Three Little Wishes

Chapter Twenty

Camilla wanted to howl, she wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep for a week. She wanted a bloody cigarette and a bottle of wine. Her seventeen-year-old self might’ve wanted nothing more than to be reunited with the family she adored, but Camilla didn’t.

Three days before, she’d been reeling, her mind ripped apart by the memories of Will and of this past week with Willow, Riley, and Noah, and the only thing she had been able to think about was making things right between herself and her family. But now, faced with the reality of the situation, she was terrified. She had no idea how to repair the damage she’d done.

How had she gotten herself into this mess? And that was the problem. She hadn’t, not really. It was her seventeen-year-old self’s fault. She’d taken over Camilla’s body and her brain for a week and orchestrated the reunion with her family, who hated her.

Camilla gave Riley a wan smile. “I don’t think I can go. I feel queasy.” Would Cami say “queasy”? Probably not. “Woozy, I mean.”

Camilla rolled her eyes at herself. She was an actress, a damn good one, no matter what her ex and some of the critics said. She just had to get into character. “I’ll go see my mom and sisters tomorrow.”

“But it’s all you talked about this week,” Riley said. “I’m sure you’ll feel better once you see them.”

Camilla pressed a hand to her stomach. She felt as nervous as she had at her first major audition. But Riley was right. All she’d do was sit there worrying about it anyway. She had to rip the Band-Aid off. “Are you coming with me?”

“Um, I guess. If you want me to.” Riley tucked her hair behind her ear.

The food dye still hadn’t completely washed out. Camilla must’ve subconsciously been thinking of Hugh’s PA, Pinky, when she dyed Riley’s hair. Surprisingly, the pink streaks looked cute on Riley. She was a sweet kid who had no idea how pretty she was. One day, she’d be a knockout.

Camilla nodded. “I do.”

It was true. Riley was an old soul and had a calming presence. She was also the one person Camilla felt bad lying to. Well, she didn’t feel great lying to anyone, but Riley had been a good friend to Cami. And she’d put up with a crapload from her too. But even more than that, she’d confided in Cami. Riley was lonely, or she had been before coming to Sunshine Bay. Camilla had been too, even if she hadn’t realized it until she’d lost her memory.

“Okay. I’ll tell Noah and Sage you’ll be down in five minutes.” Riley smiled. “You can dress however you want. You don’t have to wear a disguise anymore.”

“Yay!” Camilla said instead of “Damn it.” Riley would expect her to dress like a teenager, which meant Camilla had to wear one of the outfits Willow had brought her.

As soon as the door closed, she rummaged through the suitcases on the floor, looking for something of her daughter’s to wear. At the bottom of a pile, she found a pair of baggy linen capris with a drawstring and a white, three-quarter-sleeve T-shirt and put them on.

She glanced at the flip-flops and sneakers she’d been wearing all week and looked longingly at her Jimmy Choos. Her daughter dressed as if she were seventeen.

“Cami!” Sage shouted from downstairs.

“I’m coming!” she yelled at her niece, sticking her feet into the flip-flops and running down the hall. Sage, Noah, and Riley were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. She glanced at the wooden railing and sighed, throwing her leg over it and sliding down like when she’d believed she was seventeen and had wanted to make Riley laugh. It hurt her crotch. Weirdly, it hadn’t last week. Unlike then, she also struggled to get off the railing at the bottom of the stairs. She wondered if her body had remembered it was forty-seven, not seventeen.

“Quick recovery,” Sage said dryly, an eyebrow raised.

“The painkillers kicked in. Woo-hoo!” She pumped her fist, inwardly rolling her eyes and wondering, not for the first time, if she’d had ADHD growing up, but she didn’t think you grew out of it. One of her many therapists over the years had told her she suspected she had undiagnosed PTSD. Camilla had dumped her and moved on to the next. She’d been afraid she was getting too close to the truth.

“Noah’s taking his car so you can come with me,” Sage said.

Camilla shook her head. “I’m going with Riley.” No way was she getting stuck on her own in the car with her niece. Sage had questioned her nonstop during their shopping trip the other day.

Noah shared a glance with Sage, who shrugged. He tossed the keys to Riley, and Camilla snagged them, shocking the hell out of herself. She went with it. “I’ll drive.”

“Good try,” Noah said. “You’re sitting in the back seat with Riley. I just have to put Lucky in the crate.”

Camilla and Riley helped him corral Lucky. Riley kissed and cuddled the dog that Sage had named Demon Spawn—it was the one thing Camilla and her niece agreed upon—before putting him in the crate. Then they headed for Noah’s Mercedes. They were arguing over what music to play when Noah slid behind the wheel, ending their argument by putting on the radio.

Camilla had enjoyed the distraction while it lasted. The closer they got to her family’s restaurant the more nervous she became.

“Are you excited?” Riley asked.

“Yeah. But I’m a little nervous too.” She was a good actress but she’d have to be an extraordinary one to cover her nerves, so she went with the partial truth.

She caught Noah glancing at her in the rearview mirror, adding for his benefit, “I don’t know why my mom and sister left me behind. I must’ve done something really bad. I just can’t remember what I did.” She knew exactly what she had done and wished she didn’t.

“It doesn’t matter,” Riley said. “They’ve been gone for a while so they’ll be really happy to see you.”

Camilla smiled and gave Riley’s hand a squeeze. She was an awesome kid, sweet and empathetic. She reminded her a little of Will. She had his eyes. Camilla got choked up thinking about him and looked out the window. Noah and Riley had lost their uncle because of her. She didn’t know how she’d make it up to them, but she vowed she would. For some reason, the vow eased the ball of emotion stuck in her throat. Maybe because she’d never thought she’d have the opportunity to make it up to Will’s family in some way, and now she did.

