Page 21 of Three Little Wishes

Riley glanced at Gail and the nurse as she walked to the side of the bed. “It’s true. It’s 2024, and Joe Biden is president, not Bill Clinton.”

“But it can’t be true. That would mean I’m… I’d be…” Her eyes felt as if they were going to pop out of her head.“Forty-seven. Look at me. I can’t be forty-seven.” Frantic, she reached for Riley’s hand but half of Cami’s was in a cast. “Do I look like I’m forty-seven?”

Riley’s hand gently closed around the fingers that poked from Cami’s cast. “No.”

Cami let out the breath she’d been holding but sucked it back in when Riley continued. “You look like you’re in your early thirties. You’re really pretty,” Riley rushed on as if her heart was racing as fast as Cami’s. “I’ve seen one of your movies, and you’re a really good actress too.”

“I’m an actress?”

Riley nodded. “You were nominated for an Oscar.”

This time Cami’s heart raced from excitement, not panic. Of course she was still panicked but the news that her dream of winning an Oscar might’ve come true overrode the bad news that she’d slept through more than half her life. At least in that second it did. “Really? Did I win?”

The nurse chimed in before Riley could answer. “You suffered a blow to your head and have amnesia, Cami. It might take some time but the doctor is confident your memories will return.” She smiled. “I know this is difficult. But you’re lucky. Your injuries could’ve been much worse.”

“I need to go to the bathroom.” She needed to see for herself that she wasn’t seventeen. And this time they couldn’t stop her.

The nurse nodded and glanced at Gail. “Do you have a mirror?”

“Now you’re going to let me look at myself?”

“We were hoping your memory would’ve returned this morning, and we didn’t want to upset you if it wasn’t necessary,” Gail said, getting a bag out of the suitcase. Sheunzipped it, took out a compact, and handed it to Cami. “You aren’t wearing makeup, and you haven’t done your hair, but you’ll look more like yourself once—”

Cami opened the compact, held it up to her face, and screamed. The face in the mirror blurred in front of her eyes and then everything went black.

Chapter Eight

You don’t think she fainted again, do you?” Willow whispered to Noah as she glanced in the back seat of the Mercedes. Riley had on headphones, listening to an audiobook, while Willow’s aunt listed to the side, her head lolling on her shoulder.

It would be an understatement to say Noah had been unhappy with Willow’s suggestion that Cami stay at the beach house with Riley until Willow had broken the news to her family that her estranged aunt was in town.

Even the doctor, who’d stopped to speak to Willow after leaving her aunt’s hospital room, had taken one look at Noah and told Willow he’d leave the paperwork, instructions for her aunt’s care, and his number should she have any concerns at the nurse’s station. Willow had just shared her aunt-staying-at-the-beach-house idea with Noah.

Her aunt’s bloodcurdling scream had interrupted Noah telling Willow just how unhappy he was.

He raised his aviator-covered eyes to the rearview mirror. “No. The doctor told you what to expect. She’s sleeping. Feel free to do the same.”

After her aunt’s fainting episode, the doctor had ordereda precautionary CT scan and some other tests, which hadn’t raised any further concerns, and that was when he’d shared with Willow the instructions for her aunt’s care, verbally and on paper. Noah hadn’t been in the room when the doctor spoke to her. He’d taken a call and had been in the hall, but he’d read the paperwork while they waited for her aunt to be released.

“I’m not taking a nap while you’re driving, Noah. That would be rude. Besides, you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

As soon as Riley and Willow had stopped sobbing in his arms and then celebrating Riley coming to Sunshine Bay for the summer, Noah had ordered them to eat and retired to his study. He’d been on the phone when Willow peeked in to say good night after midnight. He’d nodded and continued with his conversation.

“You don’t have to worry I’ll fall asleep at the wheel, Willow. I can function on very little sleep.”

“I don’t like to argue with you but we covered a story—”

“We’ve clearly established that you do. You’ve argued with me more than anyone in my entire life, and I’ve been in your company for less than forty-eight hours.”

“Are you talking about friends or employees or friends who are employees? Because if you’re talking about employees or friends who are employees, they don’t count. They wouldn’t argue with you because you’re their boss.”

He turned his head and raised an eyebrow.

She grinned. “Your scary-angry face doesn’t work on me. I was around when you were perfecting it at fifteen.” She didn’t share that rather than finding the look that came over his face intimidating, she found it devastatingly attractive.

“Scary-angry face?”

Before she could respond, his phone rang. She sighed. Of course it did. His phone never stopped ringing. It had been the same when they’d driven to New York the day before.

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