Three Wishes (Dreams Come True #3) (9 page)

“Don’t ask. Let’s eat.” I threw back the covers, sat up, and smiled. Then I held my arms out to him. “Carry me?”

He beamed. “Of course.” Ben stood and walked around to my side of the bed. “Ollie, lead the way to the kitchen.”

She looked at me, then, Ben, then me again. “Okay, but I’m hungry, so can we speed up the kissing?” Then she slid out of bed and glanced at us before leaving the room.

“That kid is too smart for her own good,” Ben commented as he hauled me into his arms.

“Agreed.” I laid my head against his chest. Already, I could feel that longing building again. Maybe this wasn’t a fluke.

“You’re getting used to this, huh?” Ben kissed my temple.

“A little.” I gave him a shy smile.

“Good. Now let’s eat. We have a doctor to see and cookies to bake.”

I buried my face in his neck and inhaled the scent of him. “Okay.” Today I felt incredibly cooperative.

“Oh, and you need to rest up.” He chuckled.

“Why’s that?” I lazily traced his collarbone while he carried me.

Ben set me on the couch and then leaned low to look me in the eyes. “Because I fully intend to go for the gold tonight, as long as the doctor okays it.” He winked before standing and disappearing behind me. I could hear him speaking with Ollie. “So, waffles, cereal, what do you like?”

All I could do was marvel over the fact that Ben still wanted me.

Chapter Nine

Ben

The morning flew by, despite the time spent waiting to see the doctor. Again. When we were finally called to the room, I carried Charlie despite the looks we received. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how they thought we were going to get back there.

“Well, I’m surprised to see you again so soon,” the doctor commented when he entered the exam room. “What brings you here today?”

Charlie blushed profusely, so I grabbed her hand and explained the situation. “Crutches are a real hazard,” I joked. “She lost her balance in the driveway.”

“Ouch. Let’s take a look.” He sat on the stool and wheeled over, slowly removing Charlie’s sock to examine her foot. “Does this hurt?” He pushed on the side of her foot.

Charlie about flew off the table as she jumped in pain. “Yep.” She appeared deceptively calm, but the way she gripped my hand told another story.

“Let’s get an x-ray. Someone will be in shortly to wheel you down there.” He patted her shoulder. “We’ll have you all fixed up in no time.”

I’m not sure what the doctor’s idea of ‘no time’ was, but after roughly another hour of trying to entertain Ollie with my phone and comfort Charlie, we finally had a diagnosis. I’ve never been so grateful for free wi-fi in all my life.

“Well, it’s broken.”

“Dammit,” Charlie growled.

Ollie gasped then whispered at me. “Mama said a bad word.”

“I heard.” I nodded and tried to hide my smirk.

“Oh, I suppose you think this is funny. Is this where you remind me I should’ve waited, been more patient, trusting?” She glared at me, but behind the fury I recognized fear and hurt.

“Why would I do that? You feel bad enough. My job is to make you feel better.” I pulled her close, and felt her slowly melt against me. “I do this with hugs.”

“And kisses.” Ollie reminded us.

“Especially kisses…and cookies, and even managing your pain. Relax. You’re not alone. We’ve got this.”

Her eyes grew shiny and I worried she was about to cry, but before I could even consider comforting her further, the doctor interrupted us. “So, the treatment…” He looked back and forth between us.

“Sorry.” Charlie smiled shyly. “Please continue.”

“Thank you.” He nodded. “It’s a boot. The break is on the side of your foot. You wear the boot for six weeks and then a brace for another few days. You’ll be fine.” He started to exit the room, but paused and looked at Charlie again. “Your ankle will be completely healed by then too.”

Finally, we left the doctor’s office. After picking up her medical supplies, we drove to the nearest grocery store. I couldn’t help but tease her as I exited the vehicle with Ollie. “I trust you’ll wait for us?”

She bit her lip to hide a smirk. “There you go, throwing around the ‘t’ word again.” Charlie nodded. “I’ll be right here.” She raised her pinky. “I promise.”

My stomach clenched. The teasing yet vulnerable look in her eyes had me wanting to lean in and claim those lips. With Ollie dancing eagerly beside me, I grazed her temple instead. “Need anything while we’re in there?”

“Hm. We never talked about dinner.” Charlie’s head tilted.

“Any food allergies?” I reached out and held her hand while I waited for a response.

