She tried to grasp at what she felt.
“It is like finding out that you can’t have children. You didn’t really consider whether or not you wanted to have them, but now that you can’t, all you can think about is the loss.”
Beckham’s eyes were haunted by her words. And he remained silent.
“I thought that maybe…one day…you and I…” She trailed off.
“I never wanted you to be this,” he told her, gesturing to himself. “No one deserves this hell.”
Reyna nodded and turned her face away. “I guess I see that turning me was never a possibility. Never something you would consider.”
“You make it seem like a tragedy.”
“The fact that our time is limited is a tragedy.”
“Such is the way of the world.”
“My world,” she countered. “Not yours.”
“We cannot undo the mistakes of our past. Just hope to make better choices in the future.”
But it suddenly felt as if she had no choice in the matter. And she hadn’t even known it was what she wanted before that moment. Now she might never know.
Chapter 25
It was three days before Reyna received word from Beckham again. But it was good news at least. With only four days until Christmas, Penelope had agreed to help Laura get a dress.
She raced out of her room, her melancholy of the past few days vanishing in an instant. She headed to rec room and found Meghan, Jodie, and Laura seated around a table. The room was crowded for early afternoon.
“Hey!” she said, running up to them.
“Reyna!” Meghan jumped to her feet. “I need to talk to you. Can we do it outside?”
“Can it wait? I want to talk to Laura. I have good news.”
“It’ll just be a minute.” Meghan grabbed her arm and all but tried to drag her out of the rec room.
“What the hell, Meghan? Chill out.”
“Yeah, come on, Reyna,” Laura said, joining in on the fun.
It was only Jodie who seemed too interested in the television to bother trying to corral Reyna out of the room.
“Would you two stop? What is going on?”
She shook them off and turned to face the television. Beckham and Penelope’s smiling faces appeared on the screen. And then a bridal shop.
“Looks like he’s taking her to pick out her wedding dress. I guess they’re closing down the entire boutique just for her,” Jodie said with a sigh. Her eyes finally turned back to Reyna. “Sorry. Seems he played you again.”
Reyna laughed at Jodie. At all of them. Other people turned to look at her, but she didn’t care.
“Let’s discuss this somewhere more private,” Meghan said.
Reyna moved toward the door and they all followed. They meandered back to Meghan’s room. All the girls turned consoling eyes on Reyna.
“It’s a setup,” Reyna told them. “And it was actually my idea to begin with. We asked Penelope to pretend like she was going to get her dress there so we could get the shop to close. Then we can sneak Laura in the back to get a wedding dress.”
“What?” Laura gasped.
Jodie laughed bodily. “Holy shit! Bet Little Miss Mayor is super thrilled about this.”
“This isn’t about me or Beckham or Penelope. This is for Laura.”
“I cannot believe you did this!” Laura squealed. She jumped up from her spot on the bed and threw her arms around Reyna. “You are the best soon-to-be sister-in-law.”
Reyna hugged her back and then released her with a laugh. “You’re welcome! I’m glad it actually worked.”
“This is great, Reyna, but…” Meghan began.
“Oh God, here we go,” Jodie grumbled.
“It’s not safe for you or Laura to leave Elle.”
“We’ll be with Beckham. I’m pretty sure he knows how to secure a facility. He would never put me in any danger.”
Meghan glanced at the floor and back up. “Except that time he did.”
“I put myself in danger. Not him.” Meghan opened her mouth to respond. “This isn’t up for debate, Meghan. If Becks thinks it’s okay for us to go to the bridal shop, then it is. Who else outranks him here? Sydney? Do you want to go ask her?”
“No,” Meghan snapped. “I’m just looking out for you.”
Reyna hugged Meghan and promised to be careful, then dragged Laura away. They went to Reyna’s room and Laura was abuzz with excitement.
Reyna hurried forward into her room, but frowned when she saw that it wasn’t Beckham who was picking them up.
“Ladies,” Gabe said with a wink.
“I thought Beckham was getting us.”
“Slight change of plans. Come along, you two.”
Laura scurried forward and Reyna made the introductions. Laura blushed when Gabe worked his charm on her. Reyna had to refrain from rolling her eyes.
“So…a wedding dress, huh?” he asked Reyna.
“For Laura. She’s marrying my brother.”
“Lucky guy.”
“Oh, shut it,” Reyna said with a laugh.
They took the elevator up to the top floor, went out the steel door, and hurried into the cold. Reyna was glad that they’d bundled up downstairs because it was freezing outside. They hurried into a heavily tinted black van and then they were off.