Three Little Wishes

Chapter Twenty-Six

The next afternoon, Willow stood at the receptionist desk at Channel 5 with Veronica and Naomi, trying to get a look at what was going on in Noah’s office while pretending she wasn’t.

“Stop picking apart the flowers,” Naomi said. “You’re making a mess of Veronica’s desk.”

“I’m not picking…” She looked down at the vase of daisies. Half of them were petal-less. It looked as if it had snowed on Veronica’s desk.

“Sorry.” She swept the petals into her palm and dumped them into the wastepaper basket. “I’m just nervous. I can’t believe you guys aren’t.”

“Oh,” Veronica said, “I thought it was a ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ kind of deal, not that you were nervous.”

If she were plucking daisy petals about Noah, it wouldn’t be about his feelings for her, it would be “He’s my cousin, he’s not my cousin.”

Naomi frowned. “Why are you nervous? I might not be Megan’s biggest fan, but she did a great job on the offer.”

“I know she did, but it’s less than Noah’s asking price, and we only have guarantees for half the amount we’re offering.”

“But once everyone we talked to comes through, we’re two-thirds of the way there,” Veronica said.

After Megan had presented her research for the buyout to everyone at Channel 5 the night before, they’d voted. Ninety-five percent of Willow’s coworkers were on board while the other five percent opted to take Noah up on his offer to help them find jobs, which Willow had shared before they’d voted. She’d also shared that she’d received a job offer from Ted. She wanted to be fully transparent. As an added benefit, it showed how much she believed in their ability to make a go of this.

While Don and Megan went over the details of the offer and the presentation, Willow and her coworkers had worked the phones, offering members of the community the opportunity to invest.

“Don has the list of potential stakeholders, but he can’t include them until their agreements have been signed and verified,” Willow said.

“I can’t believe we’re having to convince Ms. Positivity that the deal will go through,” Naomi said to Veronica while raising an eyebrow at Willow. “We expected you to arrive this morning in your cheerleader’s uniform, pom-poms waving, entertaining us with backflips and side splits. The guys are disappointed in you.”

“They would’ve been more disappointed if I attempted a backflip and broke my neck.”

Naomi laughed. “I forgot. You never did manage to nail one, did you?”

“No. I didn’t. And you’re right. We can do this. The committee members for the silent auction are all on board, so we’ll make one last pitch to the community tonight.”

“Was that supposed to be a pep talk?” Naomi asked, frowning. “What’s up with you? You haven’t been yourself in days.”

“Naomi’s right, Will. What’s going on with you?” Veronica asked.

“It’s my mom,” she admitted. “She’s not coming tonight, and she withdrew her paintings from the auction.”

“I’m sorry. I know how excited you were to showcase her talent.” Naomi hugged her. “There’ll be other opportunities, Will.”

“Naomi’s right. We can feature her on Good Morning, Sunshine!” Veronica said. “But I kind of get it, Will. It can’t be easy for her with all the coverage about Cami and your family’s estrangement. If I were Gia, I wouldn’t want to come with the amount of press in town.”

“How’s Cami holding up?” Naomi asked.

Willow had told Naomi and Veronica that Cami was her biological mother. She trusted them to keep it to themselves. Although she thought it was only a matter of time before some ambitious reporter ferreted out the truth.

“She’s oblivious. It’s the one good thing about her not having her memory back. Seventeen-year-old Cami doesn’t know social media exists, and she’s convinced herself that the crowd at Last Call mistook her for Camilla Monroe. Riley’s been keeping her busy at the beach house. Obviously, she won’t be coming tonight either.”

Willow didn’t share that Cami wasn’t acting like herself. At first, Willow had thought it was because Noah had been angry about her taking Riley to Last Call. But she’d begun to suspect there was more going on. Cami was spending an inordinate amount of time in her bedroom, and she hadn’t asked to go to La Dolce Vita, which obviously they wouldn’t have allowed because the press had camped out in front of the restaurant. Well, they had until her grandmother had run the reporters off.

“Don’s coming out of Noah’s office,” Veronica whispered.

Willow was afraid to look. “Does he look happy? What does Noah look like?”

“Hot, but then he always does.” Naomi laughed. “Here comes Don.”

Don walked over. “The Big Boss wants to see you, Willow.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, and started to walk away. “Wait a sec. You didn’t tell us how it went.”