“No known.” She giggled.

“Have your heart set on something in particular?” I caressed her skin with my thumb.

She glanced at our hands and shook her head. “Nope.”

“I’ll surprise you then. Maybe I’ll even pick up food for the rest of the week.” I slowly released her hand and turned to close the door.

“We haven’t discussed how long I’m staying.” Her words were low, barely louder than a whisper and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“No, we haven’t, but there’s no need to rush your recovery.” Then I quickly shut the door. Her need for independence was already at war with my need to take care of her, of them. I wasn’t ready to consider their departure yet. Suddenly, a small cool hand grasped mine. “Hey, squirt.” I smiled down at her as we started toward the store.

“Mommy says we have to hold hands in the world.” She nodded while staring up at me seriously.

“Your mother is very wise. We should always hold hands.” I squeezed her gently.

“I’m glad she has you to hold her hand, Ben.” Ollie sighed contentedly.

I wasn’t sure what to say, or if it even required a comment, so we simply chose a cart and walked inside. We tried to be as quick as we could be, but picking out meals took time. And phone calls. “How do you feel about tacos?”

“What?” Charlie sounded confused.

“It’s Tuesday. Taco Tuesday. Sometimes I meet up with my friends. We love this Mexican restaurant, but I wasn’t sure you’d be up for it.” I rather hoped she’d suggest we go out.

“You can meet up with your friends. Ollie and I can eat some nuke-a-meals. We’ll be fine.”

“Ut oh. Not fine.” I chuckled to hide my fear. “Every smart man knows ‘fine’ is the kiss of death.”

“If I use it, I mean it.” She sounded agitated and I regretted mentioning it.

“Okay, we’ll figure something out. Bye.” I waited for her to say something, but instead she ended the phone call. Glancing at Ollie, I frowned. “Did she sound fine to you?”

“Nope.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“That’s what I thought.” I pocketed my phone as we walked through the store. “Do
you
want to go out to eat tonight?”

Her eyes widened. “Like a real restaurant, not in a hospital?”

I swallowed hard and tried not to imagine what her life was normally like. “Yeah. A real restaurant.”

“Wow. We never go to
real
restaurants.” Her eyes had a far off look.

“Time to change that.”

Ollie wrapped her arms around my waist. “Yes, please.”

It was settled. I had to make this happen. While we wandered the store, I sent Gabriel and Sebastian a text message.

me: Taco Tuesday. The usual spot. I’m gonna secure the private room. Our party has grown by two.

I knew it wouldn’t take long for my phone to blow up. Sure enough, seconds later, I received my first response.

Sebastian: This is Marisa. What? One girl isn’t enough for you? Now you need to bring two to a family dinner?!?!

Before I could respond, Isabella chimed in.

Gabriel: This is Isabella. Give Ben a chance. He’s the sweetest guy I know. He would never do anything that tacky. Right, Ben?

They had me chuckling and Ollie tugged at my sleeve. “Who’s that?” Her brows knit together as she stared at me suspiciously.

“My friends. Well, my friends’ wives, actually. I told them I was bringing two people to dinner.” I shrugged. “Let’s just say they’re excited.”

Without asking, Olivia plucked the phone from my hands. “I wanna say ‘hi.’” She quickly touched the buttons for her short message. “Now what. This isn’t like mommy’s phone.”

“Here.” I took the phone back and added to the message.

me: Hi. (This is from Olivia. She’s almost six.)

That was all I needed to say. Immediately, Isabella and Marisa were chatting back and forth, excited I’d found someone. It was a little early for that. I couldn’t even keep up. Finally, I simply sent one last message.

me: Please don’t freak her out. See you at six! (Ben, who reclaimed his phone, and misses talking to the guys once in a while.)

With dinner tonight decided, we concentrated on cookie ingredients and soon left with just two bags of groceries. When we returned to the vehicle, I could feel the tension before I even opened the door. Charlie sat stiffly in her seat as I helped Olivia into hers and hooked her in. After I slid in behind the steering wheel, I turned to look at her.  “Hey.” I laid a hand above her knee.

She stared at it a moment before gradually meeting my gaze. “Hey.”

“So, it’s Taco Tuesday. We’ll bake cookies, then meet my friends for dinner. By the time we get back to the pool house, it’ll be Ollie’s bedtime.” I shrugged. “I thought it might be a nice change.”

