughter’s name.”

What?

Beau shook his head as she fastened her bra and pulled on her tank top and sweater. “Sienna, what—”

His words were lost when Sienna blew past him, her shoulder bumping into his arm. Beau watched her sprint back into the bedroom and around the bed, hardly pausing except to grab her phone from the charger on his nightstand—where Grace’s letter sat.

No, no, no. Shit.

“Sienna!” Beau leaped over the bed, snatching the letter as he sprinted after her. She had grabbed her bag from the counter and reached for the door by the time he came up behind her, slamming his palm into the wood and shutting it.

“Beau.” The way Sienna seethed his name made him cringe. “Move.”

He pressed his hand harder into the door when she tugged at the handle again. “Wait a second. It’s—”

“Beau—”

“It’s not what you think.”

Sienna spun with such force she pushed Beau’s body back, but he kept his hand firmly on the door just above her head. “Not what I think? You really can’t do better than that? I think it’s pretty clear what that is.” Her eyes bore into the letter at his side.

No. Look atme,Beau thought before speaking, “It’s only been about you and me. And I’m here. I’m still fucking here.” He lowered his hand from the door and went to lift Sienna’s chin, but she flinched in anticipation before he even got close.

“Youlied.”

“I never lied.” Beau shook his head, raising his hand gripping the letter. “Not once.”

“Are you kidding?” Her exasperated tone struck him hard. “Oh, you’re right. You just didn’t tell me. That’s calleddeceit.”

Her chest rose and fell with heavy, painful breaths, each one feeling as if it was pummeling into Beau despite the distance between them. Her eyes moved to his other hand against the door.

“Let me leave.”

“No,” Beau gritted out.

Sienna turned and yanked on the handle again with enough force to get the door open, but Beau slammed it shut.

“Enough, Beau!”

“No.” He turned the lock and brought both hands to Sienna’s shoulders, spinning her. “Let me explain. You have to understand—”

“Understand what?” she screamed, her green eyes swirling between shades of anger and hurt. “That my daughter wrotethat... that the two of you schemed together because you feltsorryfor me?”

Beau’s eyes widened. “No, God, Sienna, that’s not it. Please just... it wasn’tlikethat.”

“No?” she asked. “Then what was it like? You were just living your life waiting for an opening back into mine?”

“I... ”Yes and no, he thought, pressing his lips together and shaking his head. “I don’t know. I told you, I saw Grace at the burial, I thought... I thought your wish had come true. I thought you might have afamily. I didn’t want to ruin that. And at the game, when I saw Grace and I realized... fuck, that was before she even gave me this!” He held up the letter in frustration. “The moment I saw you on the field, I wasn’t going to slip away. And I made up my mind the second I realized there wasn’t anyone else that I wasn’t going to let you go.”

Sienna narrowed her eyes, floating her gaze between the letter in Beau’s hand and his. “I don’t believe you. I can’t possibly believe you.”

What can I do?Beau wanted to ask.What can I do to get you to believe me?

“Congratulations, Beau. It was a great show. Give yourself a pat on your back for being the mastermind who put on thegrandestproduction to get my forgiveness while still breaking...shatteringme again.” Sienna paused when her voice cracked. “Itoldyou it was a dream. I knew this was too good to be real.”

Beau ground his teeth together. “It wasn’t a show,” he pushed out. “It was the real fucking thing. Itisthe real thing. You and me.Weare the real thing. We’rereality.”

Sienna began to cry and he grimaced at each tear that left her eyes, every single drop hacking away at all the hope he had built up over the last few months, leaving it a cloud of uncollectable dust between them.

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