Three Little Wishes

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Willow stood in stunned silence, shocked by what Cami had just revealed. She didn’t know what to say, what to do.

“She’s a liar. You’re a liar!” Riley yelled. “You pretended to be my friend.”

“I wasn’t pretending, Riley,” Cami said, her expression shattered. “I care about you. I wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt you.”

“You killed my uncle! You left him to die on the side of the road. You destroyed my family. You’re the reason my mother died.” Her voice broke on a sob, and she turned into Noah’s arms. “I want to go home. I want to leave.”

“Riley, honey.” Willow reached out to comfort her, but Noah moved his sister out of her reach.

“Noah?” Willow searched his face, and everything inside her froze.

His eyes were cold, his face hard and expressionless. “My sister’s right,” he said, turning that ice-cold gaze on Cami. “You destroyed our family. My mother was supposed to go to the concert that night with her brother. Because of you, she blamed herself for his death, and it haunted her. Because of you, my grandfather blamed himself for buying the car Will died in, and it haunted him. Because of you, my grandmother blamed him too, and their relationship was never the same. My mother was never supposed to take over the company. Will was, but because of you, he died, and my mother had to take over. Because of you, she died of a heart attack at fifty-two.”

“Noah!” Willow gasped. “You can’t believe that. It was an accident, a horrible accident, but that’s what it was. You can’t blame Cami for—”

“You’re going to defend her to me?”

He’d never spoken to her like that, even when he was Mercedes Man, and she knew, no matter how much she loved him or he loved her, they wouldn’t be able to get past this. But she had to try. She couldn’t lose him.

“We need to talk. Just us. You, me, and Riley. We can get—”

“No. I won’t let another Rosetti destroy our lives.”

“How can you say that to me after last night, after everything we’ve been through, after everything we’ve shared?”

“The day I walked into the station, what was it you said, ‘No man can resist a Rosetti when they have their mind set on something’?”

Willow cringed. He had seen her pretending to reel him in on her imaginary fishing line, and he’d repeated almost verbatim what she’d said.

“Your mother reeled my uncle in, and he died because of her. You reeled me in, and I nearly gave up my dreams for you. I suppose I should be grateful to you, Cami, for opening my eyes before it was too late. And maybe I would be if you hadn’t betrayed my sister’s trust.”

His eyes moved over them. “Riley and I are leaving Sunshine Bay, but before we do, I’ll be asking the police to reopen the investigation into my uncle’s accident.”

“Please don’t do this,” Willow pleaded. “Don’t leave like this. You’re in shock. You both are.”

Riley lifted her head, looking from Willow to her brother. “Noah, Willow didn’t know. It’s not her—”

“It doesn’t matter, Tink. There’s no coming back from this.” Taking his sister’s hand, he turned and walked away.

Willow wrapped her arms around her waist, struggling to come to terms with what had just happened. She couldn’t believe Noah was leaving her without a backward glance.

Sage strode into the restaurant, looking over her shoulder and then back at them. “What the hell is wrong with Noah and Riley? They…” Her gaze moved over Willow, her mother, who’d come to wrap her arms around her, and Cami, who stood sobbing in Carmen’s arms.

Sage stared at them. “Did… did someone die?”

“No. I mean, someone did. Noah’s uncle, and—” her mother began, glancing at Cami.

“Don’t worry, Gia. You got your wish. I’m leaving. I just…” She walked toward Willow, her gait unsteady. “I never meant for this to happen.” She lifted a trembling hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry, sorrier than you’ll ever know. Your mother’s right. Noah’s right. I destroy everyone I care about.”

“Would someone tell me what the hell happened?” Sage said at the same time that Bruno walked into the restaurant, took one look at Willow’s grandmother, and rushed to her side. “Cara,” he said, gathering her into his arms.

Willow’s gaze moved over her family, and she stepped from her mother’s embrace. “The family table now. All of you, and that includes you, Cami. We’re a family. We don’t fall apart when bad things happen. We come together. I just watched the man I love walk out that door, with his sister, who I love too, and I’m not letting anyone else I love walk away from me.”

