Page 37 of Three Little Wishes

The woman gaped at Cami. “Excuse me.Willow Rosettiis living here?”

Beside her, Cami stiffened, and Riley decided she had to get rid of this woman and fast. She didn’t like the way she’d said Willow’s name, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, and she had a feeling, even if Cami didn’t remember or know Willow, that she wouldn’t let anyone get away with disparaging her family. How she’d go about that was what worried Riley.

Riley nodded in response to the woman’s question and started closing the door. “They’ll be home around six.”

Cami placed a hand on the door above Riley’s head, holding it open. “You haven’t told us your name.”

“Megan. I’m Noah’s real estate agent.”

“Is that right,” Cami said, in a tone as disparaging as Megan’s had been when she’d said Willow’s name. Only Cami was way better at it. “Well, unless you didn’t get the memo from your boss, you are no longer Noah’s real estate agent. He fired your ass over the way you spoke to Willow.”

Uh-oh, Riley thought, sucking in a breath when Cami leaned toward Megan. “And that was before he found out you had Willow kicked out of her rental. Bad move, really, really bad move, Meggie. You should know better than to mess with a Rosetti.”

Megan’s eyes narrowed “Who are you?”

“Queen of the mean girls, and if—”

Riley moved in front of Cami, cutting her off. “We have to go now. We’ll tell my brother you dropped by.” She stepped back, pushing into Cami so she had no choice but to do the same, and began closing the door. But before she did, she felt the need to stand up for Willow too. “You should apologize to Willow. You weren’t very nice to her, and she’s a really good person.”

Before Megan had a chance to respond, Cami slammed the door in her face. Then Cami leaned her back against it and started laughing while mimicking Riley: “‘You weren’t very nice to her, and she’s a really good person.’”

“It’s true,” Riley said, heat rising to her cheeks.

Cami lowered her sunglasses, her gaze moving over Riley’s face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Then shegrinned. “Don’t worry, though, a few weeks with me, and we’ll up your mean girl game. No one will mess with you then.”

“Right, because you’re queen of the mean girls.”

There were mean girls in every school, including Riley’s old one. She wasn’t looking forward to dealing with them at her new school, so she could probably use a few tips. She just didn’t know if she’d survive a few more weeks with Cami. Riley’s nerves were already shot, and it had only been twenty-four hours, and Cami had slept through more than half of them.

“That was great, wasn’t it? Did you see her face?”

“Yeah, and I saw the way she was looking at you too.”

“She has no idea I’m a Rosetti.”

“Maybe not, but…” She trailed off. She’d been going to say it wasn’t only the fact that Cami was a Rosetti they had to hide. They also had to keep actress Camilla Monroe under wraps.

Riley covered the lapse by saying, “You’re right.”

Cami walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. “Okay, she’s gone. Let’s go.” She opened the door and stepped onto the deck. “Do me a favor and get the old-lady bag that PA Gail tried to pass off as mine. I’ll meet you in the car.”

Riley lunged for Cami, grabbing her arm. “We don’t have a car, and you can’t drive.”

“I can so. I’ve been driving for a year, and I’ve been driving my mom’s station wagon. It looks exactly like the one Noah pulled out of the garage last night to make room for Willow’s stuff.”

Think, Riley, think.“We can’t. I don’t have keys for the car.”

Cami shrugged. “That’s fine. I can hot-wire it.”

“No, you can’t!”

“Can so.” She rubbed her fingers between her eyes, looking as if she was in pain. “Someone taught me how. I just don’t remember who.”

If she couldn’t remember the person, Riley decided she wouldn’t remember how to start the car so she could go along with the plan instead of risking Cami throwing a tantrum. “Okay. I’ll get your purse.”

She ran back up the stairs and headed straight for Cami’s room. She opened the door and stood there with her mouth hanging open. The bed was unmade, and there were clothes everywhere. Cami’s suitcases—all three of them—were open and empty on the floor, and so was the suitcase Willow had brought for her.

At the sound of Cami walking around downstairs, Riley shook off her shock at the mess and hurried into the room. It took her five minutes to find Cami’s purse under the sheets at the foot of the bed. She opened the purse, feeling bad for invading Cami’s privacy, but she wanted to make sure there was nothing inside that would set her off. Yesterday, when Noah had gone back for Willow, Cami had found her phone. It was just Riley’s luck the phone had face ID, and it opened right away because Cami was looking at herself in the screen.