Chapter Thirty
The balloons lay deflated on the station’s floor, the corked champagne swam in the melted ice in a kiddie pool, and the food sat forlorn and forgotten on the groaning table. Five hours earlier, they’d been waiting for the call that would officially kick off the celebration. They’d gotten a call, just not the one they expected.
Megan walked to where Willow, Naomi, and Veronica were sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall and confetti in their hair. Someone had prematurely burst the confetti-filled balloons when the call came in.
Megan lowered her butt onto the concrete floor beside Willow.
“Any news?” Willow asked.
Megan shook her head. “The lawyer can’t figure it out. When Noah called him to say the deal was off, he didn’t give any explanation. And when the lawyer said we’d sue, he said, and I quote, ‘I doubt it.’”
“Why? Because he thinks he’s too smart and too rich for anyone to fight him in court and win?” Willow asked, thinking that sounded exactly like Mercedes Man.
But it didn’t sound at all like the Noah she knew and loved. Then again, she guessed she didn’t really know him because she hadn’t thought he’d be able to walk away from what they had. And as much as she wished she didn’t, she still loved him. She had a feeling she always would.
“Um, no, because he owns both and it’s his prerogative not to sell,” Megan said.
Veronica blew a horn, said, “Boo,” and lifted a bottle of champagne to her lips. She hadn’t taken the news well. None of them had; the station was as quiet as a church at a funeral. Every once in a while, the silence was broken by people crying or sniffling.
“But we had a verbal agreement.”
“They’re tough to enforce, according to our lawyer. Any chance you’d call Noah?” Megan asked.
Willow had been waiting for this. “I don’t want to, but we need answers, and if this is the only way to get them, I’ll suck it up.”
“I can’t believe you haven’t called him, Will,” Naomi said. “That’s not like you. You’re always the first to make up.”
“I was going to give him a week, but then he sent Cami a letter apologizing to her, and I thought he’d reach out to me. And I kept waiting. But I haven’t heard anything from him, and now it just feels like the moment to reach out has passed. It’s been three weeks. It’s not like he’s going to have a change of heart.”
Veronica blew her horn again, said, “Boo,” and lifted the champagne bottle to her lips, but Naomi took it from her.
“You’ve had enough, babe,” Naomi said, which earned her another horn blow and another “Boo.”
Willow took her phone from the pocket of her jeans, put in her password, and then scrolled through her recent calls to Noah’s name near the bottom. It was hard seeing his number there and remembering why he’d last called. It had been the day of the auction. After he’d told her he loved her. She’d been emotional, and he’d called to make sure she’d gotten to the venue okay.
If she was blinking back tears just from seeing his name and his number on her phone, she’d never look at their text exchanges, but she couldn’t bring herself to delete them. It was the same as living at the beach house. As difficult as it was to stay there with all the memories, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. She wouldn’t have had to if the sale to Cami had gone through.
Megan was right. They needed answers. Noah had forgiven Cami. He’d been kind and heartbreakingly compassionate in his letter.
She pressed the Call icon. The phone rang several times before Noah’s voice came over the line. That smooth-as-velvet deep voice. “I’m unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message.”
At the beep, she said, “Noah, please call me. It’s, uh, Willow.”
“He knows who you are, Will. Your name shows up,” Naomi said.
“Not if he deleted me it doesn’t. I mean, I don’t think it does,” she said, barely resisting the urge to call him again just to hear his voice.
Maybe that’s why she hadn’t called him. It would prolong the inevitable, the torture, making it harder to move on. Or maybe she’d been avoiding calling him because then she’d know for sure they were over. This way she could sometimes convince herself they were on a break and Noah would realize how much he missed her. But in mere weeks, he’d be leaving for his trip around the world. He wouldn’t have time to think about her or miss her then.
She never should’ve called him. It brought everything back.
Cami walked into the lobby carrying a large white box. Willow was glad for the distraction. Although she would’ve expected Cami to look as glum as the rest of them.
“Are you smiling?” Willow asked her.