“Okay, bella. Anything you want,” Bruno said, guiding Carmen to the table. When he got her grandmother seated, he came to Willow and rocked her in his arms. “No one could walk away from you. They’d have to be a fool to, and that man is no fool. He’ll realize his mistake, and then he’ll come back to you, begging your forgiveness, but he’ll have to go through us first, and he better have a good reason for making you cry.”

“He does, Bruno.” She told him everything Cami had said and how Noah and Riley had reacted when they’d learned the part she’d played in Will’s accident.

Bruno scrubbed his hand up and down his face. Then he glanced at Cami, who was sitting by herself at the end of the table, staring at her iPhone. Willow’s mother sat at the other end, comforting Carmen, while Sage paced in front of the table with her phone pressed to her ear, every so often shooting worried glances Cami’s way.

“I remember the morning we heard about the accident like it was yesterday. You tend to do that when someone dies young in a small town. It hit everyone pretty hard. But Cami”—he shook his head—“she was bad off. Carmen was worried about her, we all were. She was always a wild one, a lot like Eva.

“Like you.” He smiled. “She could make your nonna laugh like no one else, and dance? That girl could dance. She loved to have fun and party. Then she met Flynn, and she calmed down. Still fun, and happy, always with a smile on her face, looking for the next adventure, but Flynn settled her. Will started coming around after she broke her arm at the sand dunes. He was a nice kid, a little on the wild side, though, which concerned your nonna, but he made Cami smile, and she’d been worried about her after Flynn left, so she let it be.

“Maybe if…” He shook his head. “All this to say, it makes sense now how Cami acted after the accident. She must’ve been desperate for some way to drown her pain, the guilt.”

“She drank?”

He nodded. “She was out of control. Totaled your nonna’s car, skipped school, didn’t show up for work, stayed out to all hours. You name it, she did it. And then one day she packed her bags and was gone.”

“She found out she was pregnant with me.”

“She did, and aren’t we the lucky ones to have been blessed with you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now I’m going to close the restaurant. And then I’m going to put food on the table, bring out the wine, and then you and me, bella, we’ll sort this crapola out.”

“I think it might take more than you and me, Bruno,” Willow said.

“It looks like we have backup.” He nodded at Megan, who fast-walked toward her.

“What’s happened?” Megan asked, looking from Willow to her family gathered around the table.

“Cami and my mom got into it in the kitchen, and—”

“No. I mean what happened with you and Noah? He just called me and canceled his offer on the house. He told you about it, didn’t he?”

She nodded, afraid she’d start blubbering if she opened her mouth.

Sage strode toward them, searched Willow’s face, and then gave her a one-armed hug. “Look, I know you’re upset. But it’s not over between you and Noah, no matter what he said. And right now—”

“What?” Megan shrieked.

Sage breathed in through her nostrils and then briefed Megan on the situation, as only Sage could do. Bluntly, with no emotion. Just the facts in bullet points. Willow wished she could be more like her sister. She didn’t care if she was technically her cousin. She’d always be her sister.

Megan fanned herself with both of her hands. “This is too much to take in. How do you deal with this?”

“By pulling on your big-girl panties. And if you’re going to add to the drama, you need to leave because we have all the drama our family can deal with right now,” Sage told Megan.

Willow sighed. “Sage.”

Megan waved her off. “No. She’s right. You and your family got me through my divorce, and I’m going to get you and your family through this. And just saying, she’s right about Noah. He adores you. You just have to give him time.”

“You and Sage weren’t here. You didn’t hear him.”

“We’ll sort the Noah situation out later,” Sage said. “Because right now we have bigger things to deal with.”

Megan’s eyes widened. “There’s more?”

“Yeah. Mom mentioned Noah said he was calling the police to reopen the investigation into his uncle’s accident. I made a few calls, and it looks like he did. I imagine we’ll be getting a visit from Sunshine Bay’s finest in the next couple of hours. Now, everyone to the table. We hash things out so that when the cops arrive, we present a united front.”

