Page 11 of Three Little Wishes

Could it really be him? The Noah she’d hung out with at Hidden Cove for three weeks during the summer of 2011? The boy who’d worn glasses and had a mouthful of metal? The boy she’d thought was her best friend until he left Sunshine Bay and she’d never heard from him again?

She stared at him. “Noah?”

His dark eyes, which she’d thought were black but were really a deep indigo, crinkled at the corners, and a warm smile curved his lips. “Yeah. It’s me.”

Chapter Four

When Willow uttered a delighted cry and threw her arms around Noah’s neck, she wasn’t thinking about their earlier interactions or how his decision to shut down Channel 5 would shatter her hopes and dreams. She was remembering how he’d once turned the crappiest summer of her life into a happy, unforgettable one.

He uttered a lowoof, rocking back on his shoes before his arms closed around her. He hugged her with much less enthusiasm than that with which she hugged him. This was nothing new. She’d been the spontaneous, affectionate, and yes, it must be said, loud and wild one in their friendship. Noah had been the standoffish, quiet bookworm who’d wanted nothing to do with her at first, which of course had been all the motivation Willow had needed to try to win him over. She hadn’t met anyone she couldn’t be friends with, and she’d needed a friend that summer. She’d sensed that Noah had needed one too. She’d never discovered why he gave off that vibe, but what she had discovered was that he had a surprising sense of adventure, a great sense of humor, and the best laugh ever.

She released him, stepping back and lightly swatting his rock-hard abs as he stared at her with a slightly dazedexpression on his gorgeous face. She was about to give him crap for not showing up at Hidden Cove the last day of his vacation as he’d promised, but before she could, Megan, with her arms crossed and looking as if she’d sucked back a whiskey sour, said, “What am I missing? How could you two possibly not know that you knew each other?”

“We were fifteen and only knew each other’s first names. And it’s not like we look the same as we did back then,” Willow said, still finding it hard to believe Bennett’s acting CEO and her Noah were one and the same.

“Why wouldn’t you share your last names? That’s just weird,” Megan said.

“No, it’s not. When you were fifteen, you didn’t go around introducing yourself as Megan Pecker,” Willow pointed out, hoping Megan would let it go at that. Because while it was mostly true, Willow had another reason she hadn’t shared her last name with Noah that summer. She might not be embarrassed by her family’s exploits now, but she had been back then.

At Megan’s ticked-off stare, Willow realized her best friend wasn’t pleased she’d shared her former surname. Willow supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. Even though Megan hated her cheating ex, she’d kept his last name, which went to show just how much she hated her own. Willow mouthed,Sorry.

She knew her apology wasn’t accepted when Megan said, “I guess I wouldn’t have wanted to share I was a Rosetti that summer either.” Leaning into Noah, she lowered her voice. “The mayor had a heart attack in Willow’s grandmother’s bed. He was married, and it wasn’t as if they could keep it on the down-low when the first responders arrived, lights flashing and sirens blaring.” She snickered. “There wasn’t muchgoing on that night and half the town showed up, including the mayor’s wife.”

Willow’s cheeks heated at the memory. After the news broke, her friends’ parents had ensured that their daughters were too busy to hang out with her. Her sister and cousin hadn’t been around for support either. Her cousin had spent her summers in England with her dad, and Willow’s sister had accepted a summer internship with a local lawyer.

“The mayor’s wife had left him the week before, Megan. They were separated.” Willow glared at her friend, furious she’d bring that up here of all places, especially after how supportive Carmen had been throughout the breakup of Megan’s marriage.

If Carmen had been standing close by, Willow would’ve done more than glare at Megan. Not that glaring at her was doing any good. Megan was focused on Noah, completely ignoring her.

“I bet you knew she was a Rosetti, didn’t you?” Megan nudged Noah, giving him an encouraging wink. “With the amount of coverage Willow’s grandmother and family were getting on Channel 5 that summer, they had to be the topic of conversation around the Bennett family’s dinner table.”

“I wouldn’t know. I didn’t spend a lot of time with my family that summer.” He drew his gaze from Megan to her. “All I knew about Willow was that she wouldn’t take no for an answer and seemed to be on a mission to push me out of my comfort zone and make me laugh.” He smiled. “Some of my best memories of Sunshine Bay involved her.”

Willow pressed a palm to her chest, touched as well as taken aback. It was surreal hearing those words out of Mercedes Man’s mouth. “That’s so sweet of you to say, Noah. I felt the same about you.”

He raised his eyebrows, and she laughed. “Not that you pushed me out of my comfort zone or wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She was about to say she too had wonderful memories of their summer together but then recalled what Megan had said. “Um, are you related to the Bennetts?”

“My mother was Elizabeth Bennett.”

Megan rolled her eyes. “Honestly, how could you not know this, Willow?”

“How was I supposed to know? I didn’t know Noah’s last name, and even if I did, it’s Elliot!” She briefly closed her eyes while absorbing the news. Elizabeth Bennett had inherited Bennett Broadcasting Group when her father passed away in the fall of 2011 and had run the company until her death the year before. “I had no idea, Noah.” She touched his arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

His nod was curt, a warning the subject was closed. “Thank you.”

“This has all been very enlightening, but if you don’t mind, we’d appreciate being seatedsometimetonight,” Megan said, looping her arm through Noah’s while smiling up at him.

Willow grabbed a couple of menus from the hostess stand, fighting the urge to smack Megan with them. She was acting like a… Willow trailed off from the not-so-nice thought about her best friend’s not-so-nice behavior when a life-changing realization came to mind. Noah Elliot washerNoah. He had fond memories of Sunshine Bay and of her. A smile turned up the corners of her lips. He couldn’t say no to her. He’d said so himself.

On the promise of that thought, she was practically beside herself with joy and ran to the fountain. She reached in herpocket, tossed her quarter in, and whispered, “I’ll never doubt you again, Venus. Thanks for making my wish come true.”

She looked up to see Megan and Noah staring at her and tamped down the urge to do a happy dance. She smiled. “I’ll take you to your table.”

Noah walked beside her, his gaze roaming her face. “I should’ve known it was you. The name and costume must’ve thrown me. You haven’t changed.”

“I have so changed,” she said, slightly offended, as she ushered them to a table near the back of the restaurant.

She had boobs now, a nice rack as a matter of fact. Her butt wasn’t bad either. At fifteen, she hadn’t had any curves to speak of. She’d been a late bloomer. Besides that, her hair no longer resembled a clown’s wig. The humidity had turned it into a frizz ball until she’d learned the value of good hair product that ensured she always had long, beachy blond waves.

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