Free Shelly's Second Chance (The Wish Granters, Book One) by L B Gschwandtner

Right?”
    “Yeah,” Joe answered before
Alanna had time to explain. “We both have amnesia. Can’t remember much of
anything.”
    “What are the odds of that?”
Shelly asked as the waiter showed up with their salads. “Oh you guys are just
kidding me. But really, where are you from? Are you a couple or what?” She dug
in as if she hadn’t eaten for days.
     “We’re just friends,” Alanna
deflected. “And, yes, he’s kidding.”
    She took a bite of salad. It
tasted flat. Like cardboard. She ate a few forkfuls and pushed it aside. Joe
drank a glass of wine and that seemed to enhance the food for him so Alanna did
the same but it didn’t help. She began to feel that pressure again. This would
be an awkward time to suddenly find herself in front of Morgan. What would
Shelly think if Alanna simply evaporated?
    “Well how did Joe know I was
going to win that ticket? I never even heard of a Vegas Chance ticket before.
”
    “Just think of us as your
guardian angels. Temporarily,” Joe smiled.
    “So far you’re not doing such
a great job.”
    “Give us time. We’re kind of
new at this.”
    “What Joe means,” Alanna
broke in, “is that we never expected you to win big the very first night. You
have two more vouchers, bigger ones, and two more days and nights. Anything can
happen.” She found herself wishing she knew more about gambling but she really
couldn’t remember anything about it. And what if Shelly failed to win in that
time? Would they have to stay out here longer? The hotel was posh but the rest
of this locale was definitely not Alanna’s cup of tea. Without realizing it she
was overwhelmed with the feeling that she was lying on her back floating, up
and down, up and down. It was a pleasant feeling but she couldn’t quite
remember what it was. Or even if it was a memory. Maybe it was the wine. But
her glass was not even half empty. Maybe she was about to be pulled back up.
But no, she was still in the restaurant at the table with Joe and Shelly.
    Shelly looked downright glum.
“You two may have the luxury of waiting, but I’m up against a deadline.”
    “Meaning?” asked Joe, his
mouth full of bread
    “This is my last chance to
win big enough to pay off my debts and start over. I promised myself I’d repay Ben
for our engagement weekend. If I don’t do it, I’m sure he’ll call off the
wedding and I don’t know what’ll happen to me.”
    “You say you’re engaged,”
Alanna said. “But you’re not wearing an engagement ring.”
    Shelly gave her a sour little
smile. “Trust a woman to notice.”
    “You hocked it,” Joe
ventured. Shelly nodded, and Alanna turned away, a bit shocked despite herself.
How desperate would a woman have to be to hock her own engagement ring?
     “Ben thinks I’m getting it resized,”
Shelly said, “But he’s not going to buy that excuse forever and what happens to
me when Ben figures that part out? I’ll lose my condo, I’ll lose my job, I’ll
lose my fiancé. You’ve seen my car. It’s not worth anything. I have no other
assets to sell. My family already told me not to come begging. I’m all alone.”
Tears welled up. Her eyes reddened. She sniffed loudly. “You guys are my very
last chance.” Then the tears really started to flow. “And I don’t even know who
you are or why you’re here.”
    At that moment two waiters
wheeled over a side table and set down a domed dish with the chateaubriand under
it. One of them lifted the cover with a broad hand gesture—evidently he doubled
as a dancer in one of the shows or perhaps a magician’s assistant in an all-gay
cabaret—and, right on cue, the three of them turned to watch the presentation.
Shelly wiped her eyes and gamely took another swig of wine. A bit of razzmatazz
and a burst of fire, then within minutes they all had steaming plates of beef
in front of them. A silence fell over the table as they began to eat.
    Alanna ate a little bit but
still nothing had any taste. Joe wolfed his