There was a knock on the front door of the restaurant. Bruno walked to the table with two golden-brown Margherita pizzas and put them down. “I’ll send whoever it is away.”

Cami looked at the pizzas and burst into tears. Willow walked over and hugged her. “Riley will forgive you. It might take time, but she will.”

“I don’t deserve her forgiveness, or Noah’s. Everything they said was true. I don’t deserve yours either.”

“Why don’t you deserve mine? I’ve had a beautiful life. You gave me to my mom. I’ve had a family who loves and supports me. It’s you who’ve missed out, Cami. You’ve paid for your mistakes a thousand times over. Maybe it’s time for you to forgive yourself.” She straightened and looked her mother in the eye. “And it’s time for you to forgive your sister.”

“You weren’t there. You don’t know what we went through when she took you from us. You don’t understand—” her mother began before Willow cut her off.

Actually, Willow finally understood a lot of things. She understood why she’d panicked at the thought of leaving her family and Sunshine Bay. She also could understand how traumatic it must’ve been for her mother, her grandmother, and her aunt when Cami had taken her. But Cami had paid a price far greater than any of them.

“Twenty-five years, Mom. Twenty-five years without her family. You were there, you heard her, you have a better understanding why she left me. You know what she was dealing with. And as awful as it must’ve been for you, I think, deep down, you understand why she took me when I was a little girl. You need to forgive her, and you need to forgive her now.”

“Willow, it’s okay. I understand how Gia feels,” Cami said.

“Willow’s right,” Carmen said. “I won’t be here forever. I want my family with me, all my girls. I want everyone to get along. I want to be a family again.”

“Okay, Ma.” Gia nodded and got up from her chair. She walked over to Cami and gave her a hug. “I forgive you. But just so you know, I’m Willow’s mom, and I don’t like sharing.”

Cami laughed through a sob. “Tell me about it.” She wiped away her tears and said to Willow, “Your mother was like a little squirrel. She had all these secret hiding places in her room.”

“Yeah, because you and Eva stole my stuff all the time.”

Cami and Gia argued back and forth, but it was the normal arguing between sisters, and Willow’s heart lightened just a bit. She glanced at her grandmother, who was chuckling. She caught Willow looking at her and mouthed, It’ll be okay.

And then Megan said what Willow was thinking: “The Rosettis are back together again. Watch out, Sunshine Bay!”

Okay, so she could’ve done without the last part. Willow moved away from Cami to take a seat, turning as Bruno returned from getting rid of whoever had been knocking on the front door. Only he hadn’t gotten rid of them. Naomi and Veronica followed behind him.

Naomi looked around the table, frowning. “Will, what’s going on?”

“What are you guys doing here?” Willow asked.

“We thought you and Noah were having dinner here tonight, and we came to share the good news.” Veronica glanced around the restaurant. “Where is he?”

Willow nodded at her sister. “You’re up.”

Sage gave her a seriously? look, but then took pity on her and gave Naomi and Veronica the lowdown, Sage style. Willow took a seat, unable to block out the memory of Noah’s voice or his expression, devoid of love. Her reaction to the memory must’ve shown on her face. Naomi and Veronica both hugged her, and then they surprised her by hugging Cami.

Willow didn’t know why she was surprised. She had the best friends. They’d understand how difficult this must be for Cami, reliving a moment she’d kept secret all this time. In the end, as hard as it was, Willow thought it was time for Cami’s secret to come to light. And it wasn’t as if it would remain a secret for long with the SBPD involved.

“Sit, girls. Have some pizza,” Carmen said. “And tell us your good news.”

Naomi and Veronica each pulled out a chair. “We have guarantees for the full amount of the buyout, and then some,” Naomi said. “According to Don, if the people at the auction who said they wanted to invest come through, we won’t have to take out a loan for the first year’s operating costs.”

“How’s that possible?” Willow asked.

Naomi glanced at Cami, who cleared her throat before addressing Willow. “I wanted to invest in you and your future. I didn’t get to do anything for you growing—”

“Oh, shut up, Cami.” Gia scowled at her sister and then looked at Willow. “She paid for you to go to college. I didn’t ask for it. I found an envelope with my name on it on the bar the morning of your high school graduation.”

