Epilogue
“Can I be a bridesmaid, Auntie Alex?” Tiffany asked, turning her pretty little face toward her aunt.
Tag sat back in his chair, belly full from a huge dinner Alex’s mother, Jacqué, had cooked in celebration of their engagement. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been happier. The Harrison family had welcomed the news with a round of hugs and kisses.
“It’s about time, boy,” her father, Frank Harrison, had said.
Things had certainly changed since the night at the hotel a couple of weeks ago. Alex’s shining black hair hung past her shoulders once again, for one. For another, Psyche had fixed things to the point where Alex didn’t remember the argument they’d had when he’d uttered those fateful words or the alternate year without him. The month they’d been apart never happened, and she hadn’t even remembered the things he’d told her about Psyche and the wish. As far as Alex knew, they’d gone to the Valentine’s Day ball together with her sister, and the only other things Alex had recalled were everything they’d discussed in the hotel elevator, plus the two of them getting caught in it after an incredibly mind-blowing sexual interlude.
Tag looked studied Tiffany’s face. The side he had operated on looked just as it was supposed to. Olivia seemed to be thriving as well. Something must have happened to her at the ball, too, although she refused to talk about it. Alex had mentioned a man, Maxwell Sterling, that her sister had met, but she couldn’t get any more information from her sister, either.
He turned to the woman he adored, who looked more beautiful with each passing day. He loved her more than could be put into words. Ever since he’d opened his heart to her, he didn’t know how he’d survived before she had come into his life. She was his everything -- the first thing he thought about when he woke and the last thing he thought about before he went to sleep. The one thing he regretted and felt ashamed of most was how long it had taken him to realize how much she meant to him and what he had had to go through to finally acknowledge his feelings.
Because of her, he’d even reached out to his family again. She’d showed him that throwing money at them in the hopes that they’d go away would never solve their problems in the long run. So he tried to make a more conscious effort to be in their lives. Maybe his siblings would never change, but he could at least be a positive influence on his various nieces and nephews.
Tag grabbed her hand under the table, giving it a light squeeze. Alex turned to him with a smile, mouthing the words, I love you.
“Auntie Alex, are you listening to me? I want to be a bridesmaid in your wedding.” Tiffany huffed, sounding slightly exasperated.
“Of course, I am, darling, but wouldn’t you rather be a flower girl? I could have a dress made for you that looks just like my wedding dress, and we could give you a little tiara or put flowers in your hair. You’d look really pretty.”
Tiffany shook her head, pigtails flying as usual. “I don’t want to be a flower girl because that’s for babies. I’m a big girl now. I’m going to be seven next week.”
Tag threw his head back and laughed. “Spoken like a woman who knows her mind. I think the final decision is up to your aunt, but how about a junior bridesmaid?”
The child’s face lit up. “Oh, Uncle Tag. I think that sounds like a super idea. What you do you think, Auntie?”
Alex smiled. “I think that’s a super idea, too.” She leaned over and gave her niece a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Of course, O, you’re going to have to be my maid of honor.”
Olivia smiled. “I think I can handle that as long as you don’t do anything crazy like throwing the bouquet my way.”
“Why not?” Alex asked.
She shrugged. “Once was enough, thank you, and I haven’t met anyone who could make me change my mind yet.”
Tag studied his soon-to-be sister-in-law and got the distinct impression that she wasn’t exactly telling the truth, and that a certain Maxwell Sterling might have a lot to do with it. No matter, it was none of his business. Olivia was a woman with a good head on her shoulders. He suspected that whatever problem she had would be worked out soon enough.
“Do you know what your colors are going to be?” Jacqué asked, standing up to clear the dishes.
Her husband groaned and got up abruptly. “This sounds like women’s talk. I’m going to take out the trash. Tag, I’d make my escape if I were you. Good luck, son.” With that, the older man left the kitchen as if the devil himself were on his heels.
Tag laughed. He had no intention of leaving. Indeed, most men would not involve themselves with their own wedding plans, but he knew how much his input meant to Alex. He listened to the women at the table talking excitedly, full of various ideas, and nodded at appropriate intervals, letting them chatter away. He couldn’t wait for the big day to come, when the law would cement their strong bond.
He knew that in his and Alex’s hearts, they were already married, but Tag wanted to bind her to him in all ways. Who would have thought that a simple wish would change this many things in his life and make it so wonderful? Sure, he had had to go through hell to win back Alex, but if he hadn’t made that wish, he would never have opened up to her and discovered all the sweet mysteries of love.
Tag put his arm around Alex’s shoulder and smiled as he listened to her plans for them. If marriage was a prison, he hoped his jailer would lock him up and throw away the key.
* * * * *
Psyche looked down on Taggert Webster and Alexandra Harrison-soon-to-be-Webster with a sense of triumph racing through her. Despite all her mother-in-law had done to thwart her efforts, these two were together and happy. The love she observed between the two of them warmed her heart. It was the kind of passion she felt for her own husband.
She didn’t have the ability to see in the future like some of the gods and goddesses could, but from her observations of this couple, she knew their love would last.