Read Three Wishes (Dreams Come True #3) Online
Authors: Emma Nichols
Three Wishes (Dreams Come True #3) (7 page)
Nodding seriously, Ben smiled. “She’s in good hands.” Ollie leaned against his shoulder and stared shyly at the doctor. Reaching up, Ben hugged her closer in a way that seemed so natural anyone watching would think she was his daughter.
“Good.” The doctor stood and shook my hand, then Ben’s. He was about to reach for Ollie when Ben moved an arm in front of her protectively.
“Weak immune system,” Ben explained. “We rushed and I forgot her mask.” His brow furrowed in guilt.
The doctor glanced at me before leaving the exam room. “Two weeks at least before you’re feeling really comfortable walking. Don’t rush it. You’re free to go.”
“Okay,” I mumbled weakly.
Apparently Ben read my emotions. “Give us just a minute.”
“Of course.” The doctor nodded.
Already I wondered how I was going to manage the stairs, getting Ollie to the doctor, and pretty much the whole no driving and staying off my feet part. I sighed as the door closed behind the doctor. Covering my face with my hands, I struggled to control my emotions. Overwhelmed. That’s what I was…overwhelmed.
“Charlie?” Ben came over and squatted down in front of me. Though I refused to look at him, he managed to pry my hands away from my face, then kept holding on, lacing my fingers through his. “Let me help.”
“How could you possibly help?” I meant it. I couldn’t think of a single way he could assist me.
“Well, for starters, we’re gonna go fill your meds and you’re going to take them.” I started to protest, but he held a finger to my lips. “Let me finish.” I closed my mouth and nodded before he continued. “Then we’re going back to your apartment. Ollie and I will pack some necessities while you wait in the car, letting the pain meds kick in.” He grinned.
“Then what?” Ollie had suddenly appeared at his side.
“Then we’ll go to my place. I live in a one-story place. You’ll love it. We even have a pool and a hot tub.” He seemed to enjoy how her eyes widened in excitement. “Tonight we’ll have takeout.”
“My place was cleaned from top to bottom today. It’s probably cleaner and more germ free than a hospital.” He chuckled.
“How is that possible? You were with us all day.” My eyes narrowed involuntarily.
He rubbed the back of his neck, probably in an effort to hide the blush creeping up his face. “The maid comes on Mondays,” Ben mumbled. His voice was so low I could barely hear him.
“Did you just say ‘maid’?” I held my head. This guy was so not for me.
“But where will I sleep?” Ollie piped in.
“Well, you and your mom can sleep in my bed, while I sleep on the couch.”
“I can’t take your bed,” I protested.
“If you only knew how often I sleep on that couch, you’d realize you weren’t inconveniencing me at all.” Ben grinned.
I shook my head. “We can’t stay at your place. I barely know you.”
“This is true, but do you have a better idea? Prettier options?” His jaw set as he challenged me and waited for my reaction.
I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew it was pointless. Feeling defeated I sighed loudly. “Fine, but if you kill me in my sleep, I’ll haunt you with a vengeance in a way that will make your worst nightmare feel like a warm blanket. Got it?” I channeled my mother’s angriest look.
“Okay.” He shrugged then looked at Olivia again. “Then, in the morning, we’ll let your mom sleep in and rest while we get groceries. We’ll even bake cookies.”
“You don’t have to do this.” My head was already spinning and I hadn’t taken the pills yet.
“Of course I do. I want cookies. Plus, I’m in the business of making wishes come true. This time, you didn’t even realize what you wished for.” Ben moved to sit in the seat beside me. Leaning in, he whispered, “You wished you didn’t have to do this all alone.”
Maybe I did. Maybe I had. All I knew for sure was that with Ben around, my life didn’t seem so uncertain, even if it was still spinning wildly out of control. I finally felt like I’d found my footing, which was strange since I now had a sprained ankle. I sat there quietly, thinking when he shoved his phone under my nose.
“What’s this for?” I gazed at him, almost afraid to admit how much better I felt because of him.