Willow had refused Noah’s offer, but she couldn’t bring herself to refuse Cami’s. She didn’t want her to take it as a rejection. She’d been through enough.

“And your uncle and aunt bought shares too. Quite a bit of them. And, uh, so did Carmen, your mom, your sister, your cousin and her husband, Bruno, and…” Naomi looked at Veronica. “Am I missing anyone?”

Veronica nodded. “Probably, but I can’t remember who.”

Naomi grinned. “If you would’ve had time, you could’ve funded the buyout on your own, Will.”

A horrible thought came to Willow, and her gaze shot to Megan. She must’ve had the same thought because she scrolled through her phone.

“No. We’re good,” Megan said. “Noah just canceled his bid on the house. But honestly, no matter how mad he is right now, he wouldn’t do that to you, Willow.”

She nodded at the same time they heard another knock on the door. Willow didn’t want to offend Megan, Naomi, and Veronica or she would’ve told Bruno not to get it. He walked out of the kitchen carrying two platters of calamari and two platters of zucchini sticks and put them on the table. “If this keeps up, we’ll have to pull more tables over, and I’ll need a hand in the kitchen.”

Carmen moved to stand.

“You sit, Ma. I’ll give Bruno a hand,” Cami said.

“I will too. After I eat. I’m starved,” Gia said.

“You always ate like a horse when you were stressed,” Cami said, which set off another round of sisterly bickering, which had her grandmother grinning around a zucchini stick.

Then Willow’s mother glanced toward the front of the restaurant and blinked. “Who is that? He looks exactly like Flynn.”

“He’s Flynn’s son. August,” Willow said.

“Does he know he’s your brother?” her mother whispered.

“He’s your what?” Naomi asked.

“You can explain this one,” Sage said, and popped a calamari ring into her mouth.

Willow didn’t get a chance. August looked around the table and then his gaze settled on her. “Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Riley asked me to join you guys for pizza.”

“When? When did she ask you?”

“It was before, Willow,” Cami said gently.

“Of course it was. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She turned back to August. “I’m sorry. Riley and Noah left Sunshine Bay.”

“Is something wrong? Her dad didn’t make her go back to LA, did he?”

“No. I—”

Sage interrupted her, giving August the Sage Notes version of events, which Willow hadn’t asked or wanted her to do, and she kicked her under the table. “What was that for?” her sister groused.

Before Willow could respond, Cami said, “If you talk to Riley, will you tell her how sorry I am, August? I can’t get her on her phone.”

Willow imagined she’d blocked her. She was tempted to try texting Noah, but she wanted to wait until morning. She didn’t want to text him if they were on the road. She had a feeling they’d left Sunshine Bay almost right away.

August glanced at Willow. “Are you okay?”

“Not great, but it can’t get worse, right?” Why had she said that? Of course it could get worse.

August looked around the table and then back at her. “I talked to my dad. I know, you know.”

Willow had talked to Flynn earlier that afternoon. She couldn’t believe it had been mere hours ago. It felt like a lifetime. She and Noah had just gotten out of the shower when her phone rang. Noah had laughed at her reaction. She’d felt as if she’d been caught in the act by her father. It wasn’t the easiest conversation she’d ever had, but she was looking forward to getting to know Flynn. Even though she’d only spoken to him for an hour, she could understand how he’d been a calming presence in Cami’s life.

Willow returned her attention to August. “It must’ve come as a shock to you. Are you okay with it? Sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to have this conversation in front of a bunch of strangers.”

“It’s okay. I’m good with it,” he said, and grinned. “I figure now that you’re part of the family, you’ll have to take turns with me looking after Gramps.”

Willow laughed. “I have a feeling Amos plans on hanging out at the station twenty-four-seven, so I’ll have paid my dues in full and then some.”

“I should probably get going.” He glanced at Cami. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. If I talk to Riley, I’ll tell her you’re sorry. But she probably already knows that. It’ll just take her some time to admit it to herself.”

