Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Danny wanted her in his bed? Marissa stared at her ex in utter shock. What was happening? She met his gaze, wishing she could see what was going on in his mind. “Danny?”

He walked over to her, grabbed both of her hands, and held them to his chest. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. If I thought there was a way to stay and keep you safe, I would have. I just need you to know that.”

The anger that had lived inside her ever since he’d disappeared from her life roared its ugly head, and she pulled her hands out of his and stepped back. “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t want to hurt me. The fact is you did. You shattered me, Danny.”

“And that’s why it’s your lucky day that I’m here. It’s time to undo all that damage,” Sophie said, grinning at them .

“You can’t fix everything just like that, Sophie,” Marissa barked at her.

“Actually, you’d be amazed by what a sugar plum fairy can do,” Sophie said.

“Sugar plum fairy?” Marissa asked. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m a sugar plum fairy, and I’m here to make your Christmas wishes come true.” She did an elaborate bow as if she’d just presented Marissa with a seven-figure check. “You have to know about sugar plum fairies. We show up during the holidays and help people whose lives have gone off track. Like fairy godmothers at Christmas time.”

She’s lost her mind , Marissa thought. That’s all there was to it. Should she call 911? Social services? Who had the power to get this woman some help? “I think maybe we should all just slow down and take a breath here.”

“Sure. A lot of people need a minute after I introduce the real me. I’m used to it.” Sophie leaned against a clay-covered counter, seemingly unconcerned with further dirtying her outfit.

Marissa supposed it didn’t matter since it was already ruined, but it wasn’t what she would have chosen to do. When no one said anything, Marissa walked over to Danny and whispered, “I think we need to get her some help. This isn’t normal.”

Danny pressed his lips together into a thin line and then shook his head. “I’m not ruling it out, but give me a minute.”

Sophie chuckled to herself. “If I had a dollar for every time someone said I needed help, I’d be driving my dream car. Have you ever experienced the thrill of a twin-turbo V8 Aston Martin?”

“I can’t say I have,” Danny said.

She pressed her fingertips to her lips and kissed them before exclaiming, “Just divine. One hundred percent 10 out of 10. Can’t recommend enough.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said dryly. “But for now, tell me about this curse. What do you mean you can break the curse?”

“Oh, I can’t break the curse. Only you can. But I can tell you how.”

“How?” Danny asked, and his earnest tone concerned Marissa. He didn’t honestly believe anything Sophie was saying, did he? Because as far as Marissa could tell, she was out of her mind.

“She doesn’t know anything, Danny,” Marissa said. “Sugar plum fairies aren’t real. They’re just made-up holiday tales. Don’t let her suck you into her fantasy.”

“Not real?” Sophie pushed herself off the bench, held one finger up, and then moved it around in a clockwise motion. Magic suddenly appeared in the form of glittering light as it wrapped around her from head to toe. Her clay-stained white outfit suddenly morphed into a cream-colored flowy dress, and her stilettos turned into sparkling ankle boots. All evidence of the clay was gone, and she once again looked just like the ethereal being that had walked into Candy Canes that morning with Danny. “Now you see where the Tink thing comes from.”

“That was… impressive,” Danny said.

“Not really.” Marissa narrowed her eyes at Sophie. “I know more than one witch who can wield their magic like that. That doesn’t make you a sugar plum fairy. It just means you have magic, which isn’t exactly in short supply in Christmas Grove.” She glanced at Danny. “We can’t trust her.”

“You have no reason not to,” Sophie reasoned. “I’m going to tell you how to break that curse. What you do with the information is up to you.”

“Why would you tell us? What’s in it for you?” Marissa asked, unable to shake her distrust. She wasn’t even sure she believed there was a curse, much less that they had to figure out how to break it. She’d been living a good life in Christmas Grove the past five years. If she’d been cursed, wouldn’t she know that?

“Points for my sugar plum wings of course,” Sophie said as if that was obvious. “Your case is worth a lot because you’ve been apart for so long. If I can help you two get back together, I’ll be promoted and finally get my wings.”

Marissa glanced around, looking for the hidden cameras. She was being punked, right? Someone would surely pop out and try to get her to sign a release for their ridiculous television show, and then she’d have to restrain herself from kicking their ass.

“Once I have my wings,” Sophie continued, “I’ll be able to join the task force that goes after fallen fairies. The ones who do things like curse happy couples just for spite.”

“There are fallen fairies?” Marissa asked, unable to help herself. While she didn’t think she believed a word Sophie was saying, she had to admit she was curious.

“Sadly, yes. One of them cursed your relationship. I’m basically the cleanup crew.”

“Sixteen years later?” Marissa was incredulous. Sophie was sounding more and more like she needed to see a mental health professional.

She nodded. “Unfortunately, it took me a long time to search out all the curses my sister cast on people, and fixing them takes longer than casting them. It’s been a long road. And then I had to find out if you were up for the task. Make sure you really are meant to be together. Because if not, then it wouldn’t be worth it. If you never wanted to see each other again, the effort would be wasted.”

Danny held up his hand. “Wait, your sister cast a curse?”

“Yes. She fell in love with you and was mad you were taken. Do you remember Patience? She was in your Accounting 101 class. You two were in a study group for a while.”

Danny’s eyes went wide, and then he scowled. “Patience did this to us?”