“Who, me?” Cami asked, now looking as flattened as everyone in the station. “What do I have to smile about? I’m as disappointed as all of you. Has anyone figured out why Noah reneged on the sale?”
“No. Willow tried calling him but he’s not picking up,” Megan said, and then nodded at the box. “What have you got?”
“I don’t know,” Cami said, heading to the reception desk. “A courier asked me to sign for it when I was walking in to check on all of you.”
Don walked out of his office, and Willow’s eyes narrowed at his jaunty step. Then she could’ve sworn Don and Cami shared a silent exchange as he approached the reception desk.
“It came, did it?” he said to Cami. “I was worried it wouldn’t get here in time.”
Willow wanted to see what they were talking about and stood. Megan and Naomi stood too, and the three of them helped Veronica to her feet.
They got to the front desk just as Cami opened the box and pulled out a white sparkly ballgown with sheer sleeves and a ruffled V-neck.
Veronica gasped. “It’s a Cinderella dress. I looove it. Where are the shoes?”
Cami looked in the box. “No Cinderella shoes, but we have bedazzled sneakers and a wand,” she said, waving it around. “It’s a fairy godmother costume.”
“We so need a fairy godmother,” Megan said.
“You’ve got one,” Don said, grinning at Willow.
“No. No way. I’m not wearing that to do tonight’s weather report.”
“I will,” Veronica said, bouncing on her toes.
“Sorry, it has to be Willow. The person sponsoring this week’s weather segment wouldn’t be pleased if we put in a substitute,” Don said.
Two weeks before, they’d started a new initiative to encourage community spirit. They would run a contest, and the winner would get to choose what Willow wore to deliver the weather. Last week, she had been a duck.
Veronica blew her horn and yelled, “Boo!”
“What does it matter?” Willow asked, raising her voice to be heard over Veronica’s now-incessant booing. “We’re done. Finished.”
Naomi covered Veronica’s mouth with her hand. “I never thought I’d say this,” she said to Willow, “but I miss your old positive self.”
“Me too.” Willow sighed. “But I can’t seem to get her back.”
“You will.” Cami patted her shoulder. “Now off you go to get changed. We have to be at the pier in ten minutes.”
“I’m not doing the weather at the pier. It’s raining.”
“Didn’t you say this morning it will clear up by five?” Don asked, fighting a grin.
She rolled her eyes at him and then looked at Cami. “It’s four ten. I don’t have to be on the air until five.”
“A fairy godmother is never late,” Cami said, shooing her off with a smile.
Willow was beginning to think Cami was right. With all the layers of fabric, it took her nearly ten minutes to change into the dress. She should’ve asked Naomi to give her a hand.
As she walked back to the reception desk, the crew yelled, “Make our wishes come true, fairy godmother!”
“Did you guys polish off the champagne?” she asked, shaking her head as they waved at her with huge grins on their faces.
When she returned to the front desk, Megan and Naomi were acting as weird as the crew, beaming and giggling. She didn’t count Veronica; she’d been acting weird since she got into the champagne.
Willow fisted her hands on her hips. “What’s going on? You’re not planning something that will wind up going viral on TikTok again, are you?”
Veronica pressed her hands to her chest. “I bet it will. Everyone loves—” Naomi clamped a hand over Veronica’s mouth.
“Okay, fairy godmother, it’s time for you to make all our wishes come true,” Megan said, taking her by the hand.
“I’ll meet you at the pier,” Naomi said.
Willow noticed Cami and Don trailing behind her and Megan, along with several of the crew and newscasters. She stopped at the door. “All right, one of you is going to tell me what’s going on.”
“Not to get maudlin,” Don said, “but this will probably be your last weather broadcast, and we want to see it live.”
“My last… Are you serious? I won’t be doing the weather after today?”
“Don’t think about that now,” Cami said. “Just enjoy every moment.”
It hadn’t even crossed her mind that they’d be closing down this soon. But it made sense. Cami was right. There’s no way Willow could think about this maybe being her last broadcast without breaking down.