“I think Noah wants to tell you himself.”

As she walked toward his office, Naomi yelled, “Yes!” and Veronica yelled, “Woo-hoo!” and then cheers broke out in the station. She should’ve known Noah would agree to the offer.

He raised an eyebrow when she walked into his office. “No happy dance?”

She did a little dance instead of running across his office and throwing herself into his arms like she wanted to.

“And before you tell me you told me so, I’ll admit you were right to give Megan a second chance. She put a lot of time and effort into the offer without expecting anything for herself.” He looked down at his desk before raising his gaze to hers. “I’m listing the beach house with her, Willow. I considered keeping it but I think it’s time for a fresh start, for Riley and for me. We have to move on. It’s not easy living with the memories. And if you and I are…” He trailed off.

“I know.” She nodded, looking at her hands twisting on her lap. Then she raised her gaze to his. “You haven’t gotten back the test results?”

“Trust me, either way, you’ll find out when I do. I won’t open the portal with our results until you’re with me. I called the lab this morning. We should receive the results later today or first thing tomorrow morning.”

“It’ll be good to know,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“Or it won’t.” He got up from behind his desk and came around to sit in the chair beside her. “We haven’t talked about it. But if the results come back, and we’re related, I can’t be a part of your life, Willow. The last thing I want is to lose you, even as a friend. But I can’t do it. I thought I could, but I can’t.” He held her gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“No. I feel the same way. But I don’t want to lose Riley too.”

“You won’t. Riley’s already talked to me about it. When and if the time comes, I’ll talk to Billy about Riley visiting you, and vice versa. On the other hand, if we get the results we’re hoping for…” He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before immediately releasing it. “Probably best to keep those plans to myself until we know for sure.”

“That sounds promising.”

“Let’s just say I think you’ll be happy about it.” He stood up. “And since I can’t be this close to you without wanting to take you in my arms and kiss you, I’ll get back behind my desk.”

“Just so you know, that’s not far enough away.”

“Thank you for that, Ms. Rosetti. Now we should get down to business.” He held up the offer. “It helped that Megan knew we’re awaiting the DNA results and how that may impact the offer. She mentioned that in the event you receive the money you’re entitled to, the offer will remain unchanged.”

“I can tell by your expression that you don’t agree with my decision, but if we put off the offer until I receive the money—which I’ll reiterate that I’ll be taking under duress—it’ll push out the sale past the deadline.”

“It won’t have any impact on the sale whatsoever. Within seventy-two hours of us receiving the results that you’re my uncle’s daughter, the money will be transferred into your account. I’ve been working with our legal and accounting departments since we learned there was a possibility you were a Bennett to ensure I’d have everything ready for you to sign off on. I hired an outside team of attorneys and accountants to act on your behalf—your sister vetted them, by the way—and they’ve been receiving the reports as soon as they’re generated.”

“I…” She shook her head, stunned at what he’d done. “You didn’t have to do that. I trust you, Noah. I trust you with all my heart.”

He bowed his head and nodded. His voice was gruff when he said, “Thank you. But I wouldn’t have felt right otherwise.” He lifted his head, a grin that looked a little forced on his face. “And you know your sister. She probably would’ve sued me if I had done it any other way.”

“She can be overprotective.” Not any more than Noah, as he’d just proved. Her throat clogged and her eyes filled when she thought about everything he’d done to ensure she received what he believed she was entitled to.

She had to get out of there before she started crying ugly tears. “I should get going. I have to make sure everything’s ready for tonight. And Riley and Cami are giving me a makeover.” She did a fake shudder. “Wish me luck.”

“Just one, two more things, actually. Why would you leave the offer as is if you receive the money? Why wouldn’t you buy the station yourself? You could own it outright.”

“I like the thought of us all owning it together. We’ve always been like a family. As it is, I’m the only one who doesn’t have the money to invest, but they’re giving me shares anyway.”

“They’re not giving them to you, Willow. You agreed to work for free for a year, which is the other thing I want to talk to you about.”

“I can tell exactly how you feel about this, Noah. So thanks but no thanks. I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

“Because you know I’m right.”

“No! Because we’ll have another fight if we do. It’s not like I’ll be destitute. I’ll be working more hours at La Dolce Vita and living in my zia’s apartment.”

“I’ll give you the money for the buy-in. We can set it up as an interest-free loan if it makes you feel better.”

