Page 38 of Three Little Wishes

Luckily, because the Wi-Fi sucked at the beach house, Cami hadn’t seen much but messages from Hugh and Jeff. Cami didn’t know who the men were but Riley did. She lived in LA and watched entertainment news. Hugh was a big-time movie director, and Jeff was Cami’s cheating ex. She didn’t share this with Cami. Getting a glimpse of their messages on the home screen had upset her enough.

Riley figured it was because at seventeen, Cami had dreamed of becoming an actress, and Hugh had been informing her she hadn’t gotten the part she’d auditioned for. He had been really nice about it and promised he’d keep Cami in mind for another project and hoped to talk to her soon.

Cami’s cheating ex hadn’t been nice at all. His girlfriend had gotten the part, and he’d rubbed it in Cami’s face. He’d ended the text by recommending a real estate agent for Cami’s house. After that, Riley had hidden the phone.

Riley pulled out Cami’s wallet and considered hiding it too, afraid the driver’s license photo would upset her. Riley hadn’t missed the towel covering the bathroom mirror or the mirror face down on the dresser. But if Cami actually thought she was driving them to the food truck, it would be the first thing she looked for. Riley put the wallet back and then, with one last look around the room, she shut the door. Maybe once Cami got over her disappointment at not going to the food truck, they could clean her room, Riley thought as she ran down the stairs.

Noah wouldn’t be happy if he saw the mess, and Riley didn’t want him upset. The last thing she wanted was him having an excuse to kick out Cami and Willow. Riley liked having Willow around, and Cami might drive her crazy, but she liked having her there too.

Riley closed the front door behind her and froze at the sound of an engine revving.

Chapter Thirteen

Riley sprinted around the beach house to the garage. Cami sat behind the wheel of an ancient powder-blue station wagon in the middle of the crushed-shell driveway.

Leaning on the horn, she waved her casted arm out the open window. “Hurry up. I’m starving.”

Riley dragged her feet, trying to come up with a reason for them not to go. The car door creaked as she opened it. “We won’t be able to stop at the food truck, you know.”

Cami frowned. “Why not?”

“Because you’ll have to shut off the car when you park, and you can’t hot-wire it in front of everyone.” Riley didn’t know how to hot-wire a car so she was guessing you had to play with the wires under the hood. But just in case she was wrong, she added, “That’s if you can get it started a second time. The car’s old, and so are the wires. You might even set it on fire.”

Cami waved her off. “I didn’t hot-wire it. I couldn’t remember how. But I found the keys in the kitchen.” She pointed at the key in the ignition.

Riley groaned. That explained why she’d heard Cami walking around downstairs. Riley got into the passenger seatand put Cami’s purse on the floor, her brain racing for some way out of this as she reached for the handle to close the door. “Are you sure you should be driving with a broken arm? I don’t think it’s legal.”

“Don’t be such a worrywart,” Cami said, and without any warning, she reversed out of the driveway at an alarming speed.

Riley yelped. “My door isn’t closed!”

Cami yanked the wheel hard to the left, and the door slammed shut. “It is now.” She laughed, speeding along the dirt road.

“Stop laughing. I could’ve fallen out.” Riley choked on the dust billowing through the open windows. “And slow down. You don’t want to get stopped for speeding.”

“Relax. I’m not speeding.” Cami nodded at the radio. “Put on some music.”

Riley turned on the radio, praying it announced some freak weather event, like a hurricane approaching Sunshine Bay, and that everyone should stay inside. There was a faint sound of tinny music beneath the crackles. Every station was the same. “If you want music, you’ll have to sing,” Riley said, and turned off the radio.

“Good idea. We’ll have a sing-off. I’ll sing my favorite song, and then you’ll sing yours.” She glanced at Riley. “Trust me. It’s fun. My mom, sisters, and I do it on our Sunday drives. You should hear my sister Eva sing. She’s da bomb. She’s in Europe now touring with her band. Just small venues, but you wait, one day she’ll be a star.” She slapped her hand on the wheel. “I bet that’s where my mom and Gia are.” Cami’s shoulders slumped, and her bottom lip quivered. “I can’t believe they left me behind.”

“I’ll go first,” Riley blurted, feeling bad for Cami and hoping to distract her. “I’m not very good, though.”

“Who cares?” Cami waved her hand. “Sing.”

“Okay. Let me see if I can pull up my playlist on my phone,” Riley said, thinking she’d get a signal now that they’d hit a paved road, indicating they were closer to town. She found her playlist and tapped on Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over.” It worked. She turned up the volume, hoping it would drown her out, and began singing.

When the song was over, Cami cried, “I love that!”

Riley smiled. “Me too. It’s one of my favorites. What are you going to sing? I can bring up the music.”

“Hmm.” Cami tapped a forefinger on her lips and then she smiled. “I know. ‘Alone’ by Heart.”

Riley scrolled through her phone. “Got it,” she said, and pressed Play.

It wasn’t a slow, quiet song like the one Riley had chosen, and Cami sang it like a rock star, throwing her head from side to side and tapping her cast on the steering wheel as if it were a drum, which made Riley nervous. But she ended up getting caught up in the song and moving in her seat to the beat.

“That’s a great song, and you have a great voice, Cami,” Riley said when it was over.

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