Page 48 of Three Little Wishes

“I wasn’t checking out her butt. I was checking out her, uh, form.” Noah cleared his throat. “Her throwing form. Stance. Whatever.”

“Why? It’s not like you need any pointers, and Willow hasn’t come close to the stake with any of her throws,” Cami said, nodding to where Willow’s horseshoe had landed, almost a foot from the stake.

“Which is why I was checking out her form. To give her pointers.”

Willow grinned at Noah as she walked toward him. “You can give me pointers anytime,” she said, and then she went up on her toes and whispered something in his ear.

Cami rolled her eyes at the expression on Noah’s face. Helooked as if he wanted to throw Willow over his shoulder and run into the house. “You two are so annoying,” she said, walking away to collect the horseshoes.

“Why are they annoying?” Riley asked, joining them with a can of soda for herself and one for Cami.

“They’re flirting again.” She didn’t expect any support from Riley. She practically beamed every time she caught Noah and Willow giving each other goo-goo eyes.

Totally called it, Cami thought when Riley’s face split in an ear-to-ear grin.

At a chiming sound coming from the back pocket of her denim shorts, Willow pulled out her phone and made a face. “I hate to bail on you, guys, but I have a Zoom call. Wish me luck,” she said to Noah.

He tucked Willow’s hair behind her ear. “It’ll be fine,” he said, and then he pulled his phone from the pocket of his board shorts and held it up. “Text me if you need backup.”

“What’s a Zoom call, and why would you need backup?” Cami asked, looking from Willow to Noah. She didn’t miss their shared glance.

I shouldn’t have asked, she thought when Willow explained that she’d be talking to people on her laptop and how it worked. It made Cami’s head hurt.

“It’s just a meeting about Channel 5 stuff,” Willow added before sharing another glance with Noah.

He nodded and smiled at Cami and Riley. “Come on, you two. Best three out of five. The loser does the dishes tonight.”

“No way,” Cami said as Willow jogged up the steps to the beach house. “Cooks don’t clean. It’s a rule.”

“It’s between you and Riley, then. I’m cooking tonight.”

Riley snorted. “You don’t cook. Mrs. D does.”

“Yeah, but this is different. I’m grilling. Prepare to be amazed, Tink.”

“It sounds like I’d better prepare a backup dinner,” Cami quipped, and she and Riley discussed what she was going to make in between throwing horseshoes and trying to distract Noah. It didn’t work. He still beat them, and Cami and Riley were tied for cleanup duty.

Noah glanced at his phone and then at the beach house. “How about another game of beach volleyball? I’ll take on the two of you.”

“I’m in. Cami?” Riley asked.

“Sure. I just have to go to the bathroom.”

“Are you sure you can’t wait?” Noah asked, looking uncomfortable. “Willow should be off her call in a few minutes.”

“Uh, no, I can’t.” She shook her head and walked away, wondering what the big deal was.

“Be quiet and be quick, Cami. Don’t disturb Willow,” Noah called after her.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she ran up the stairs and hurried across the deck, opening the door and closing it quietly behind her. She heard Willow’s voice as soon as she walked into the house and stopped in her tracks.

“Of course I want her to get her memory back, Sage. The last thing I want is for Cami to face Nonna, Zia, and Mom with no idea that she’s been estranged from the family for twenty-five years.”

Cami pressed a hand to her mouth, muffling her cry. Her knees went weak, and she leaned against the door. It couldn’t be true. There had to be some mistake. She eased away fromthe door, tiptoeing closer to the kitchen, where Willow sat at the table with her back to her. Cami stayed out of view behind the wall separating the kitchen and living room.

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you contacted Cami behind the family’s back,” a woman said.

Cami didn’t like the way the woman spoke to Willow, and she peeked around the edge of the wall. She could see two women on the laptop’s screen. The one on the left had auburn hair and looked as if she was sitting in an office. Cami could see her sister Gia in the woman’s features. The woman on the right, despite her blond hair, looked enough like Cami’s sister Eva that there was no denying they were related. Cami drew her head back, leaning against the wall for support. They really were her nieces.

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