“I can’t accept it, Noah. I need to do this on my own. You, out of anyone, should be able to understand that. My family has been helping me out for as long as I can remember. I need to prove to myself that I can do this.”

He nodded, his gaze moving over her face. “In case we get the results neither of us wants, there’s something I need to say to you, something I’ll never be able to say to you again.” He bowed his head, blew out a breath, and then raised his gaze to hers. “I love you, Willow Rosetti.”

She covered her mouth, a sob escaping between her fingers as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I love you too,” she whispered, the words muffled behind her hand as she unsteadily came to her feet, and then she turned and ran from his office.

She didn’t stop to talk to her celebrating coworkers. She headed straight for the exit doors, ignoring Naomi and Veronica calling her name. The only way she kept it together through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening was by clinging to the hope that it wasn’t the last time she would hear Noah say those words. He hadn’t come back to the beach house before she’d left for the auction, but she’d seen him arrive with Riley just before the dinner was served. They’d sat at a table with Don and his wife while Willow had sat with the committee members. She’d avoided looking at Noah throughout her entire presentation and the auction. She’d been afraid she wouldn’t be able to keep it together.

But now that her duties were over, she’d searched Windemere’s ballroom for him and couldn’t see him. She spotted Riley sitting at a table with August and Amos and walked over. She owed Amos a big thank-you anyway. He’d stood up during her presentation, declared that everyone in Sunshine Bay should do what they could to keep Channel 5 on the air, and then walked up to the stage and handed her a check for five thousand dollars with the stipulation that he have some say over her weather reports.

She introduced herself to August and then turned to his grandfather. “Thanks for becoming a stakeholder in Channel 5, Amos. I promise you won’t regret it.”

“You might,” August said, earning him a scowl from his grandfather and a giggle from Riley.

Willow laughed. “I’m getting another lobster costume in his size.”

“That’ll be the day you’ll catch me in a lobster costume,” Amos said gruffly, but she caught the twinkle in his eyes. Blue eyes that she couldn’t help but notice were the same shade as hers and his grandson’s.

August looked up from his phone with a grin. “Dad says he’s going to become a stakeholder in Channel 5 too. Only he’s buying more shares so he can override any decisions you make, Gramps.”

“Give me that thing,” he said, taking his grandson’s phone. The three of them bit back smiles as Amos tried typing out a response to his son, cursing at the small keys.

Willow smiled at Riley. “Are you having fun?”

Riley nodded, casting a sidelong glance at August before returning her gaze to Willow. “Your speech was great, and I won the date with you. Noah bid for it.”

“Awesome. We’ll have to plan what we’re going to do. And speaking of your brother, I haven’t seen him since the auction ended.”

“He said he had something to do but he’d be back… There he is.” Riley pointed at the dance floor, and then she frowned. “Sage is with him. She looks kind of frazzled.”

Willow turned to see Noah and Sage skirting the couples on the dance floor. Her sister looked beyond frazzled. Her black suit was wrinkled, and she had a serious case of bedhead, while Noah in his black suit looked as if he’d stepped off the cover of a magazine. Willow might’ve spent a few minutes enjoying the view if it weren’t for the fierce expression on his face. Her first thought was, What has Cami done now?

She figured she was about to find out when Noah grabbed her by the hand, nodded a polite hello to the Monroe family, and then said to Riley, “Willow and I have to leave. Sage is your chaperone. She’ll be taking you home at ten.”

“Is everything okay?” Willow asked, her gaze moving from Noah to her sister.

Sage opened her mouth, but before she had a chance to respond, Noah said, “We have to go,” and half dragged Willow across the dance floor. She smiled apologies at the people whose dancing they interrupted and the people whose chairs they bumped against as they wove their way past the tables and the bar and out the inn’s entrance doors.

“Noah, what’s going on?” she asked as he opened the passenger-side door of the Mercedes for her.

Her mouth fell open when he closed it without answering. What the… He jogged around the hood of the car with that same fierce expression on his face, opened the door, slid behind the wheel, slammed the door shut, and pulled onto Main Street.

Her heart in her throat, she managed to whisper, “Did Cami do something?”

He glanced at her with a frown. “No.”

“Did something happen to my mom? My nonna?”

“No. Your family is fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“There is so. You’re driving over forty miles an hour in a twenty-five-mile-an-hour zone.”

