Page 33 of Three Little Wishes

Her head snapped up at what sounded like amusement in his voice. He was rubbing a hand across his mouth, and his eyes were warm and crinkled at the corners.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No. I’m smiling.” He lowered his hand from his mouth and gestured at the chair. “And if you would’ve stopped staring at my chest at any point during your—”

“I wasn’t staring at your chest. I was staring at your chin.”

His lips twitched, and she growled low in her throat, rounding the chair and throwing herself onto the seat. “You have a warped sense of humor if you found anything I said funny. In fact, it’s rude… no, it’s just plain mean that you’d sit there laughing at me while I poured out my heart to you.”

“I didn’t say I was laughing. I said I was smiling. And Willow”—he didn’t continue until she raised her gaze to his—“I was smiling because while you were telling me you wouldn’t have a fling with me, you told me I was gorgeous, considerate, kind, and even when I annoy you, you find me sexy.”

“That was before you were going to fire me!”

“You’re not fired. I had no intention of firing you and have no idea how you came to that ridiculous conclusion. And frankly, I find it insulting that you believe I would do something like that.”

Willow straightened in the chair. “You’re not firing me?”

“No. I’m not. Now would you be so kind as to enlighten me as to why you believed that I was?”

She flung her arm behind her. “Because no one’s acting like themselves.” She explained about Veronica, Naomi, and Don. “And the rest of the crew were giving me big waves and smiles.”

“All right. I’ll admit I don’t have a clue how a woman’s mind works, but how a woman who is adored by her colleagues could come to the conclusion they were happy because she’d been fired is beyond me. As—”

She groaned. “I know. I’m an idiot. But you have to see it from my—”

“You are far from an idiot, and I’d appreciate it if you would stop calling yourself one. You also didn’t let me finish. I was going to say, as beyond me as that same woman believing shesucks”—he made air quotes—“at her job when her five-minute weather reports have drawn the highest ratings on Channel 5 for the past year.”

“It’s the over-seventy crowd. They’re obsessed with the weather, and even though I get it wrong thirty, maybe forty percent of the time, they’re loyal. I also helped raise twenty thousand dollars for the senior center, so there’s that. But Noah, if you’d watched my weather reports, you’d understand why I say I suck.”

He pointed at the screen behind him. “I watched this morning,” he said, and then pressed his lips together as his shoulders started shaking.

“It’s not funny.”

“No. It was hilarious.”

“Trust me, having a poodle and a Yorkshire terrier peeing on you is not funny. This kind of thing happens to me all the time. All the dogs in the park were leashed, like they’re supposed to be, except those two, and they made a beeline straight for me. And really, do I look like a fire hydrant?”

She sighed when his warm, deep laugh washed over her, and then she continued talking to distract herself from the way his eyes lit up when he laughed. “The owner was nice,though. When he finally caught up with us, he apologized and offered to have my costume dry-cleaned.” After he’d gottenhislaughter under control.

“Exactly how far did the dogs chase you?” he asked, sputtering a laugh as soon as the question was out of his mouth.

“According to Naomi, a mile. She said I should consider signing up for the five-mile charity run in August. She’s positive I beat last year’s winning time, and I was running in a costume.”

He’d stopped laughing, his indigo gaze darkening as it moved over her face. “There’s a reason people tune in to watch you, Willow.”

She nodded. “I know. I already told you what it was. The seniors are seriously obsessed with the weather. I’m sure they tuned in to watch Veronica too.”

“You’re right about Veronica. She should be on camera. But her numbers won’t compare with yours. And that’s because you have the indefinableitfactor. Everyone sees it but you. It’s like your mother’s painting. The heart of you shines through when you’re on air, and it’s absolutely captivating. Your talent is wasted delivering a five-minute weather report, Willow. Your concept forGood Morning, Sunshine!would’ve been the perfect vehicle for you.”

He had no idea how much his words meant to her. He didn’t think she was a joke like everyone else. Noah Elliot, the CEO of Bennett Broadcasting, thought she was good at her job, and that… well, that meant the world to her.

She swallowed hard against the emotion tightening her throat. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“You have no reason to thank me. I’m just stating a fact.” His cell phone beeped, and he glanced at the screen. “I have a conference call that I can’t put off so we—”

She got up from the chair. “Of course. I can come back when you’re finished.”

“Willow, would you please sit down,” he said, sounding frustrated. “What I meant was that I don’t have time to get to the bottom of why you seem oblivious to your talent and why you were willing to settle for a five-minute weather spot. But before I get tied up with this call, you need to know what I wanted to speak to you about, otherwise everyone in Sunshine Bay will know but you.”

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