Page 44 of Three Little Wishes

He stared at her. “You can’t possibly believe that makes me feel better.”

“I did, but obviously I was wrong. I’ll talk to Cami and set some boundaries.”

“I’m not sure Cami knows the meaning of boundaries. At least the seventeen-year-old version of your aunt. I’m going to have nightmares for a week just thinking about them driving around in that car. I never should’ve listened to the rental agent and kept it for renters to use.”

He had a point, and she imagined, with what had happened to Noah’s uncle Will, his reaction to his baby sister driving around with Cami would have been even more visceral than hers. “I don’t have anything going on tomorrow other than my weather reports and a meeting first thing in the morning with Don and the rest of the team to go over the package we’re sending to prospective buyers, so I can spend the day with Cami and Riley.”

“I have a couple of calls I can’t put off, and I’d like to sit in on the meeting with you, Don, and the team, but other than that, I’ve cleared my schedule so I can hang around here if you need to pack.”

“Thank you, but I’ve had so many offers of help, it’ll probably take me less than three hours to finish up packing and move everything here. I’ve scheduled the move for Saturday during dinner service at La Dolce Vita so my family can’t help. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m good with whatever works for you.” He lowered his voice. “After what happened downtown today, do you really think you can keep your aunt under wraps for much longer?”

“I just have to keep her hidden for a few more days. The restaurant only opens for dinner service on Mondays, and it’s usually slow, so my sister and I figure that’s the best day to break the news to our family. We just want to confirm with my cousin. We’re going to talk tomorrow.” She glanced at the beach house. “It would help if Cami got her memory back between now and Monday. If I knew what caused the estrangement, maybe we could avoid some of the drama.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know my family. Drama is all but guaranteed. A lot of yelling, swearing, and guilting me, and at some point, we’ll probably have to call 911 or Father Patrick because my nonna will think she’s having a heart attack.” She winced at the thought that it might not be an act this time. “Bruno, her fiancé, is really good at calming her down so fingers crossed”—she crossed hers and held them up—“it won’t come to that. And my sister and cousin will have my back, so I should be good. For Cami’s sake, I just hope that they can get past whatever tore them apart. Knowing how the family feels about her, it hurts my heart when Cami talks about them. She loves them so much.”

He reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Just don’t let them hurtyourheart.”

A flock of butterflies took flight in her stomach at his words. They felt meaningful, important somehow, as if the flirty thing they’d been doing for the past couple of days had shifted into something deeper. She wondered if that’s why they sat staring into each other’s eyes, as if holding their breath. Waiting for one of them to break the silence and say what they were thinking. Then again, maybe she’d read moreinto his words and gentle touch than he’d meant and he was simply waiting for her to respond.

But before she had a chance to say something, Noah cleared his throat, gave her a half smile, and came to his feet. “They’re too quiet in there. I’m getting worried.”

“I’m sure they’re fine. They were doing makeovers, and I asked them to come up with a menu for the week. Cami’s cooking, in case you’re wondering, not me.”

“Her carbonara was amazing so you’ll get no complaints from me. I could’ve done without the water fight, though.” He gave her a pointed look.

She held up her hands. “It wasn’t me who started it. They ganged up on me. I had to defend myself. But if you thought that was bad, you should’ve seen the water fights my sister, cousin, and I had.” She shrugged. “Besides, they helped clean up, they had fun, and there were no boys involved.”

“Not for lack of your aunt trying. But Cami does make Riley laugh. If you close your eyes and listen to them, it’s as if they’ve known each other for weeks and are the best of friends. When they’re not fighting, that is. It’s when you open your eyes and see your sister’s new best friend is a forty-seven-year-old woman that it gets weird.”

“It’s not that weird. I have friends who are decades older than me.”

“Yes, but you’re twenty-eight, not fifteen.”

“Riley’s mature for her age. It’s as if she’s fifteen going on thirty. You were the same.”

“A lot of good it did me keeping you out of trouble.”

“We’re not back to that, are we?”

“No, we’re back to me checking on what kind of troubleyour aunt might be getting my baby sister into. While I’m doing that, would you like me to get you a glass of wine?”

“That would be nice, thanks.” She smiled, relaxing in the chair and looking out over the water. She’d grown up with a similar view. It was one of the things she’d missed when she’d moved out on her own. She couldn’t afford the homes or rentals on the water. Even the homes a few blocks away had been out of her price range. She had no reason to complain, though. In Sunshine Bay, you were never more than a ten-minute walk to the ocean. That said, she was going to enjoy every minute of her time here.

“Willow!”

She startled at Noah’s bellow, cursed her aunt for whatever she’d done now, and ran to the beach house. She threw open the screen door. Noah stood in the living room with his back to her. “What’s going on?”

He turned, walked toward her, handed her an empty bottle of wine, and said, “You deal with her, or I will.”

At the same time he did this, Willow got a look at Cami and Riley sitting on the couch, and her jaw dropped.

“It’s not a trick of the lighting. My sister’s hair is pink.”

“I’m sure it’ll wash out.”

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