She looked through the glass doors and hiked up her dress. “You’d better pray these bedazzled sneakers have good grip or I’ll be sliding all over the wharf.”
She rode in Don’s car with Megan and Cami to the pier. Willow got a glimpse of the wharf from the parking lot. “Is something going on today? The pier is packed.”
With all the colorful umbrellas, the pier looked like a rainbow.
“I think there’s an event on one of the charters,” Cami said.
“Really? We didn’t announce an event on our community news,” Willow said as she got out of the car. Cami got out behind her and held an umbrella over her head.
The whispers started as she approached the pier, the crowd turning and smiling. But she was distracted by a group of familiar-looking people surrounding a man at the end of the pier. Her entire family was there, including Flynn, who’d arrived the week before, and August and Amos.
She turned on Cami. “What’s everyone doing here? And why are they surrounding that guy like they’re threatening…” She went up on her tiptoes and gasped. “It’s Noah!” She looked back at the crowd behind her, searching the faces under the umbrellas. The Beaches were there? In the rain?
She was distracted from her squad by a woman scowling at her. It was her sister. She was holding Lucky.
Riley, standing beside Sage, grinned. “We didn’t want you to recognize us so we had Sage hold Lucky. You won’t believe how well-behaved he is now, Willow. I can’t wait to show you.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, her smile wobbling.
The older woman beside Riley waved at Willow. “I’m Mrs. D. If you don’t mind, would you rescue our Noah? It doesn’t seem fair he’s so badly outnumbered.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you both in a few minutes,” she said, and then stomped up the wharf to her family.
“Don’t be mad at them. They’re just trying to protect you,” Cami said, fast-walking beside her.
“I don’t need anyone to protect me.” She put her hands on her hips when she reached the outer edges of the group and raised her voice. “Anyone who is a Rosetti, a Monroe, a Sinclair, or a Hollingsworth, take ten giant steps back. Now.”
They all turned to look at her. She felt Noah’s gaze on her but she couldn’t look at him, not yet. She had to rein in the overwhelming desire to run and throw herself into his arms.
“We’re not roughing him up, bella,” Bruno said. “We’re just letting him know what will happen the next time he breaks your heart.”
“And we want to know his intentions,” her nonna said.
“And why he hasn’t called you in three weeks!” her mother said. “He sent Cami a letter. It was a beautiful letter, by the way,” she told Noah. “But you never—”
“All right, family.” Willow cut off her mother. “I know you love me, and I know you’re trying to protect me. But I’m twenty-eight-years old, and I can take care of myself.” She waved her wand at her family. “Clear out. Now.”
It took five minutes for them to join the crowd at her back. She got cheek pinches, shoulder squeezes, and a head pat from Amos, who was wearing his yellow raincoat and hat.
“It’s still raining, and it’s almost five. Maybe now you’ll listen to your grandfather,” he said before pointing a stern finger at Noah. “I’m keeping an eye on you.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less, sir,” Noah said.
As her grandfather walked away, Willow held out the layers of white fabric that made up the skirt, raising an eyebrow at Noah. “Was this your idea?”
“Riley’s and Mrs. D’s. They ordered the costume from a store in Boston before we left New York.” He looked down at the wharf before raising his gaze to hers. “You made Riley’s and Cami’s wishes come true, Willow. I’m here hoping you’ll do the same for me.”
“I’m the woman you said reeled you in and manipulated you into nearly giving up your dreams. How can I possibly make your wish come true?”
“I said a lot of things that day. I could tell you I was in shock, which was true. I was also furious and felt betrayed, but none of that matters or excuses my behavior. It may have seemed impersonal that I apologized to Cami in a letter, but I wanted her to have tangible proof that she was forgiven, not a phone call she’d eventually forget or perhaps question her memory of what was said.”
“It was a beautiful letter, and I’m sure she’ll cherish it.”
He nodded. “I wrote you a letter. Ten letters, actually. If I’d made a decision other than the one I’ve made, you would’ve received a letter too.”
“You mean your decision to cancel the sales of Channel 5 and the beach house?”