“Type a list of what you need. Ollie’s meds. Clothes. Laptop. Anything you want from the apartment.” Then he hauled my daughter onto his lap. “So about these cookies. What kind should we make?”
My ankle hurt like hell, but my heart was so full, it helped to dull the pain.
Ben
Charlie needed me. She merely refused to accept it yet. I wasn’t going to push it exactly, but I was going to step in and help her in her time of need. It had taken me all of three minutes this morning to realize she was genuinely alone in the world. Now, she was injured and I felt partially responsible. After all, I was the one who let her sleep longer. It was my fault she’d been so off balance. In good conscience, there was no way to leave her alone with a sick child to care for in a second story apartment.
Taking them in was the logical thing to do. It was the right thing to do. In truth, it was what I wanted anyway. For years I waited to get to know her and now, I wasn’t ready to let her go. I remember when Gabriel told me about dating Isabella, and how he hated being away from her. He knew she was the one because he couldn’t get enough of her. Constantly he found ways for them to be together, the longer the better. When those trips came to an end, he’d feel bereft. Somehow, I sensed being around Charlie was going to be something like that. I smiled.
“What are you so happy about?” She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“Oh, I was just thinking about my a diabolical scheme. So far it’s working.” I winked at her and watched as her look softened and she bit her lip to keep from smiling.
We’d already filled her meds, gone to the apartment, and picked up Chinese take out. I took a deep breath as we pulled up at the gate to my father’s estate, already anticipating her reaction. I wasn’t wrong. After I punched in the code and the gate started to roll open, I glanced over at her. Sure enough, I could see her fuming beside me.
Staring out the window she grumbled, “Itty bitty bank account.”
Shaking my head, I drove to the back of the property and parked at the pool house, which was more like a guesthouse. As soon as I had the Porsche parked, I turned in my seat to face her. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“How could you possibly know?” She wrung her hands as she stared angrily out the window.
I pursed my lips a moment before speaking. “Despite popular belief, you actually spoke those words out loud and though guys are supposed to be terrible listeners,
I heard you
.” I sighed as she looked down at her lap. “So here’s the deal.” I gestured to the estate. “Everything you see, it belongs to my father. It’s not mine. I have a small inheritance, but otherwise I’m on my own. I get free housing until I graduate. Then my father would like me gone. Far away. So he’s free to frolic with my new step-mommy, who happens to be all of two years older than me and tried to date me first.” Her eyes widened. “Yeah. So…that.”
Without saying another word, I stepped out of the vehicle and helped Olivia unhook her seatbelt. She clamored out of the car, eager to explore. Then I picked up our food from the floorboards in the back seat, and her bag of clothes, toiletries, and meds from the trunk. Walking around to the passenger side, I knocked on the window with a knuckle. Slowly, she pushed the door open and looked at me gloomily.
“I’ll be right back for you after I get Ollie and everything inside, okay?” My brow furrowed in concern. She looked ready to break. I could actually see her freaking out a little. “Do you trust me?”
Charlie looked up at me and rolled her eyes. “Hell no, I don’t trust you!” I actually laughed, stumbling slightly from the force of it. “A, I barely know you. And B, enough guys have let me down in this life to have a general distrust of your entire gender.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’d go with the whole…I’m not like other guys spiel, but I’d rather just show you instead.” I winked at her and walked away still grinning.
“Wait! You’re leaving me here?” She looked helpless and shocked.
“Mom,” Ollie began, stretching the normally once syllable word out to roughly eight, “he said he’ll be back.” She turned to me. “Do you promise?”
My eyebrows arched. Never before had anyone ever questioned my integrity so much before. It kinda stung. “Yup.” The bags were beginning to grow heavy on my arms.
“No, you have to say it,” Ollie urged and then shook her head like I was so much work.
I bit my cheek. She was a miniature version of her mother for sure. No wonder I liked her so much. “I promise. Now I’d pinky swear, but at the moment I’m holding dinner with that finger. Can we go inside, please?”
