Page 94 of Three Little Wishes

They didn’t celebrate. It didn’t feel right. Time would tell if Cami would be able to move on from the accident but Willow thought maybe it had helped. Now to see if an official report that exonerated Cami would change Noah’s mind.

An hour later, everyone got up to leave. Willow hugged and kissed her family goodbye and then headed to the door with her sister. Sage drove her to the beach house. There was a light on in the living room, and for a second, she felt hope rising inside her that Noah hadn’t left. But it quickly deflated when she noticed his car was gone. It got worse when she walked into the beach house. Not only were Noah and Rileygone, so was Lucky. She didn’t know why that hit her so hard, but it did.

Sage patted her shoulder. “I’ll make you a cup of tea.” Moments later, she returned with a piece of paper. “Noah left you a note.” She handed it to her.

In his bold, masculine scrawl, he’d written,Willow, you can live at the beach house until you’ve found a place to stay or until the beach house is sold. I’m sure Megan will keep you informed when she receives an offer.

“I don’t want any tea, thanks,” Willow said to Sage.

She walked up the stairs and down the hall to Noah’s bedroom. She crawled into the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest, inhaling his scent.

Her sister crawled in behind her, wrapping her arms around her. “It’ll work out, Will.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll be there to help you pick up the pieces.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Riley ran to the entryway of Noah’s New York City apartment with Lucky chasing after her. “Mrs. D,” she cried when the housekeeper opened the door and stepped inside, smiling at Riley and scowling at Lucky.

Mrs. D had left for her vacation three days after Noah and Riley had returned from Sunshine Bay. She hadn’t been a fan of Lucky’s. She’d called him a demon dog just like Willow’s sister Sage. He’d kind of lived up to his nickname before Mrs. D left, chewing on the furniture and peeing on the carpet.

Riley hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re back, and you don’t have to worry about Lucky anymore. Noah and I trained him. He’s an angel dog now.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it with my own eyes, lovey,” Mrs. D. said, hugging her back.

“Did you and Mr. D enjoy your trip?” she asked as they walked into the living room, Mrs. D making a beeline for the kitchen.

“We did, but I was ready to come home.” She put her bags on the kitchen’s island. “I was worried about you two. Where’s your brother?”

“In his study.”

“Don’t tell me he’s been shut in there the entire time I’ve been gone, leaving you on your own.”

“Oh no, Mrs. D, we’ve had a great time. We’ve done something together nearly every day.”

They had, and it had been the best three weeks of her life. Well, it would’ve been if the thing with Cami and Willow hadn’t happened, and they were with them. Still, she’d ticked off the one item on her list that she’d thought she never would. She and Noah were as close as a brother and sister could be, and it was awesome.

It was awful how it had come about, though. She’d tried blocking the memory of that afternoon at La Dolce Vita from her mind, mostly because she felt horrible about what she’d said to Cami and because Willow and Noah had broken up because of it. But she didn’t think she and Noah would’ve become as close as they were now if things hadn’t happened the way they had.

When they were in Sunshine Bay, Noah had had Willow, and she’d had Cami. The four of them had had fun together, but she hadn’t really had time with her brother on her own. She supposed it was like Willow said:After every storm, there is a rainbow, and Riley’s improved relationship with Noah was hers.

“I could’ve done without going to all the museums,” she told Mrs. D. “But Noahlovesthem, and he did take me shopping or out to lunch or out for dinner after he’d dragged me around them forhours, so I can’t complain.”

Mrs. D chuckled. “Your brother has always loved museums. Although I don’t recall him going for years. He used to go all the time with your mother and his father. They were planning to travel to every museum in the world. They spent hours together, the three of them, huddled over maps,pamphlets strewn all over the kitchen table, planning their itinerary. It was beyond me how they could be as excited about it as they were, but to each their own.”

“Did they have fun?” Riley asked, thinking her brother hadn’t changed. He was obsessed with the trip he was planning to explore the most remote locations in the world. She tried to be happy for him, and she was for the most part, but she’d miss him a lot.

“Oh, they didn’t go, lovey. Your mother and Noah’s father separated two months before they were to leave on their trip. Poor Noah was devastated. My heart broke for him.”

“That’s so sad.”

“It was, and your mother felt horrible. She encouraged him to plan another trip to take his mind off it. And he’s been planning it ever since. Although it’s much more adventurous now than it was when he was ten.” Mrs. D shuddered. “I swear, I’ll spend the next year worrying about that man.”

“Me too. But Mrs. D, what will you do when Noah’s away? Are you getting another job?”

“No. There’s no one else I’d work for other than your family, and I’m getting on in years. But there’s no need for me to find another job. Nothing will change while Noah’s away, other than I won’t have anything to do. I’ll be a lady of leisure, eating bonbons and watching my TV shows. And Noah wants me here in case you want to escape LA again.” Mrs. D winked.

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