Carmen wagged a zucchini stick at him. “You’re a smart boy, a good boy, just like your father. Come, sit and eat.”

“Sure. I just have to make a call first.” He turned and walked to the other side of the restaurant.

“I love him!” Megan said. “Does he have an older brother?” Willow threw a zucchini stick at her. “What?”

“You promised you were going to do you for a year.”

“That’s what you said last fall, and look how that…” She stuffed a zucchini stick in her mouth.

August walked back to the table and held out his phone. “My dad wants to talk to you, Cami.”

When Cami hesitated, Carmen said, “Talk to him, cara.”

Cami nodded and took the phone from August. “Thank you,” she said, and got up from her chair, walking to the back door. She opened it and stepped onto the deck.

Carmen got up from her chair and patted August’s cheek. “Come make pizza with me.”

“I want to make pizza too,” Megan cried, and that’s how they all ended up in the kitchen, making pizza and singing, “That’s Amore.”

Cami joined them twenty minutes later. She seemed better after talking to Flynn, smiling and laughing a little, which was a good thing since the next knock on the door was the police.

“I’ll get it,” Sage said, and strode to the door, sighing when she realized they’d followed her. She opened the door, ushering the officer inside. “Everyone but Cami back to the table. We’ll take a seat over here.” Sage gestured at a table for four at the front of the restaurant and the officer followed her and Cami.

Everyone else walked back to the table. No one felt like eating as they listened to the low murmur of voices at the front of the restaurant. Carmen wrung her hands, and Bruno placed one of his over hers. “It was an accident. She’ll be fine,” he quietly assured her.

“This is a good thing, Nonna. It doesn’t matter what we tell Cami. She needs someone in a position of authority to tell her she’s not responsible.”

“Willow’s right,” her mother and Bruno agreed.

They talked among themselves in an attempt to distract Carmen. Thirty minutes later, they all went quiet at the sound of chairs moving, craning their necks to get a look at Cami.

Instead, they heard Sage say, “Seriously? He just grilled you for a half an hour, and you’re inviting him to eat with us?”

“He didn’t grill me, Sage. He was very kind. Please join us, Officer.”

“I appreciate the offer, ma’am, but I’m on duty,” he said as he walked to the door, and then he turned, his gaze moving over them. “I’ll be sending a copy of my report to Mr. Elliot. The investigation is officially closed. Nothing I’ve heard impacts the initial investigation’s findings. In fact, Ms. Monroe’s account confirms what we already knew. The crash involving William Bennett was an accident. Ms. Monroe didn’t cause his death, nor did she flee the scene of an accident or fail to give aid. She called 911 from the nearest pay phone, and Mr. Bennett died on impact.” He looked at Cami. “I hope that allows you to put this to rest.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Have a good evening, folks.”

They didn’t celebrate. It didn’t feel right. Time would tell if Cami would be able to move on from the accident but Willow thought maybe it had helped. Now to see if an official report that exonerated Cami would change Noah’s mind.

An hour later, everyone got up to leave. Willow hugged and kissed her family goodbye and then headed to the door with her sister. Sage drove her to the beach house. There was a light on in the living room, and for a second, she felt hope rising inside her that Noah hadn’t left. But it quickly deflated when she noticed his car was gone. It got worse when she walked into the beach house. Not only were Noah and Riley gone, so was Lucky. She didn’t know why that hit her so hard, but it did.

Sage patted her shoulder. “I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Moments later, she returned with a piece of paper. “Noah left you a note.” She handed it to her.

In his bold, masculine scrawl, he’d written, Willow, you can live at the beach house until you’ve found a place to stay or until the beach house is sold. I’m sure Megan will keep you informed when she receives an offer.

“I don’t want any tea, thanks,” Willow said to Sage.

She walked up the stairs and down the hall to Noah’s bedroom. She crawled into the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest, inhaling his scent.

Her sister crawled in behind her, wrapping her arms around her. “It’ll work out, Will.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll be there to help you pick up the pieces.”