Page 5 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

Wishes don’t come true, Sienna reminded herself.

She tried to maintain a calm smile aimed solely at the lead referee as they approached. Her cheeks stung from the tightness as she counted the stripes of his black-and-white uniform with her teeth clamped shut, her eyes unblinking. She refused to give Beau this moment—Grace’s moment.

Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look.Her internal lecture was nearly a scream, one so loud that Sienna barely heard whatever was said over the loudspeaker announcing Grace as the GPF’s guest of honor. What she could feel, thankfully, was the loosening of Grace’s shoulders beside her and the movement of her hand as she reached out to take the coin from the referee.

The visiting team called heads, and Sienna’s knees gave out slightly before she corrected herself, standing firm and trying to ignore that even though Beau was feet in front of her at the moment, they might as well have been standing with a mere breath between them.

“Heads or tails, I love you no matter what.”

“Give it a good flick,” Beau’s voice sounded, and Sienna gritted her teeth, angry that she could hearhisvoice over the loudspeaker, over the players joking back and forth as Grace tossed the coin, over the roar ofthousandsof people.

But hasn’t it always been that way?

Sienna had once found Beau, her childhood best friend, after a decade and a thousand miles apart, picking right up as teenagers where they had left off, the closest of friends—and then some, as first loves.

Following the trail of the coin to the ground, Sienna held her breath as it landed—tails up—between her feet. And she held it even longer, watching a large hand retrieve it. A large hand leading to a thick wrist, a powerful forearm dusted with dark hair except for a small scar where Sienna knew—by heart—nothing would grow from the wounded tissue.

“Keep it for good luck,” Beau said, handing the coin back to Grace before he turned to her, his big brown eyes of the past meeting her green ones, desperate to forget it ever happened. “Just in case you need it.”

Sienna trembled when Beau turned with his teammates, returning to the sidelines. The shake that overtook her wasn’t because he was walking away. It was because he still wore sixteen—her lucky number—even after all these years.

chaptertwo

The Dallas Sparkshad lost fifteen games this season. Beau Walker knew that their only win until today—the second of the year—was because of a bad call from a ref who wrongly ruled an incomplete pass a fumble, giving the Sparks the ball right on their own eight-yard line. He had made the catch that kicked up the score with a minute left, outjumping a defensive back more easily than he would have cared to admit considering his age. But that touchdown—his only of the game—helped his teammates collectively turn the game around and bring a win back to Dallas.

Today, the Sparks, for the first time all season, didn’t just win by the skin of their teeth—they dominated. Because even though he was no longer a teenager, some things always remained the same whether he was five or approaching thirty-five—like his enthusiasm for impressing the blonde with the emerald-green eyes. Eyes that Beau spent countless hours staring into during his youth, eyes that went on to haunt Beau for nearly sixteen years.

“You landed on that shoulder funny,” a trainer yelled as he bypassed the ice tubs. Beau had already managed to skip an interview with ESPN. “And your leg—”

“Still works,” Beau joked as he jogged down the hall, tugging his jersey and chest protector off.

“Where are you going? I’ve got Rebecca and a camera—”

Beau rolled his eyes at the sound of his agent’s voice and pushed open the locker room door.No boundaries. This guy’s got no boundaries, he thought before saying, “Need to shower.”

Chase was quick on his heels. “It’s an on-field interview. They don’t care.”

“Not doing it.”

“You need to,” Chase hissed, following him into the near-empty locker room, looking out of place in his sharp, well-tailored suit. “That was your best game all season. Maybe last season, too. Watch, I bet there’s a bidding war for you by morning. Dallas won’t let you go so easily after this.”

Beau chewed his lip.Good. I don’t know IfIwant Dallas to let me go after this.

Today concluded Beau’s contract with the Sparks, whom he had signed with coming off a broken tibia, two surgeries and an enormous amount of rehab. Few teams had offered him at that point—concerned about his injury and his age given the rise of young competition.

Chase had advised against it.“You’re a champion. Dallas hasn’t beentheteam in a decade. Let’s wait.”

But Beau had spent a decade playing for the best teams. He had been a field goal away from a Super Bowl Championship. But coming off a serious injury, he knew he had to go where the opportunity presented itself—even if it was playing for a mediocre team that put him further from his goals. And signing with the Sparks wasn’t just another opportunity to play. It was an opportunity to go home to Texas.

To Sienna.

But Beau realized he talked a lot of game, even in his head. He never could bring himself to make the drive back to his hometown of Brookwood and face her. Instead, Beau put all his focus back on football, performing well enough that his former team began to inquire about bringing him back to Los Angeles. Even though he had initially planned to retire in a year, the move back to the sunshine state had been exactly what he wanted.

Until today.

After this game—after seeing Sienna again—Beau was no longer so sure.

“They see Beau Walker is back—”

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