Her muscles tensed when Noah drove down the familiar road and the weathered gray siding of the restaurant came into view. By the time he pulled into the parking lot, Camilla felt lightheaded, her breathing short and choppy. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t face her family. Too much time had passed. She should’ve made the effort years before. But failed marriages, failed romances, and now a failing career had gotten in the way, and the thought of facing them when her life wasn’t perfect hadn’t been acceptable to her. She’d needed the armor of success to withstand their enmity.

“It’ll be okay. You’ll see, Cami. Willow’s there. She’ll smooth things over if your family’s mad at you.” Riley grinned. “And don’t forget, you’re queen of the mean girls. You don’t take shit from any—”

“Riley,” Noah warned, and then he looked back at Camilla. “My sister’s right. Whatever happens, Willow is there for you, and so are we.” His lips twitched. “Sage too.”

“She calls me the teenager from hell.”

“People give people they care about nicknames,” Riley said confidently, and then leaned over and opened Camilla’s door.

“Easy for you to say. Your brother calls you Tink, not the teenager from hell,” she grumbled, and got out of the car. She did some deep-breathing exercises. They were second nature to her, and her body responded almost immediately. “Chin up, tits out,” she said under her breath.

She hadn’t realized Riley was standing right behind her until she burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Noah asked, coming around the car to join them.

“Cami,” Riley said without elaborating.

Sage pulled in beside them and got out of the car. “Do me a favor,” she said to Camilla when she reached them. “Don’t tell Carmen she’s old.”

“Why would I do that?” Camilla asked, at the same time inwardly cringing. She’d been doing it for the past week, or her alter ego had. She’d even called Willow and Noah old. How ridiculous was that?

“Because you… Just promise me you won’t. It’s going to be bad enough without you ticking off Carmen, and she’s sensitive about her age.”

“She’s not sensitive about her age,” she said, even though she wanted to kiss Sage for giving her an out. She would’ve had to do the You’re old thing or Willow, Noah, and Riley would’ve suspected something was off.

Camilla shrugged. “Whatever. I won’t say anything. But like I said, I don’t know what you’re worried about. My mother always looks great.”

She did, and so did Camilla’s sisters. She might not have seen them in person in twenty-five years, but she’d been following their videos on La Dolce Vita’s Instagram and TikTok for the past ten months. She’d take a break every once in a while. Their mother-daughters-sisters bonds were plain to see. It had been hard watching them together and knowing what she’d missed for all these years, and why. She had no one to blame but herself.

Her mouth went dry when Noah opened the restaurant door, holding it open for them. His phone rang, and he took it out of his pocket, glancing at the screen. “Sorry. I have to take this. Go ahead. I’ll probably be a few minutes.”

Camilla cast a nervous glance at Noah. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “It’ll be fine, Cami.”

She nodded and followed Sage inside. Riley gave Camilla a little push from behind. She stutter-stepped, not from the push but because she didn’t recognize the restaurant. Everything had changed. This had been as much her home as the apartment where their mother raised them, maybe more so. She hadn’t been prepared for this.

“What’s wrong?” Riley asked, and Sage stopped, turning to face them.

“Nothing’s the same. It’s all wrong,” Camilla whispered, her nose tickling and her eyes burning.

“I’m sorry, Cami. I should’ve warned you,” Sage said.

“Is this why they went on vacation? They renovated?” Camilla asked, getting back into character.

“Yeah. It is,” Sage said. “Come on. Everyone’s at the family table.”

Camilla looked around as she followed, squealing when she saw the fountain. Every time their mother or nonna caught them making wishes at the fountain, they’d remind them that you made your own wishes come true. But Camilla couldn’t help herself. She was thrilled to see something that hadn’t changed. She ran to the fountain and hugged Venus.

She let go of the statue and searched her pockets. “Does anyone have a quarter?”

Sage handed her one.

“Thanks. Do you have one for Riley? We have to do it together.”

Sage took another quarter from her wallet, handing it to Riley.

“Okay, are you ready?” Camilla asked Riley. She nodded. “All right, hold tight to your quarter, then make your wish, and toss it into the fountain. Then you have to thank Venus for making it come true.”

“No wonder my wishes never came true. No one told me you had to thank Venus,” Sage said.

“Of course you do.” Camilla clutched the quarter in her fist and wished for a way to right the wrongs of her past and to win back the love of her family. Blinking away tears, she tossed the coin in the fountain and whispered, “Thank you.”

Riley did the same, hesitating a minute before hugging Venus and thanking her.

Camilla caught the glint of tears in Riley’s eyes and took her hand. “Your wish is going to come true. I just know it is.”

Riley nodded. “Yours too.”

Camilla couldn’t put it off any longer and went to take a step forward but her body locked in place. Riley nudged her and mouthed, Chin up, tits out.

Camilla burst out laughing.

Her mother, who was standing near the family table, put her hands on her hips. “What’s so funny?”

It took a moment for Camilla to respond as she drank in the sight of her mother. Then, with the laughter still in her voice, Camilla told her in Italian what Riley had said to her.

Carmen nodded, the hint of a smile playing on her lips, and then, because they believed Camilla was seventeen-year-old Cami, she did what she’d wanted to do for the past twenty-five years. She ran to her mother, threw her arms around her, and cried, “I missed you so much,” and then she burst into tears.