Page 90 of Three Little Wishes

Willow cringed. He had seen her pretending to reel him in on her imaginary fishing line, and he’d repeated almost verbatim what she’d said.

“Your mother reeled my uncle in, and he died because of her. You reeled me in, and I nearly gave up my dreams for you. I suppose I should be grateful to you, Cami, for opening my eyes before it was too late. And maybe I would be if you hadn’t betrayed my sister’s trust.”

His eyes moved over them. “Riley and I are leaving Sunshine Bay, but before we do, I’ll be asking the police to reopen the investigation into my uncle’saccident.”

“Please don’t do this,” Willow pleaded. “Don’t leave like this. You’re in shock. You both are.”

Riley lifted her head, looking from Willow to her brother. “Noah, Willow didn’t know. It’s not her—”

“It doesn’t matter, Tink. There’s no coming back from this.” Taking his sister’s hand, he turned and walked away.

Willow wrapped her arms around her waist, struggling to come to terms with what had just happened. She couldn’t believe Noah was leaving her without a backward glance.

Sage strode into the restaurant, looking over her shoulder and then back at them. “What the hell is wrong with Noah and Riley? They…” Her gaze moved over Willow, her mother, who’d come to wrap her arms around her, and Cami, who stood sobbing in Carmen’s arms.

Sage stared at them. “Did… did someone die?”

“No. I mean, someone did. Noah’s uncle, and—” her mother began, glancing at Cami.

“Don’t worry, Gia. You got your wish. I’m leaving. I just…” She walked toward Willow, her gait unsteady. “I never meant for this to happen.” She lifted a trembling hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry, sorrier than you’ll ever know. Your mother’s right. Noah’s right. I destroy everyone I care about.”

“Would someone tell me what the hell happened?” Sage said at the same time that Bruno walked into the restaurant, took one look at Willow’s grandmother, and rushed to her side. “Cara,” he said, gathering her into his arms.

Willow’s gaze moved over her family, and she steppedfrom her mother’s embrace. “The family table now. All of you, and that includes you, Cami. We’re a family. We don’t fall apart when bad things happen. We come together. I just watched the man I love walk out that door, with his sister, who I love too, and I’m not letting anyone else I love walk away from me.”

“Okay,bella. Anything you want,” Bruno said, guiding Carmen to the table. When he got her grandmother seated, he came to Willow and rocked her in his arms. “No one could walk away from you. They’d have to be a fool to, and that man is no fool. He’ll realize his mistake, and then he’ll come back to you, begging your forgiveness, but he’ll have to go through us first, and he better have a good reason for making you cry.”

“He does, Bruno.” She told him everything Cami had said and how Noah and Riley had reacted when they’d learned the part she’d played in Will’s accident.

Bruno scrubbed his hand up and down his face. Then he glanced at Cami, who was sitting by herself at the end of the table, staring at her iPhone. Willow’s mother sat at the other end, comforting Carmen, while Sage paced in front of the table with her phone pressed to her ear, every so often shooting worried glances Cami’s way.

“I remember the morning we heard about the accident like it was yesterday. You tend to do that when someone dies young in a small town. It hit everyone pretty hard. But Cami”—he shook his head—“she was bad off. Carmen was worried about her, we all were. She was always a wild one, a lot like Eva.

“Like you.” He smiled. “She could make your nonna laugh like no one else, and dance? That girl could dance. She lovedto have fun and party. Then she met Flynn, and she calmed down. Still fun, and happy, always with a smile on her face, looking for the next adventure, but Flynn settled her. Will started coming around after she broke her arm at the sand dunes. He was a nice kid, a little on the wild side, though, which concerned your nonna, but he made Cami smile, and she’d been worried about her after Flynn left, so she let it be.

“Maybe if…” He shook his head. “All this to say, it makes sense now how Cami acted after the accident. She must’ve been desperate for some way to drown her pain, the guilt.”

“She drank?”

He nodded. “She was out of control. Totaled your nonna’s car, skipped school, didn’t show up for work, stayed out to all hours. You name it, she did it. And then one day she packed her bags and was gone.”

“She found out she was pregnant with me.”

“She did, and aren’t we the lucky ones to have been blessed with you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now I’m going to close the restaurant. And then I’m going to put food on the table, bring out the wine, and then you and me,bella, we’ll sort this crapola out.”

“I think it might take more than you and me, Bruno,” Willow said.

“It looks like we have backup.” He nodded at Megan, who fast-walked toward her.

“What’s happened?” Megan asked, looking from Willow to her family gathered around the table.

“Cami and my mom got into it in the kitchen, and—”

“No. I mean what happened with you and Noah? He just called me and canceled his offer on the house. He told you about it, didn’t he?”

She nodded, afraid she’d start blubbering if she opened her mouth.

Sage strode toward them, searched Willow’s face, and then gave her a one-armed hug. “Look, I know you’re upset. But it’s not over between you and Noah, no matter what he said. And right now—”

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