“Is there something you needed? I have to get ready to leave,” I said, hoping to hurry this little tête-à-tête up.
“I wanted to thank you for taking Beau to the emergency room last night.”
Not having one clue where she was going with this, I answered, “You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do. He’s the father of my children. If something were to happen to him—I don’t know what I’d do.” Her face suddenly changed to worry. Even her eyes got wet.
“Yes, he mentioned the boys several times last night,” I said as I nodded. And it was the truth. Beau had been so scared he’d never see his sons again. It had truly broken my heart.
“You might not know this, Gigi, but Beau and I were extremely close at one time. We’d even discussed marriage.” Her gaze hit me almost as hard as her words. Thinking of Beau marrying Sienna cut me deep.
When I didn’t react or answer back, she continued, “Over these last weeks, we’ve grown a new bond—a new connection. Not only because of the twins. But because of our old feelings for each other.”
I bit my tongue, wanting to lash out at her—at the same time, I knew that was exactly what she wanted.
“I know you can’t possibly understand because you don’t have a real family. I took the liberty of looking up your past. So sad about your father, I’m sorry.” She reached out her hand and touched my arm. “But I’m sure if you could bring him back, you would. Even your mother would.”
“He’s been gone a while, Sienna. Thank you for your concern.”
She gave me a small smile and removed her hand. “Yes, and that’s why I want you to back off. I know Beau stayed here last night—against my wishes. You’re young and what you two shared was probably intense. I understand that.”
“Beau’s a man, Gigi. But he’s also a father. His children deserve to have their father around, don’t you agree?”
“I would never try to take Beau away from his sons. I don’t know what you’re talking about?” I asked, my head spinning with what she could possibly mean.
Sienna inhaled, then let out a long breath. “Give us a chance to be a family. I know Beau says he loves you, but you haven’t seen him when it’s just the four of us. He’s loving and engaged. If we had him to ourselves for a few more weeks—without any distractions—I just know he’d move in with us.”
My heart stopped beating and I had to take a physical step back from the force of what she’d just said.
She strode over the couch and sat on the arm of it as she crossed her legs. “A woman knows when she’s breaking through, Gigi. Wouldn’t you have loved it if your parents had stayed together? To see your father every day instead of whenever your mother said?”
I swallowed, my mouth feeling dry and my heart beginning to hurt inside my chest. So much so, I coughed and rubbed the ache for a moment.
My eyes traveled to the guitar hanging on the wall, and the pain spread down my arms. “Sienna, I’m not stopping Beau from being with you and the boys. Quite the opposite.” Well, until last night, that is.
“Gigi, you are.” Her head shook at me as she pursed her lips together. “Maybe you don’t even realize it, but you are keeping him from us. You need to be firm with him. Make sure he knows there’s no chance of you ever getting back together.”
“He’s a grown man. Beau’s capable of making his own choices.”
Her head tipped to the side. “And you’re a young, perky, big breasted, twenty-something, who conveniently lives fifteen yards away.”
Oh wow, those words hurt.
“We deserve a shot at being a family. You’re a good person, Gigi. I can tell. You’ll do what’s right for those boys. They need their father around every day. Not just on the weekends.”
She stood and brushed her skirt down. “He still loves me. I know that. But if you’re constantly—available—there’s no way he’ll have a chance to remember what we once shared. And Gigi, what we had was great. Really great. Yes, I allowed it to fall apart. And that’s on me. But we’ve got a second chance. We just need you to stay out of the picture.”
Sienna walked to the door and turned the handle. She twisted her torso to me and said, “Think about it, Gigi. You know what the right thing to do here is.”
“Hey,Martin, where’s your head at today?” Eliza said, yelling at me from across the rink. “Because it sure as heck ain’t here.”
She motioned me over.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, but I knew exactly where my mind was at. And no, it wasn’t on practice. “Sorry, Coach, just tired,” I said, undoing my chin strap and taking my helmet off. My head had been pounding for the last two hours and this helmet only made it worse.
“Gigi, I asked you at the beginning of practice if you needed to take the morning off. I saw the news this morning, and I know why you’re tired,” she said, a small smile forming on her lips. She lowered her voice. “And while I’m happy you and Beau are back together, I need all of you here on the ice.”
“I know, I’m okay. I’ll try harder, Coach.” I said, my chest starting to hurt again—not that it had stopped. Sienna’s words had been echoing through my mind since she’d left.