Page 43 of Three Little Wishes

“My parents divorced when I was ten. My father didn’t appreciate how much time my mother gave to the company. He blamed my grandfather for their divorce.”

“Do you have a relationship with him?”

“A phone call now and then. He remarried six months after the divorce was finalized and started a new family. And before you ask, no, I don’t have a relationship with them. My father didn’t encourage it.”

“That’s horrible. It’s all horrible,” she said, getting emotional. “I hate that your father made you feel unwanted and that you weren’t allowed to choose what you wanted to do with your life. No one should do that to a child.” She crossed her arms. “Your family sucked. Not your mother or Riley, obviously. Or your uncle. It’s really sad he died so young. But everyone else sucked.”

His lips twitched. “My grandfather and grandmother Bennett were very nice, if somewhat demanding.”

“Are you laughing at me?”

“No. Maybe a little.” He grinned and reached for her hand, giving it a light squeeze. “I appreciate your anger on my behalf. I really do. But it’s unwarranted.”

“How can you say that?”

“Easily. I’ve led a privileged life. I might not have wanted it or asked for it, but because of who my family is, at twenty-four, I walked into a role at the company that I hadn’t earned. But as much as I didn’t want to be involved in the company, I enjoyed the work, and more, the people I worked with. I also was, and am, extremely well compensated.”

“I’ve seen how hard you work, Noah. And I know how smart you are so don’t try and tell me you didn’t deserve your position. You’re just being modest.”

“And you’re being sweet.”

“Don’t try and distract me. Riley told me a little about your relationship with your stepfather, so I know things didn’t get better for you. Was Billy the reason you hung out with me instead of with your family?”

“I don’t know any fifteen-year-old boy who’d prefer spending their summer vacation with their family when they could spend it with a gorgeous fifteen-year-old girl who made them laugh.”

“Now look who’s being sweet.” She smiled. “And be honest, I didn’t always make you laugh.”

“You’re right, and I was reminded of the many times you drove me crazy when I heard what Cami got up to today.”

“You can’t compare me to my aunt. I was not that wild. I didn’t nearly flash my boobs at a bunch of boys or ask you to pretend you’re drowning to get someone’s attention.”

“You didn’t flash your boobs at a bunch of boys, you flashed them at me.”

“It’s not the same. It was an accidental flashing. I didn’t lose my bikini top on purpose. A rogue wave took me out.”

He lifted his hands. “You didn’t hear me complaining, did you?”

“No.” She laughed. “You turned bright red, stammeredsomething unintelligible while pointing at my boobs, and then dove under the water and didn’t resurface for what felt like ten minutes.”

“I was smooth, wasn’t I?” He laughed. “But to my credit, I found your bikini top.”

“You did, and you gallantly kept your back to me when you handed it over. I could’ve done without the knot-tying lecture that followed, though, and the demonstration.”

“You never know when you’ll be called upon to tie a good knot.”

“This is true, but what isn’t true is you insinuating I’m just like my aunt. I didn’t make you do anything you didn’t want to.”

He held up his hand and began ticking off his fingers. “Snorkeling, which is when I had my near-drowning experience.”

“Okay, but just to point out, you could swim, and I rescued you.”

He raised an eyebrow and continued. “Surfing, skateboarding, biking ten miles on the hottest day of the year, and off-roading on that guy’s ATV that youborrowed.” He held up his other hand.

She leaned over and pulled his hands down. “I get it. I pushed you out of your comfort zone, but you have to admit you had fun. And just think, if I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have realized you were an adventurer at heart and started planning your trip around the world.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I did have an incredible amount of fun with you.” He glanced at the beach house. “That said, I would prefer if my baby sister didn’t have the same kind of fun with your aunt as I did with you.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that. The teenageversion of my aunt is all about boys, and I was all about having fun, even if that fun made you uncomfortable at times.”

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