Wished Away: A Broken Fairy Tale by S.P. Cervantes

a dark scowl making him turn and run to the car, emerging with a bottle of champagne. He has a devious smile on his face as he approaches cautiously. “Surprise!” he says handing me the bottle and looks over at Cam and Holden. “I may have left out the part about walking the carpet to Jess guys.”
    I hold the bottle up to them all and drink down nearly half of it before handing it to Joey. “Let me finish this and I may forgive you.” I force a smile, trying to be the Jess from before for one night.

    As much as I was dreading having to walk the bright blue carpet of the media line, I’m glad to see the enormous turnout to help promote the GoodFellas organization. Reporters ranged of people from Access Hollywood to NBC News, all here to capture pictures of the stars inside, but more importantly, they’ll inform millions about my organization and that thought makes it easy to put a true, sincere smile on my face. Having Joey as my escort may not have been the best idea considering five minutes after going inside, he’s already cozying up to some young, hot brunette that’s throwing herself at him. The second Joey saw that Kat had brought a date, a hot one at that, I knew he’d do everything he could to show her he didn’t care. But we all know he does underneath all those excessive hormones.
    Cam and Holden stay by my side through the meet and greet, and at times, Holden really did have to run interference with some overzealous guests who also felt that enough time has passed and tried to make a pass at me. The cocktail hour is coming to an end, and we’ll be taking our seats soon for the auction and dinner. So, I decide to go to the bar to get a glass of wine, hoping it will calm my nerves before I have to start everything off with my speech. My heart feels like it’s in my throat with the thought of talking about Dave in front of all these strangers, when I have a hard time getting his name passed my lips when I’m alone. But now, I have to be strong. I close my eyes and repeat to stay strong to myself when I take a sip of the dry red wine.
    I turn to meet the others at the table, bumping my arm into the person next to me at the bar, causing me to jump back, trying to prevent red wine from spilling all over my green dress. A strong hand grips my forearm to steady me and when I look up, a flicker of excitement pulses through me when my eyes meet those that belong to this strong, familiar hand.
    “Are you alright Mrs. Bosi?” Dr. Scott is holding out his handkerchief, trying to catch the wine that’s splashing over the rim of my glass.
    “I’m so sorry Dr. Scott, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I force myself to glance away and take the handkerchief he holds out to me, hoping I’m not blushing.
    I haven’t seen Dr. Scott much since the day Dave died, and instead of feeling sadness, the only thing I can think at this moment is how handsome he looks. His dark wavy hair is slicked back, revealing eyes that are so blue, it’s like looking into the sky. They’re filled with such a sense of hope, that I can’t help but wonder what for? His body is perfectly wrapped in a tailored black tuxedo making it difficult to look back up at him when I hand back the handkerchief. I’m not sure why I’m having this reaction to him when no one else has even made my heart do anything but sink, and it flusters me. “It’s nice to see you again, Dr. Scott.” I say trying to ease away from him and go back to the safety of my friends.
    “Please call me Gage,” his voice is soft, with a deep and gravely rasp that massages my soul. Right now all I can think is the alcohol must be getting to me. When he takes the white cloth from my hands, his fingers brush against mine making us both flinch back in reaction to the intimate touch.
    “Then call me Jess,” I say trying to make this interaction less awkward. The tension between us is thick and I don’t know if it’s because of the sadness he knows I feel or if he