Summer of Two Wishes by Julia London Page A

true, it worked. Macy had charmed the socks right off of Wyatt. She talked about being a social worker, a line of work she’d recently returned to after her husband was killed in action. She was so exuberant about it, so funny with her anecdotes about some of the children she’d mentored.
    After a few weeks, Macy felt comfortable enough to ask Wyatt along to a Harper family picnic. At that picnic, Wyatt watched Macy with her cousin Chloe’s twin boys. Macy was jubilant with those children. She chased them around a tree, jumping out from behind it to scare them into uncontrollable laughter. She held their hands and walked them down to the lake so they could feed the ducks. She took turns swinging one up in the air, and then the other. All afternoon, her expression was one of pure joy.
    Wyatt knew that day he wanted her and he wanted children with her. That desire had only gotten stronger with time.
    At last he spotted car lights on the road below, wending their way up. He walked into the house and to the windows that overlooked the drive, saw Macy’s mother’s car, and felt a surge of elation and relief—and a twinge of foreboding.
    He walked out onto the drive to meet them. Macy looked exhausted when she climbed out of the backseat of Jillian’s BMW and walked straight into his arms. At the same time, Jillian got out and pulled Macy’s suitcase from her trunk. Wyatt let Macy go to help his mother-in-law. “Jillian, Emma, do you want to come in?” he asked, bending over to wave at Emma in the car.
    “No, thank you, Wyatt. It’s late and I’ve got to go to work in the morning,” Jillian said. She patted his cheek. “Anyway, you need some time with Macy.”
    “Bye, Mom. Thanks for everything,” Macy said wearily.
    “I’ll call you tomorrow, honey.”
    Wyatt waited until Jillian and Emma had backed out of the drive before following Macy inside. She was still in the foyer, fending off an exuberant Milo, who was thrilled to see her. He butted her with his head and rubbed against her leg until she leaned down and scratched him behind the ears. Then she stepped into Wyatt’s open arms again.
    “Macy,” he said, and kissed her, wrapping her in a tight embrace and resting his chin on the top of her head. “My God, I have never been happier to see anyone in my life.” He reared back and looked at her; exhaustion shadowed her eyes. “You’re worn out. Let me pour you a glass of wine.”
    “Wyatt—”
    “I’ve got supper waiting. Have you eaten?”
    “No, but I—”
    “You are going to love this, then,” he said, as he pushed her bag out of the way and removed her purse from her shoulder. “I actually convinced Twin Sisters Catering to make a meal especially for us. It took some doing, but it’s in the oven. Sea bass and asparagus and a polenta that made my mouth water. Oh, and they even threw in a couple of slices of their flourless chocolate cake.”
    “Thanks, I appreciate it, but I’m…I’m not really hungry,” Macy said.
    Wyatt put her purse down. She was looking at him strangely, almost as if she was trying to work out where she’d seen him before. Or maybe that was Wyatt’s fear talking, fear that had held him by the damn throat the last couple of days.
    He reached for her again, slipping his arm around her waist. “Come and have a drink and unwind a little, sweetheart.” He ushered her into the sunken living room. He’d paid a premium for this lot, high on the cliff, just so he could build a house like this with a stunning view. He’d just started building it when he met Macy. Before too long, he knew the house was for her. “How was the flight?” he asked.
    She sighed and shook her head. “Long.” She slipped out of his embrace and walked to the door that led onto the enormous deck, Milo on her heels.
    At the bar, Wyatt quickly poured her a glass of wine, grabbed a beer for himself, and followed her outside.
    A breeze had cooled the evening; it wasn’t quite as sultry as it had