Ollie nodded happily and soon followed me down the sidewalk to the front door. Once I punched in the combination for the door, I pushed it open and let her enter first. I made a beeline for the island to set the food down. Then I continued into the bedroom to deposit their bags. When I returned to the living room, Ollie still stood staring in awe of the place.
“Take a seat. I’ll go get your mother before she has a meltdown, and then we’ll eat, okay?” I watched as she nodded quietly and went to sit stiffly on the couch. Looking to the ceiling, I said a silent prayer for patience to deal with these two crazies as I trudged out the door toward the Porsche. Even though I had rushed as fast as possible, Charlie had attempted to heave herself out of the vehicle and stand up using the crutches I’d grabbed her from the pharmacy.
She was failing miserably. Tottering back and forth on the loose gravel from the unpaved driveway extension. I could see her eyes widen as she rocked first one direction, then the next.
“Wait!” I shouted, but it was too late.
***
Charlie
I hate being helpless. I hate waiting on people. Oh, but I hate making a fool of myself most of all. Of course, if I’m going to do something, I’ll go for the gold, no half assed tumble for me. And so for the second time this day, I managed to fall and injure myself. Though there was a resounding clatter from the metal crutches scraping and bouncing around on the ground, I gritted my teeth rather than cry out. I refused to admit how much it hurt, despite the pain meds already in my system. This was going to be bad. I closed my eyes, afraid to look at the damage I’d done to my good foot. Already my shoe seemed to be tightening around it.
When I finally decided to peek, Ben’s concerned face was inches from mine. “What’s hurt?” He spoke quietly and seriously, understanding all too well the gravity of the situation apparently.
“My pride,” I grumbled.
His eyes brightened at my response and he nearly grinned. “Beside that.” Tenderly, he scooped me up off the floor and hauled me into his arms cradling me for a moment. “I’m just gonna come back for the crutches. They’re obviously doing you no good anyway.” He winked at me.
“I can walk,” I pouted, knowing full well I was being ridiculous and lying through my teeth at the same time.
“Of course you can.” Clearly, he found the situation quite humorous.
I glared at him. “So you’re one of those physical comedy types?”
Ben shrugged. “Not really. Oh, but you should have seen yourself. I give you a 9.75 for form, but you lacked the grace and artistry necessary to truly cement a gold. I think you may have to settle for a silver.”
How was this guy in my head?
I frowned. “I don’t know. I think I should get bonus points given I started injured.”
“And now?” He obviously wanted to see if I was ready to admit the damage.
Sighing, I grimaced. “Now I’m more injured.”
Ben nodded. “I thought so. We’ll check you out inside, but let’s not worry Ollie.”
I cocked my head as I studied him. This guy didn’t have kids and yet he seemed to understand Ollie better than almost anyone, but me. “Yeah. I can totally play it cool.” I made an exaggerated wink and gave him a ‘thumbs up.’ “I got this. As long as you’ve got more pain pills and an ice maker.”
He chuckled. “That I do.”
Once inside, Ben sat me on the couch, then set Ollie up on a stool at the island with some food and promised to join her as soon as possible. She didn’t complain, which meant she was hungrier than I imagined. Hunger was a good sign.
He returned to kneel before me, head bowed, completely focused on the task at hand. For a moment I felt all regal and shit, then the shoe came off. Not the glove, the shoe. Seriously, he pried that thing off and gritting my teeth wasn’t enough. This time a whimper escaped my lips. Ben looked at me and hesitated before peeling off the sock. “You ready?”
I nodded slightly. I mean, who’s ready for this stuff? I’d just suck it up and cope while gripping the cushion on either side of my legs. Finally, the deed was done. We both stared at my naked foot.
“You have mighty purdy feet,” Ben drawled.
“No, I think you meant purple.” I sighed. I watched as he opened his mouth and knew what he was going to say. “But I don’t want to go back to the doctor tonight. Can’t we do it in the morning, please?” His jaw snapped shut and I could tell he wanted to argue with me, but my reasoning was better. “Ollie needs to go to bed in a couple of hours. You know how long this can take. I won’t sleep in tomorrow. And I’ll just wait in the car while you shop for cookie supplies.” I was grasping now, desperate to stay here, which was strange because up until a few minutes ago, I didn’t even want to come inside.
