Page 81 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout
Sienna shook her head, hair cascading down her back when she raised her head and laughed. “How long have you been waiting to use that one?” she asked, turning around.
Beau chewed on his bottom lip. “Since the day I bought the place.”
The apartment was dimly lit. Beau couldn’t make out the shade of Sienna’s eyes, but he couldfeelthem darken.
“Can I ask you a question?” She took a deep breath when he nodded. “Did you really imagine me here?”
“All the time.” Beau took a deep breath. “And in the house I had in LA, the apartment in New York. I imagined you everywhere.”
In ways you couldn’t even dream about.
Sienna broke the hold her eyes had on his and looked around in question. Beau didn’t have much in the apartment. He had the interior designer keep it minimal. Apart from floating shelves that housed a few awards and game balls, there was little ofhimin the space, as if he had been hoping and wishing that somehow, one day, there might be more ofthem.
Beau shifted on his bare feet. He could tell from Sienna’s body language, the way her hands twisted together as she looked around the apartment, that she was thinking the same thing—we wasted so much time.
“But, we would’ve needed a bigger space. For Grace. And Henry,” he added playfully, trying to lighten the mood. “Didn’t he ever think to move out?”
“No. I needed him. You don’t do that to family.”
Beau’s heart sank to his stomach.
“I want to know how you would’ve done it, you know, if you stayed after the funeral. If you found out about Grace and knew that it was onlyusand there was no one else. Because she’s here. And there’s onlyyou. And even though she’s older, I can’t have a man in and out—”
“I would’ve learned to love her. And I think it wouldn’t have taken that long.” His mind flew back to the day of Jack’s burial, recalling Grace’s nearly white hair, her full cheeks, the way she smiled at Sienna as if she knew her mother needed it. “I would’ve loved her because she’s a part of you. All the best parts, I think.”
And in some strange way, I’m indebted to her now.
“But Henry, he could get lost,” he joked, and finally, Sienna laughed for a moment before she grew quiet again, turning back to the window.
“You can see the stars. Some, at least. The ones farther, on the outskirts of the city.”
Sienna stepped out of her heels and pushed them aside, her bare feet gliding across the rug. She spun around, and Beau swore the movement littered the air with her scent, intoxicating him enough that he didn’t even realize he had moved closer to her.
“The brightest one is actually in reach.” His voice was raspy, strained as he skimmed his fingertips along Sienna’s side. A hum of delight escaped his mouth.
“What did you imagine in here exactly?” Sienna looked down at his hand on her waist. “Cooking together?”
Beau spread his fingers. “Not really. I’m awful in the kitchen.”
Sienna smiled and stepped closer, his feet now caging hers, and placed her hand on his chest, smoothing the fabric of his T-shirt.
“Did you imagine us lying on this couch and watching TV?”
Her eyes flickered to the sofa at their side, but Beau’s remained on Sienna, focused only on what was right in front of him, no longer a memory or a figment of his imagination.
He reached for the tie of her jacket, but Sienna stopped him, running her smooth hands over his forearms as his other hand held her covered waist. “Tell me.”
“Sometimes. Just you and me,” he croaked. “Lazy days. Hanging out.”
There was a slight sway as Sienna’s grip left his forearms, her fingers flexing now against Beau’s stomach. “What else? Us playing Scrabble?”
Beau didn’t want to laugh, but a chuckle escaped—a chuckle Sienna swallowed down with her mouth when she covered his. Instinctively, Beau pressed his hand flat to her lower back, pulling her against him. Sienna also gulped down the next sound he released—a groan straight to the back of her throat.
“Did you think about what it could’ve been like?” she asked, her voice a sweet whisper.
Beau leaned forward to kiss her, but she tilted her head back, waiting for his answer.
“All the time.”
