Page 79 of Three Little Wishes

Chapter Twenty-Five

Willow sat in the passenger seat of Noah’s car two days later. She was meeting with one of the heads of Boston’s top-rated news stations, the only one left on their prospective-buyers list who hadn’t said no.

“I appreciate you driving me, Noah. I know you have a lot on your plate.”

He glanced at her. “It’s not a big deal, Willow. I can work from the car while you’re in your meeting.”

“It kind of is a big deal. We haven’t exactly been on the best of terms the past two days.”

“We’ve been through this. I don’t blame you for Riley being at Last Call. I know exactly who encouraged her to go.”

Of course he’d figured out that Riley had been there. If he hadn’t, the videos that had gone viral this morning would’ve clued him in.

“And we’ve been over that too.” She sighed. “I know you were mad that I took Cami’s side, but she felt bad enough, and so did Riley. You yelling at them instead of giving them a chance to explain wasn’t helping.”

“I didn’t yell at them. You were yelling at me, and I had no choice but to raise my voice to be heard.”

“That’s not the way I remember it.”

“You have a selective memory.”

“And you see everything in black and white, Noah. Once you make up your mind about a situation, you won’t even consider there’s another side to it. You’re right and that’s all that matters.”

“When it comes to my sister’s well-being I am. I don’t care that Cami and Riley were at Last Call because they got it into their heads you needed protection from Megan. As far as I’m concerned, Riley needs protection from whatever other harebrained scheme Cami comes up with.”

“Don’t talk about her like that. She’s going through a difficult time, and you know that. You could be a little more compassionate.”

“My fifteen-year-old sister could’ve been arrested, and now that the video is out there for all the world to see, I have to get ahead of it and convince her father to let Riley stay with me.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t even think about what would happen if Billy found out. I can talk to him if you want.”

“It’s fine.” He glanced at her. “I’m sorry too. I don’t want you worrying about this before your meeting.”

“All we seem to do these days is argue, and I hate it.”

“I don’t like it any more than you do.” He lifted his hand off the steering wheel, and she thought he was going to reach for hers, but instead he rubbed it up and down the side of his face. “We’re both on edge, and we both know why.”

“The paternity test.” She nodded. “It’s almost as if we’re trying to put distance between us by fighting.”

“We don’t have much longer to wait.”

She’d been hopeful after seeing the photo Riley had shownthem of Flynn and his family. Willow shared more than a passing resemblance to his daughters. And she thought Cami taking his surname was as relevant as Cami naming her after Will.

Noah wasn’t as positive. He dealt in facts and figures, not fantasies, and he wanted to wait until the DNA results came in. They’d fought about that too. That fight had been all on her. She knew Noah was right, but she’d begun worrying that with everything going on, he was questioning his feelings for her. It didn’t help that they’d argued about her paternity right before Megan had asked to meet her at Last Call.

Willow rested her head against the seat, briefly closing her eyes to the traffic on either side of them. She needed a distraction from everything going on with Noah and from her nerves about the upcoming presentation. The pressure of this meeting weighed heavy on her shoulders. The future of Channel 5 would be decided today.

She turned her head, her gaze moving over Noah’s handsome profile. He must’ve felt her studying him, and his eyes met hers, holding her gaze. She felt the familiar zing of attraction and straightened in her seat. This wasn’t helping.

“Would you mind if I go over the presentation with you?” she asked.

“Of course not.”

By the time Noah pulled into the parking lot beside the office tower, Willow had gone over the presentation so many times she had a feeling she’d be reciting it in her sleep.

“You’ve got this, Willow. There’s nothing they could ask you that you don’t know the answer to,” he reassured her as he opened her door.

She got out of the car and smoothed her skirt instead ofkissing him like she wanted to. “Thank you.” She looked around the packed parking lot, the sun beating down on the Mercedes. “Are you sure you want to wait here? There’s a restaurant across the road. A couple coffee shops too.”

---