“Yes, and I’ll explain why I did. But before I do, we need to clear up one thing. I never said you manipulated me. But when I said I nearly gave up my dreams because of you, that was true, and given what I’d just learned, I was angry, more at myself than at you. That’s why I haven’t reached out to you. I needed time away from you to think about what I want. Because when I’m with you, you’re all I want. The thought of leaving you to travel for a year became increasingly more difficult. But like hosting a morning show at Channel 5 has been your dream, that was mine.”
“I never asked you to give up your dream for me, Noah.” But every time he’d mentioned it, she’d gotten knots in her stomach at the thought of him leaving for a year. He was being honest with her. She had to be honest with him. “It would’ve been hard, and I can’t say I would’ve liked you being gone that long, but we could’ve worked it out.”
“It would’ve been unfair to you. We hadn’t been together very long. But what I’m trying to tell you is nothing is more important to me than you, Willow. I don’t want to go another day without you in my life. I don’t want to travel the world without you by my side, and I’d never ask you to give up your dream for me.” He took her hands in his. “I love you, and I’m sorry I hurt you. I’ll spend the rest of my days making it up to you if you’ll just give me a second chance.”
“You did hurt me, but I understood what you were dealing with and that you were hurting too. I just wish you hadn’t shut me out. I wish you had stayed here so we could’ve talked it out.”
“I’ve messed up some of the most important relationships in my life. I’ve always held something back, protected myself. But I’m trying to do better. I realize now keeping my distance from you wasn’t the wisest choice. But at the time, I thought it was the right one, for you and for me.” He let go of her hands and gave her a sad smile. “Losing you will be the biggest regret of my life, Willow Rosetti.”
She grabbed his hands, panic making her heart race. “Don’t you dare walk away from me again, Noah Elliot. You are my dream, and I’m not letting you go. Now or ever.”
“You still love me, after everything?” he asked, drawing her into his arms.
Cheers rippled through their audience, and several people muttered, “Finally.”
“Ignore them,” Willow said, rising up on her toes and murmuring against his lips, “Yes, even after you ripped up the purchase agreement for the station, effectively destroying my dream, I still love you. I’ll always love you.”
“You know me better than that. I would never destroy your dream. I ripped up the purchase agreement because I want to share your dream with you, and I want you to share mine with me.”
“So you’re not selling to us because you’re going to keep the station and run it?”
“No. I want to invest in the station. If you and the others agree to have me on your team, that is.” He’d raised his voice, lifting his gaze from hers to the crowd at her back.
He smiled when Don and her coworkers in the crowd yelled, “Yes!” and cheered. “What about you, Willow? You have my promise, I’ll sign the purchase agreement no matter your answer.”
“Turn down the offer of the CEO of one of the biggest private broadcasting groups in the country to be part of our team? I’m not an idiot, Noah. Of course I want you on our team. But what about your dream?”
“I would imagine we’ll get holidays, won’t we? We can travel then. Or we could do an expedition for a month, and you could report remotely. Take the citizens of Sunshine Bay with you on a tour of the world.”
As she’d discovered the month before, the idea of leaving her family and Sunshine Bay no longer triggered a panic attack. And right then, it excited her. “We could do that, couldn’t we? What about Italy? I’ve always wanted to see where Nonna grew up. Or France? We could walk in the lavender fields in Provence.”
He smiled, love shining in his eyes. “Anywhere. I’ll go anywhere with you. Or I’d go nowhere with you and have an adventure right here. I don’t care, as long as you’ll trust me with your heart again and give me a second chance.”
“Is that your wish?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She raised her wand and tapped him on the head three times. “Granted.”
He threw back his head and laughed, lifting her in his arms and spinning her around. She slid her arms around his neck. “Now kiss me. I have a weather report to do.”
The sun came out just as she was about to do her broadcast, and as her gaze moved over the smiling faces of her family and friends and the man she loved, Willow thought about the storm they’d weathered. It wasn’t wishes that had gotten them to where they were today, it was love. Love, sweet love.