Sophie nodded. “Yes. She cast what’s known as Cupid’s Curse. Basically, it causes obstacles in relationships. One never really knows how that is going to manifest itself. Sometimes it’s things like a difficult mother-in-law. Other times it’s an ex causing trouble. And then there’s the tried-and-true job transfer that’s three thousand miles away. For you two, it was bad luck that turned dangerous.” She stared pointedly at Danny. “And Patience sent you to a mage who told you that you were the cause of all of Marissa’s bad luck. That your visions were manifesting the accidents and the only way to help her was to put distance between you.”

Marissa sucked in a sharp breath. “Danny?”

He met her gaze, pain shining back at her.

“You left because a mage told you that you were hurting me?” she asked, needing to hear it from him.

“Yes. I kept getting visions of you getting hurt, and each incident was getting worse and worse, so I was seeking help on how to change things. Patience said she knew a mage in town who could help. I went to her. She knew about my visions and your near misses and told me that our energies didn’t mix. It was because of me that you kept getting hurt. The only way to stop it was to separate.” He ground his teeth together and sucked in a deep breath before continuing. “I tried to ignore her advice, but then you were almost hit by that taxi and it scared me to death. I left the next day. And when the visions stopped and I learned you hadn’t had any more near misses, I just knew that mage was right, so I talked to the lawyer. Marissa, I couldn’t live with myself if you were hurt when I could do something to stop it.”

Marissa’s heart rate sped up as heat rushed to her face. Her heart was beating against her rib cage, and she suddenly felt like she was just going to explode. Her mouth worked soundlessly as her words got stuck in her throat. Finally she sputtered and said, “You… you didn’t tell me? You saw a mage and didn’t think I deserved to kn ow what was said? You made that decision without including me? How dare you, Danny Frost? How. Dare. You.”

Danny took a step back, blinking and holding his hands up in surrender. “Marissa, I was just trying to?—”

“No!” Marissa cried, cutting him off. “I don’t want to hear your excuses! I was your wife. Your best friend. And you took it upon yourself to decide our lives with zero input from me! Who do you think you are?”

“Someone who loves you more than anything else in this world!” he shot back, taking a step forward. “You think that was easy for me? Do you think I haven’t spent every single day of these last sixteen years second guessing my decision? Wanting to look for you? Wanting to tell you? Wanting to wrap you in my arms and make you mine again? Do you have any idea what it’s like to never be able to move on from a decision you made when you were just nineteen years old? I was a nineteen-year-old who was too scared that if I told you any of it I’d never have the strength and courage to leave you. Be angry if you want. Scream at me. Tell me how wrong I was. Trust me when I say that it’s nothing I haven’t already inflicted on myself.”

Danny squeezed his eyes shut and took a step back, shaking his head. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

Marissa didn’t care. There was only one thing running through her mind. “You said you love me.”

“Yeah, so?” He looked at her with confusion in his gorgeous dark green eyes.

“Present tense.” Her voice was shaking .

He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah. Present tense, Marissa. The love I have for you never goes away.”

She took a half step forward but then froze. What was she going to do when she reached him? Hug him? Kiss him? Throw herself at him? Any of those actions would be a huge mistake. She’d just learned a lot of information that she’d been missing for sixteen years. She needed to process what it all meant.

Danny’s eyes turned glassy as he seemed to stare over her shoulder at nothing.

Marissa stiffened and waited. She’d witnessed that look many, many times before. He was having a vision, and there was no way to know if it was good or bad.

He suddenly shook his head and then stared intently at Marissa before he reached for her and yanked her into his arms. There was a loud crash just behind her, and she felt something slam against her right calf, making her wince.

Danny spun her around as he picked her up and carried her to a chair near the door that led to the gallery. After gently easing her down, he knelt before her, looked up, and asked, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. What fell?” she asked, trying to see past him.

“A shelf with a bunch of glazes. The supports gave out and almost fell on your head,” he said, his nostrils flaring as he turned to stare at the scene of the crime.

“It’s the curse,” Sophie said with a nod, her voice cheerful. “That’s going to keep happening until you manage to break the hold it has on both of you.”

Marissa wanted to scream at her. Lives had been ruined. Turning this into whatever game she was playing was just cruel.

Danny tightened his hand around Marissa’s as he asked Sophie, “How do I break the curse?”

“You have to do it together,” she said, and her tone was softer and slightly sympathetic. “It won’t be easy, but unless you do the work, you’ll both be miserable. Trust me.” Her expression turned sad. “I’ve been there.”

Marissa stared at the woman, horrified as all the ethereal glow that had surrounded her seemed to dissipate, leaving just an older, wrinkled lady standing before them, wearing a cotton dress and orthopedic shoes.

Sophie glanced down at herself and muttered a curse before meeting Marissa’s gaze. “This will be you in twenty years if you refuse to do the work to heal your broken heart.” She pressed her fingertip to her temple, unleashing another round of sparkling magic. Just like that, she was the gorgeous fairy again, her eyes sparkling and not a wrinkle in sight. “Loneliness ages you quickly, Marissa. I hope you take my warning to heart.”

“I’m in my thirties!” Marissa exclaimed.

“I know, dear.” Sophie wrapped her fingers around Marissa’s and then grabbed Danny’s hand too. “The way to break the curse is to spend as much time together as possible. You need to learn to trust each other again. When that happens, the spell will be broken.”

Before either of them could say another word, Sophie vanished into thin air.