If Wishing Made It So Read Online Free Page B

face. She could tell, however, he was quite tall and his knees, also well-tanned, were about even with her line of vision.
    ‘‘Thank you,’’ she said. ‘‘I thought I was going to drown.’’ She coughed again. She had swallowed half the damned ocean. Her throat felt terrible. Her stomach was churning. Wet strands of hair were plastered to her cheeks. When she peeled them off, she realized her hair and face were caked with sand. She must look like a drowned rat.
    She turned to thank her rescuer again, tipping her chin back farther, squinting her eyes against the glare.
    ‘‘Hildy?’’ the man asked then. ‘‘Hildy Caldwell? Is it really you?’’
    ‘‘Huh?’’ Hildy answered, totally confused. ‘‘How do you know my name?’’ She shaded her eyes with one hand and finally saw the face of the man in front of her.
    ‘‘Mike?’’ Her voice came out as a squeak. ‘‘MichaelAmante?’’ she managed to utter as her stomach gave a mighty squeeze. ‘‘Oh no—’’ she cried, and scrambled onto her hands and knees before, in a most unladylike manner, she retched up seawater onto the sand.

Chapter 4
    Once she stopped retching, Hildy sat back on the sand. Feeling chilled in her wet clothes, she shivered. Goose bumps covered her still winter-pale skin. But that was the least of it. She had never felt so humiliated. She covered her face with her hands. She wanted to disappear from the face of the earth. She couldn’t bear to look at Mike. Her shoulders began to shake as tears came unexpectedly, deepening her shame.
    ‘‘Aw, Hildy, don’t cry.’’ Mike sat down next to her and gathered her into his arms. He pulled her against him. She hid her face against his bare chest. His skin was smooth, warm, and smelled so familiar her heart lurched. She began to cry harder.
    ‘‘Shh, shh,’’ Mike’s voice said as if he were comforting a child. ‘‘You’re safe. You’re okay.’’ He put his fingers under her chin and tipped her face up toward his. He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
    Hildy could barely breathe when she felt Mike’s touch. It crossed her mind that she had died out there in the water, and she had gone to heaven. She couldn’t believe this was really happening.
    ‘‘Oh, Mike,’’ she said softly, and looked into his eyes, which were just as she remembered them, warm and amber, like fine bourbon.
    His eyes returned her stare, and the two of them gazed unmoving until Mike leaned forward. Hildy squeezed her eyes shut as she prepared herself for the kiss she had dreamed about for ten long years.
    Mike’s lips landed on her nose. The caress was brief. It was friendly. It was not filled with love and longing.
    ‘‘You’re still a funny kid, the same old Hildy,’’ Mike said, chuckled, and withdrew his comforting arms.
    Hildy’s eyes sprang open. ‘‘I most certainly am not!’’ she snapped, trying to hide the lump of disappointment that lodged in her throat. She sat up very straight and huffed, ‘‘I am not a kid. I happen to be a high school English teacher. I even have tenure.’’
    ‘‘Whoa! I meant no offense. You always did get into crazy situations, you know. And you look exactly the same, that’s all. Honest, Hildy, you haven’t aged a day. I meant it as a compliment.’’
    Hildy stole another look at Mike. He looked like he did in high school too, only better. His face had become more angular, laugh lines radiated from the corners of his eyes, and the boyishness in his features had vanished. He needed a shave and the auburn stubble on his dimpled chin and lean cheeks looked sexy, very sexy. Hildy’s stomach fluttered. Her eyes started to dip toward his bare muscular chest, but she caught herself. She quickly looked away, out at the sea.
    ‘‘You look like the same old Mike too,’’ she said. ‘‘And I mean that as a compliment.’’ The words didn’t come out as she intended. They sounded sarcastic and bitter.
    ‘‘Hildy, come on. You’re