“I can’t…” Her voice trailed off and she stared out the window again.

“My treat. It’s tacos. And queso. Lots of queso.” I nodded, the excitement building in me as I considered what it would be like to bring them to dinner with my friends. “And kids. Becca and Konnor are Gabriel and Isabella’s kids. Becca and Olivia are about the same age.” I grinned. “They’ll get along fabulously.”  

“Germs,” Charlie mumbled.

“We’ll have her wear the mask when she’s not eating. And we’re in a private room, away from the rest of the restaurant.” I watched as Charlie shifted in her seat and stared out the window. “I know you want to protect her, but you have to let her live too.”

She whipped around and glared at me a moment before her eyes began to fill with unspent tears. “You have no idea what it’s like.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

I shook my head sadly. “No, I don’t, but now I will.”

While we stared each other down, we realized the car seemed to be shaking. Immediately, we both turned to check on Ollie in the back seat. She wore a huge grin. “A real restaurant, mums.”

***

Charlie

How could I deny her? The look on her face was one I hadn’t seen in forever. Sheer joy radiated from her. If it weren’t for the bald head, Ollie would look like a normal, healthy kid for a change. My shoulders sagged. Maybe Ben was right. Maybe what she needed was a little more normal. Maybe I should stop worrying so much.

“Yes, Olls. A real restaurant.” My would-be tears dried up and I sighed. Swallowing my pride once more, I looked into Ben’s deep brown caring eyes and shrugged feeling both hopeful and defeated. “Okay. You win.”

His head tilted as he looked at me. “This isn’t a battle. We’re not on opposing sides here. We both want the same thing.”

“Oh really? And just what is that?” I could feel my anger rising as he presumed to tell me how to live my life yet again.

“A happy, healthy Ollie, of course.” He reached out and took my hand in his.

For a moment, I just stared, admiring how nicely our hands fit together, embracing the warmth that flowed through him, into me. It was nice and terrifying all at the same time. Ever since I left my parents’ home, it has been Ollie and me against the world. We were a team of two, partners in crime. I liked it that way. Sure, I’d had friends in the past. The guys were left behind when I grew serious about Damien. When we broke up, some tried to come back into my life, but none of them could hang with pregnant me, or worse, mommy me. See, my timing had been terrible. Senior year of high school is no time to become a mom. My female friends went off to college and studied abroad, while I stayed home and struggled to make ends meet while raising a baby.

Once in a great while, I’d break down and visit my father, but otherwise I had no real relationships outside of medical professionals. Now Ben burst into my life and somehow, he fits. Somehow, he gets it, gets us. Part of me wants to feel relieved because he keeps showing me I don’t have to do it all, be everything, all by myself anymore. Then that stupid nagging worry pipes up and reminds me I can count on no one but myself, ever, and steals all my joy. Why can’t I simply relax and savor this while it lasts? I know it’s temporary. I know once Ollie gets her movie, he’ll be gone. Maybe I should treat this like the vacation I haven’t had in six years.

I sat ruminating on all of this as we drove back to the pool house. Soon enough we parked and I waited for Ben to come around to my side before I even attempted to emerge from the vehicle.

“Look who’s learning,” Ben teased.

“Who?” Ollie glanced back and forth between us.

“He means me, silly pants.” I grunted slightly as I stepped out and placed weight on the boot while Ben wrapped an arm around my waist.

“Ben calls me Squirt. I like that better.” Ollie turned and walked to the front door.

“Thanks.” I sighed. One day and he’d already won her over. Aw hell. One day and I’d already slept with him. I shook my head at the memory.

“So about tonight,” Ben began.

“Don’t worry. I’m feeling up to it. You promised me a gold medal performance.” I giggled. “No pressure.”

He licked his lips. “Actually, I meant about meeting my friends at the restaurant.” Ben grinned. “And now I really feel pressured.”

My legs threatened to give out. I swayed, unable to move as quickly as normal to cover my embarrassment. How had I suddenly turned into some nympho with him? Oh, it could have a little something to do with my six-year drought.

“Whoa. I’ve got you.” Ben scooped me up into his arms and kissed my warm pink cheek. “There’s nothing to be shy about. I’ve been thinking about being with you again too. I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to make tonight more comfortable for you.” He pressed the side of his face against mine and nuzzled my neck.