Page 98 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

Giles tossed the ball back and forth between his hands. “I mean, if she doesn’t want cash, get people all up in her business. How hard could it be? It’s a small bar in a small town in the middle of Texas. You’re in the heart of Sparks country. Go stand there without your shirt and holler. People will come.”

Beau laughed. “I think my ship has sailed, man.”

His presence at Maloney’s had grown so frequent that it became normal, leaving the regular patrons unfazed. Under normal circumstances, Beau would be elated. But it didn’t do much to help him on his quest to get the place booming.

There was hooting and hollering down the field, some sort of dance-off between some of the younger players. Beau laughed and shook his head.

“Were we like that when we were younger?” he asked Giles. As professional as football players were at that level, as dedicated as they were to the sport, at the end of the day, they really were a bunch of clowns who loved to have fun.

Giles turned his head to the crowd and waved them off. “Say what you will about the Sparks. We might not be winners, but we damn sure can put on a show.” He laughed, tossing the ball to Beau, and looked at him questioningly when he didn’t throw it back. “What?”

Glancing between Giles and the other guys, some of whom had taken to pulling off their jerseys and twirling them above their heads, Beau smirked. “You busy this weekend?”

Giles scratched his head. “Depends on why you’re asking.”

“How do you feel about a little creative team bonding?”

chapterfifteen

“Your seats have been upgraded.”

Sienna wondered if she heard the stadium attendant wrong through the plexiglass.Aren’t upgrades for plane tickets?“Sorry?”

“Floor seat ticket holders need a bracelet,” the woman said, beckoning for Sienna’s arm. “Orange for area closest to stage.”

Sienna looked down at the florescent paper bracelet fastened to her wrist as Grace and her friend squealed and danced in delight.

“We’ll be so close!” Grace exclaimed, holding up the newest addition to her wrist.

When they left the will-call window and went to stand in line to buy an overpriced T-shirt, Sienna called Beau.

“Don’t say anything. That’s for Grace, not you. I would’ve snagged a backstage pass, but I know she doesn’t want to meet him with her wig. Next time he’s on tour, she’s got it.”

Sienna raised an eyebrow. “She told you that?”

“She must’ve mentioned something about it,” Beau mumbled. “Don’t fight me on this.”

Sienna tongued her cheek, unsure why she was annoyed.Can you give me a reason tostayupset?She wondered what she was supposed to be upset over exactly.If he says he’s not going to LA, then I have to take his word for it, right?But Sienna’s mouth filled with a sour taste, laced with a flavor of the past from when Beau had said then too. She glanced at Grace and her friend, Lilah, and felt wrong frowning when they were beaming.

“Thank you. This is probably the best night of her life. But you know I hate crowds.”

“I know you love your daughter more than you’re afraid of crowds.”

His words tugged on her heart as she recalled him saying something similar during a happy time, just before things went south.

“True,” Sienna said, looking down at her wristband.

“Have fun, alright?”

Sienna glanced around. “I’ll try. It’s not my scene.”

“Square dancing wasn’t either,” Beau pointed out, and Sienna laughed because that was the exact memory she had been thinking of.

“No,” she agreed. “But it was fun with you.”

“You know what’s also fun with me?” Beau asked and answered before Sienna could. “California.”

She sighed. “I already had to ask Henry to help at Maloney’s tonight. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

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