“I don’t know. This could be bad.” He gently ran a finger over it and noted the swelling and discoloration. Then he pushed on a bulge while staring at me intently. “Does this hurt?”
I did what any normal person would do in this situation. Yes, I lied my ass off. Biting down on my lip, I shook my head even as my cheeks and eyes gave me away. Ben frowned. “I’m fine.” He seemed entirely unconvinced. “I won’t be running a marathon any time soon, but let’s face it, that’s not really my thing so no big loss.”
Sitting back on the floor, Ben smirked. “Right. No marathons. How about getting to the bathroom? Showering? Can you do all those things you definitely don’t want me to be a part of?”
My head tilted. “I’m not above crawling,” I replied after some consideration. “You won’t have to wipe my ass. I assure you.”
“Oh really? You
ass
ure me?” He snickered.
“I hate you.” I tried to glare so he might believe me, but I couldn’t. I was putting this guy through it and he acted like he was Teflon coated.
“Good, because I hate you too.” Ben stood, leaned over and kissed me on the tip of my nose.
“My nose?” I twitched it a few times.
He was still leaning over me, a hand braced on either side of my thighs. “Yeah, your nose. Oh, but only because I thought it might be too soon for this.” Ben closed the distance and pressed his lips lightly against mine. I moved slightly to accommodate him, marveled at how nicely we fit. A warmth traveled between us, bordering on an electric charge.
“Hey! Are you two kissing?” Ollie shouted from roughly eight feet away.
“No, baby, he’s just looking in my eye,” I lied, grateful my back was to her.
“Huh. Well, I don’t know how he could do that with his eyes closed.” Her reasoning was far too smart for a five year old.
“That may have been the other reason,” Ben teased even as he remained dangerously close to my lips.
I want to blame it on the pain pills, or the trauma, or even on how sweet and generous he was being. Maybe it was even all those things. Or, it could be that when I was having one of the roughest days of my life, he held me and wished he could take my pain away and I’ve never forgotten it. All I know is suddenly there was nothing I wanted more than to finish exploring that kiss. I didn’t care my daughter was near. It mattered little we barely knew each other. That he was just passing through my life didn’t faze me in the least. “Again.”
Ben shook his head, his eyes dancing with laughter. I could feel my face on fire. “Ollie,” he murmured.
“I don’t care.” That part was definitely the pills. How else could I explain my actions and my body’s reaction to his kiss? I had always been a super responsible mom. I hadn’t been with anyone since Damien. Roughly six and a half years of no personal contact with any male, aside from Ben. And damn if I didn’t want him right now, consequences be damned.
“Well, you might.” He jerked his head to my left.
When I turned, there was Ollie, hanging over the arm of the sofa, literally less than eight inches away from me. I inhaled deeply. “Hullo, Olls.”
“Hullo, Mums.” She smiled widely.
“Whatcha doing?” My eyebrow quirked.
“It was very lonely over there.” She stuck out her lower lip to show the very depth of her sorrow.
“Right. Yeah. I can see that.” I shook my head.
“You can’t sit on a stool. You need your foot propped up while we ice it.” He looked at the right one, already diagnosed as a sprain. “Make that…ice them.” Then Ben glanced at the coffee table. “Shall we all eat here?”
I glanced down at the cream colored couch I was sitting on, then the handscraped hardwood floors with really expensive looking area rugs…all light colored. This place was hardly Ollie ready. “How good is your maid?”
Ben laughed. “The best. Only the best for Mandy.”
“Mandy’s the step-mommy?” My eyebrows peaked. He nodded. “Of course.”
So we ate on the coffee table and Ollie managed to stain nothing, although the maid is gonna have to do some serious vacuuming. Fried rice doesn’t go well with chopsticks and Ben let her use them despite my many protests. Finally, we were done and he cleaned up while I sat and felt guilty and useless.