Chapter Four
Alex crossed her arms. “Get the hell out of this shop right now and never come back! What kind of insensitive jerk are you?”
“But-but her face ... it shouldn’t be like that. I-I ... fixed it,” Tag muttered, stunned by Tiffany’s appearance. Although he hadn’t been able to restore her face to exactly the way it used to be, the scarring had been so minimal that when she grew up, it’d barely be visible. But now, the little girl’s face looked exactly as it had, if not worse, before he’d operated on her.
What the hell was going on, and why was Alex acting as if she’d never laid eyes on him before? And why didn’t it appear to be an act? Something weird was happening.
The shop door opened and a little elderly woman walked through the door. She looked at him and her eyes brightened. She looked oddly familiar. “Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” She smiled at him.
“You have?” he asked dumbly.
“Of course, I have, silly. You forgot to take your medication again, dearie.” She turned to the two perplexed women and the child peeking from behind her mother.
“I’m sorry my son has bothered you. He ... he’s not exactly well. It’s been so hard for me to keep up with him since his father died, but I do my best. I’ll take him off your hands, dearies.”
Tag’s jaw dropped. Oh, yeah, things were definitely amiss, but a niggling feeling told him that this woman somehow held the key to what was going on. He took one last look at Alex, who wore a baffled expression on her face, before he allowed himself to be led out of the salon.
The minute they stepped outside the doors and got a couple yards away from the shop, Tag turned on the old lady. “Will you tell me what the hell is going on? Why are you claiming to be my mother?”
The woman laughed. “Well, I had to think of some explanation to get you out of your predicament; otherwise, those ladies would have called the police. Look, Taggert, you were floundering and needed my help. Besides, Alexandra doesn’t have a clue who you are.”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! First off, what are you talking about? And why wouldn’t Alex know who I am? We’ve been lovers for the past year.”
“Yes, you were, until your wish changed things.”
This was going from ridiculous to farcical. He hated being in any situation he didn’t understand. “Has the world gone nuts? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you recognize me from a few weeks ago, Taggert?” the woman asked.
He finally took a good look at her. “Holy shit. You’re the crazy wish lady.”
“Sort of, but haven’t you ever been taught to look beyond the surface?” The most phenomenal thing happened next. Before his very eyes, she morphed into a whole new woman—an extraordinarily beautiful woman, with curly brown hair that nearly touched the ground, a youthful face, and sparkling green eyes.
He couldn’t possibly have seen what he thought he did. Or could he? “How did you do that?”
“Oh, I usually take on different forms when I leave Olympus. My real name is Psyche, by the way, but you’re probably more familiar with my husband, Eros, and perhaps my monster-in-law — I mean, my mother-in-law —Aphrodite.”
Greek mythology had been one of his interests in college, but he’d put it aside because his passion for medicine had been stronger. Either this woman was shooting up or he was in the middle of a dream because there was absolutely no way he could be standing here talking to Psyche -- the God of Love’s wife.
“Tell me I’ll wake from this wacky dream or that I’m on a prank show or something, because you’re not supposed to be real.”
She sighed. “Yes, I get that a lot. Eros doesn’t really like it when I interact with humans, but I used to be human and sometimes I like to visit Earth. Anyway, I’m very much real and very much in a world of shit.”
“What?” Tag thought his head would fall off if things didn’t start to make sense soon.
“The wish you made had repercussions for me and you both. Me, because the monster-in-law may finally have some ammunition to get me tossed out of Olympus, and you, because now everything that had to do with you and Alex in the past year never happened.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, you’re the dummy who wished Alex would leave you alone and forget you. You know, when you have a love wish at your disposal, you really ought to be careful with your wording.”
It finally occurred to him exactly what she was talking about. No. It couldn’t be.
“So what you’re saying is that because of something I said in the course of an argument, it has now wiped out the past twelve months of my life?”
“It hasn’t exactly wiped out everything, just the stuff between you and Alex. That friend of hers never made the suggestion for Olivia to take Tiffany to see you. No Tiffany and Olivia, so no Alex tagging along. It’s really a shame because you’d done such a good thing for that little girl.”
“I didn’t do it for the thanks.”