His lips twitched. “Not until September first it isn’t.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see in approximately ten minutes. Six if you stop talking and don’t give me grief for going over the speed limit.”

“I won’t be the one giving you grief. It’ll be the cops when they pull you over.” Her phone pinged, and she took it out of her purse. “Great. The committee members are mad at me for leaving without helping with the cleanup.”

“They should be kissing the ground you walk on. Without you, the event wouldn’t have been the success it was. You raised a phenomenal amount of money for the fine arts center. Not to mention, by my calculations, if everyone who expressed an interest in becoming stakeholders in Channel 5 is any indication, you’ll have guarantees for the full amount of the offer, which means you’ll have no issues with the bank when you approach them for a loan to cover operating costs for your first year.”

“Don didn’t mention anything about a loan.”

“Don didn’t actually think it was going to happen.” He smiled. “But you proved him wrong, Willow.”

“Not just me. Everyone at…” She trailed off as a familiar car drove by them. “I’m almost positive that was my mom and my nonna.”

He turned down the road without responding, and then he parked in the empty lot.

“Why are we at Hidden Cove?”

Instead of answering the question, he got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side.

“Noah!” she cried as he opened the door. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I lied to you.”

“You did?”

“I did. I got the results of the DNA test when your brother walked over to ask my baby sister to dance.”

“I don’t… August is… You read the results without me?”

“I did.” He helped her out of the car and then crouched in front of her, reaching for her foot. “As much as I love looking at you in those heels, you need to take them off. You’ll sink in the sand.”

“This is not how I saw this playing out when we finally found out we weren’t related,” she said, leaning against the car as he took off one of Cami’s Jimmy Choos and then the other.

He tossed them in the car and then stood and closed the door. “If I kissed you now, I wouldn’t want to stop, so if you can be patient a little longer, I promise to make it worth the wait.”

“I think I can do that, mainly because I’m mad at you for looking at the results without me,” she told him.

“Sweetheart, if we’d gotten the results when we were at the beach house, I would’ve opened them with you.” He turned on his phone’s flashlight and then handed it to her before sweeping her into his arms. “Shine it on the path.”

The dark sky was littered with stars and a half moon shone on the bay but they didn’t provide enough light to illuminate their way.

“There was also another reason I didn’t think you’d want to read the results at the auction,” he said.

“We could’ve gone onto the patio at Windemere and read them there.”

“We could have,” he said as they reached the cove where they’d spent three wonderful weeks together that long-ago summer. “But this is better, don’t you think?”

She took in the small, flickering lanterns casting a warm, romantic glow over a blanket spread in the sand. There were a picnic basket, a bottle of wine, and two glasses.

“It is.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a light kiss on his throat. “I’m sorry if I was cranky. It’s just that I’d wanted us to be together when we read the results.”

He set her on her feet in the sand. “And what if the results weren’t the ones we got?” he asked as he took off his shoes and then reached for her hand, drawing her onto the blanket with him.

“You’re right, and this is the perfect place to celebrate.” She rested her head on his shoulder as he put in his phone’s password.

He turned the screen to her.

“I don’t know what I’m looking at. Whose results are those?”

“Your father’s. Sage and I reached out to Flynn, and he agreed to do a swab and send it to the lab we used.”

“I don’t understand why you’d reach out to him. We’d know he’s my father if Will wasn’t.”

“Technology has improved to a degree that DNA testing between cousins is fairly accurate but I didn’t want us to have even the slightest doubt. I didn’t think you would either. And your sister agreed.”

“Have you shared the results with Flynn?”

“He would’ve received them when I did.” Noah tucked her hair behind her ear. “When he learned Cami was your mother and not your aunt, he began questioning if he was your father. He saw the resemblance between you and his daughters.” He smiled. “I gather Amos did too.”

She half laughed, half sobbed, burying her face in Noah’s chest. “I can’t believe Amos is my grandfather.”

“Are you happy about this?”

She leaned back, framing his face with her hands. “Happy? I’m ecstatic. I’m over the moon.” She kissed him, and then they did everything she’d dreamed they’d do if they got the results they were hoping for.

They made love, and they laughed, and they talked, and they drank wine, and they ate the picnic her mother and grandmother had packed for them. It was after they’d made love a second time that Noah showed her the house on the bay that he wanted to buy for them, and Willow fell asleep under the stars wrapped in his arms, dreaming of a bright, happy future with the man she adored.