“I know you didn’t, and that’s what makes you a good person. A man of your status doesn’t need to give his services away for free. A lot of people in your position never give back to the community. That’s one of the reasons I granted you that wish. I saw in you a trait that’s been lacking in mankind recently -- compassion.”
Tag raked his fingers through his hair, not believing he was actually having a conversation with a woman who was claiming to be someone from a Greek myth. “So how do we fix it? Can’t you just undo the wish?”
“It’s not that simple. Love wishes are difficult to reverse.”
“Then I’m to pay for the rest of my life for something said in anger? I never asked for the damn wish in the first place.”
“Well, you did a good deed, and I only wanted to reward you.”
“In that case, the next time I see a truck about to hit an old lady, I’ll just let it happen.”
Psyche bit her bottom lip, a look of contrition on her face. Maybe he was being a little hard on her. She couldn’t have known that he’d make such a jackass wish.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so nasty, but I’ve recently discovered that I love her. If only it hadn’t taken her leaving for me to find out.”
“I said the wish would be difficult to reverse. I didn’t say it was impossible.”
Tag gripped Psyche by the shoulders, practically shaking her. If there was something he could do to win Alex back, he would do it. He didn’t care if he had to assassinate someone; he’d do it if only for a chance to tell her of his love. “What do I need to do? Tell me, I’m desperate.”
She laughed. “I’ll tell you if you stop shaking me.”
He let her go and waited to hear what she had to say.
“First, I think you need to calm down.”
“Lady, I’m as calm as I’m going to get, considering the situation.”
She shrugged. “Fair enough. Nothing jars the memory better than lust. You can forget events or people, but you never forget how you felt in the throes of passion. You’re going to have to make her remember what you two shared.”
“So I basically have to get her to have sex with me? How in heaven’s name will I go about convincing her to do that when she thinks I’m certifiable?”
“I’ll think of a way. And you have to do it by Valentine’s Day or else the results of your wish will be permanent.”
“That’s next week! Are you kidding me?!”
Psyche sighed, twirling a lock of luxuriant brown hair with her finger. “I told you it would be difficult, but I’ll help you, of course. I’ll just have to come up with a plan. We both have a lot at stake here.”
“And what is yours?” Tag almost wished he’d never seen her crossing the street that day, but didn’t. It was wishing that had caused his current problems in the first place.
Psyche stopped twirling her hair, a dark brow lifting, green eyes almost appearing to emit fire. “This isn’t all about you, buddy, and if you think about it, my giving you that wish didn’t cause your problems. Your stubbornness did. Had you just admitted your feelings for Alex were based on more than just sex, had you told her why you don’t believe in marriage, you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”
“How —”
“How do I know? I live on Olympus. There’s not a lot I don’t see, and let me tell you something, buster, there aren’t a lot of women out there who would put up with you the way she did. And all she asked in return from you was a deeper commitment. The two of you already lived together, so what would have been the big deal if you did marry her? I know you’ll argue the opposite side and say that since you lived together, what did a piece of paper matter. Well, that piece of paper mattered to Alexandra, and if it didn’t to you, what would have been the harm in giving her what she wanted?” She shook a finger at him. “You really ought to be ashamed of yourself, Taggert Webster. You treated her abysmally, but she loved you, anyway. You knew she loved you and did things for you out of that love, which you took for granted. Now you have the audacity to rail against me when most of this is your own damn fault. If I didn’t have my own interests to consider, or the other people your selfish wish affected, I’d say to Hades with you!”
Tag felt like an asshole. Everything Psyche said was absolutely correct. His selfishness had gotten him into this mess. He’d used his childhood as an excuse and, as a result, he’d ended up losing the very best thing that had ever happened to him.
He’d never been as close to tears as he was now. “I’m sorry, Psyche,” he said, and meant it.
“You’ve gone pale as a sheet. Come on, I see a Starbucks down the block. They make great coffee.” She took his hand. “You know, they’re in negotiations to open one on Olympus.”
He allowed her to lead him to the coffee shop. “Why don’t you get a table for us, and I’ll get us both a cup of the evil brew. How do you take yours?”
“Black, just a little sugar,” he said automatically. Alex used to make the best cup of coffee, knowing exactly how he liked it. Why was he now remembering all the little things? Sex had been a big factor in what he’d been missing lately, but nothing compared with the other things she’d done for him.
When Tag found an empty booth, he sat down and stared absently out the window, wondering how he could get himself out of this mess. His heart twisted when he remembered Tiffany’s face. No child deserved to suffer what she had. The one thing he most remembered about dealing with the little girl was her sunny disposition. A lot of his pro bono stuff involved children, but by far Tiffany had been one of those special kids you couldn’t help but like because she had a light about her that one could almost see.
And to think, because of his wish, that precious darling was probably ostracized by her peers. No one knew as well as he how cruel children could be. Hadn’t he been teased mercilessly in school because of his thrift-store clothing and no-brand-name shoes?
He shuddered to think what children had to say about Tiffany. He wondered who else had been affected adversely by his ill wish. So much had happened in the year he’d been with Alex.
“Here you go. I got you a cup of the Kenyan. The coffee there is excellent.” Psyche handed him his drink, then took a seat.
Tag smiled gratefully, not really wanting it, but thought it impolite to refuse.
“Now, let’s think of a way to get you back with Alexandra.”
“You said that you had a lot at stake in this. Care to elaborate?”
Psyche grimaced before taking a sip of her coffee. “Aphrodite has wanted to get rid of me from the very beginning. Even before I married Eros she tried to destroy me because of my appearance. I can’t help the way I look, and it’s certainly not my fault that people traveled from all over to pay me tribute -- tribute that she felt was rightfully hers. I never disputed that and what happened between Eros and me ... well, she would have made any woman who joined with her precious son miserable, but she hates me tenfold.” She sighed. “Anyway, because she tried to finish me when it was discovered that Eros and I had married, my husband went to Zeus and asked for intervention. Although we’ll never be friends, Aphrodite and I have had somewhat of a truce as long as neither one of us interferes with the other. By granting you that wish, I’ve broken the spirit of the truce. Because of this, I could get kicked out of Olympus. This time, Eros can’t help me.”
Tag’s brows furrowed. He frowned, trying to make sense of what she’d just told him. “I’m not quite following you. How did granting my wish interfere with Aphrodite?”
“You were her pet project, or at least one of them. She’s the Goddess of Love and you didn’t believe in love. She was working on a way to change your mind, when I inadvertently stepped on her toes by getting involved. She could go to Zeus and get me expelled from the only home I’ve known for the past several centuries. She’s such a horrid woman sometimes, but I’ve been given until Valentine’s Day to fix everything between you and Alex.”
“If she wants you out that badly, why is she willing to wait until Valentine’s Day?”
A mischievous smile crossed the brunette beauty’s face. “It’s February.”
“And?”
“And Valentine’s Day falls in it. Anyone seeking a favor from her can ask her in the month of February and not be denied. As much as she hates me, she couldn’t say no to my request.”
“So why didn’t you ask for more time?”
“Well, that’s the thing; I didn’t specify how much extra time I needed. I know I should have, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. The woman gets me so flustered sometimes. Valentine’s Day was her stipulation.”
“Damn,” he muttered.
“‘Damn’ is right.” She sighed again and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin in the center of her cupped palms.
“I hate to ask, because God knows I don’t think I can take any more bad news, but what else has been affected by the wish besides what’s been stated ... and Tiffany?”
Psyche shook her head, a sympathetic gleam in her green eyes. “Well, because you never met Alex or her family, Olivia used up all of her savings to take Tiffany to a doctor she could afford, but he turned out to be a hack. He messed up her daughter’s face worse than before. Since there was no insurance, the subsequent hospital visits put her in serious debt. She took on another job to make ends meet. Alex’s savings are slowly dwindling away because she’s constantly bailing her sister out. Unless she wins the lottery, she’ll never realize her dream of owning her own shop.” Psyche scrunched up her face, obviously trying to remember more. “Hmm, let me think. Oh, yeah, there’s also --”
Tag held up his hand, sure that he didn’t want to hear another word. The last thing he needed was a laundry list of the consequences of his stupidity. “I get the picture. So what’s our next move? How do you propose I get Alex alone and convince her that we’re sexually compatible?”
“You leave the getting together part to me, but first tell me her likes and dislikes.”
“I thought you were all-knowing,” Tag taunted.
“Watch it, smart ass. My name is Psyche, not Zeus. Now, how about giving me that list so we can get your woman back?”