The Third Wish Page 2

conversation turned more personal. At least more personal for him.

  “I started my company from the ground floor with very little working capital. I built it up from nothing to a very successful business. I think you and I could work together well.”

  The whole lunch was dedicated to his success, his net worth, his health routine. By the time lunch was over, Beth was disappointed. He hadn’t asked a single thing about her. He was so good-looking, though. Maybe she could overlook some of his little faults.

  When he deposited her back in her office, he said, “I would like to see you again. I think we hit it off beautifully. How about dinner tomorrow night?”

  She accepted, willing to give this sexy man another chance. He was so perfect on the outside; surely there was more to him on the inside.

  When Beth got home, she picked up the bottle and looked inside. There was no mist. She had a nagging little feeling in the back of her brain, though. She had wished, in her dream, for a gorgeous man to fall in love with her. Was it just a coincidence that she had met someone like that today? She shook the bottle and nothing happened. She was afraid to rub it. If this had really been true, she needed to wait until she knew what her next wish would be.

  The next night, she dressed carefully in a black dress and heels. She checked the mirror and was satisfied. When her doorbell rang, she opened it and saw Bradley standing there looking even better than he had yesterday. Instead of the business suit, he had on tight black jeans and a charcoal gray button up shirt. His clothes showed off his perfect body, and Beth found herself trying not to stare.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  When they got to the restaurant, he ordered for both of them, something that always irritated Beth, and then he looked at her with a dreamy expression on his face. He took her hand in his and said, “I know we just met, but there’s something about you I find irresistible. I see a long, interesting future for us.”

  The feel of his hand wrapped around hers should have sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach, but for some reason, that didn’t happen. Maybe it was the way he, again, talked non-stop about himself. When the date was over, and he had walked her to the door, he pulled her into his arms. Bending his head and moving slowly toward her, she realized he was going to kiss her. Before she had a chance to decide if that’s what she wanted, he mouth was on hers, his tongue shoving into her mouth. What should have been mind-blowing left her cold instead. She was almost repulsed by this man who should have been desirable to her.

  Beth pushed him away, but he went for her again, and she had to shove him to get him to stop.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked in a puzzled voice. “I thought this was what we wanted.”

  “It might be what you want, but I’m not ready for that.”

  “Come on, now, women can’t resist me. You’re just playing hard to get.”

  “Seriously?”

  Beth turned to the door, unlocked it, and slammed it in Bradley’s face. She couldn’t believe it when she heard him call through the door. “Okay, Beth, the game’s over. Let me in. “

  She rushed over to the bottle and rubbed it hard. The red mist poured out and soon the genie was there. Grabbing him by the arm, she said, “Please, get rid of him!”

  “That would be your second wish. Are you sure you want to use it this way?”

  “Yes! I was wrong to wish for something so shallow. Just make him go away!”

  “Granted.”

  Soon, the yelling through the door stopped, and she heard him walk away from the door. Beth turned to the genie. “Thank you so much!”

  “I’m just doing my job. But you do realize you only have one wish left, right?”

  “Yes, I know. I hope my boss isn’t too mad about losing that account.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. Bradley Randolph was going to buy video games from your company anyway. All I did was make him fall for you. When you go into work tomorrow, everything will be fine.”

  “I really messed up. Hey, what’s your name, anyway?”

  “You couldn’t pronounce it. Just call me Jai.”

  “Okay, Jai. So what do I do now? How do I know what to wish for?”

  “That’s up to you. I can’t influence you. I do hope things go better for you next time.”

  “Me, too. At least you’ll be free, right?”

  “Well, maybe.”

  “What do you mean, maybe?”

  “I didn’t really tell you the whole story. I’m only free if your wishes go well. I already have one strike against me for that first wish. Especially since you had to use the second one to cancel the first one. To be honest with you, I lied about the witch and when I let you assume all the times I was imprisoned was because of women. The truth is, even though the fairy did put me in the bottle the first time, the other times were because of the wishes. I’ve never had anyone wish for the right things. All the wishes have been shallow. Money, fame, trophy husbands and wives. It’s always the same thing.”

  Beth felt sadness as she looked at the forlorn genie. He was so beautiful, but he seemed to have a good heart, too. It wasn’t fair to him that he was responsible for the wishes of superficial people. She had to make sure her next wish would help both of them.

  “Jai, let me think a little while on that third wish, okay? I want to make it count.”

  “Sure, that’s fine. I’ll just go back into the bottle until you’re ready for me.”

  “So…do you want to hang out with me for just a little while? Watch a movie or something before you go back into the bottle?”

  “I guess there’s no rule against that. Sure, why not?”

  Beth picked a horror movie on a channel that wasn’t quite ready to let Halloween go yet. The movie was cheesy, and she and Jai laughed at the stupidity of the characters. She made popcorn, and they watched another movie. She didn’t know when she had had so much fun.

  When the second movie was over, Beth turned off the TV. Jai turned to her and said, “What happened that keeps that sadness right there just on the edge of your emotions all the time?”

  She told him what happened with her fiancé. Everything she had kept bottled up since last year came tumbling out of her, and she found herself sobbing into Jai’s bare chest. She became aware of the implications of her face against his warm skin, and she found herself blushing at her actions. His hands were stroking her back, and she wanted it to last forever, but she knew this wasn’t right.

  “Jai, I’m sorry. I can’t believe I went all blubbery on you,” Beth said as she dried off her face and his chest with the afghan that had been on the back of the sofa.

  “It’s fine,” Jai said in a husky voice. He wouldn’t look at her. “But I’m not supposed to get involved with a wisher, so I think I better get back into the bottle before….”

  “Before what?” she asked softly.

  The genie dissolved into the red mist and poured himself into the vessel. Beth shook it and called out to him, but he wouldn’t answer. She sighed and tried to calm herself. The closeness between them, both physically and emotionally, had shaken her. She knew she had to make a good wish so he could be free. She would never forgive herself if she was the cause of his imprisonment. Maybe sleeping on it would give her the perfect idea.

  The next day, Beth went to the office without touching the bottle. There was no need to summon Jai if she hadn’t thought of her wish. She and her boss met with Bradley Randolph, and an agreement was made. It was as if they had never gone out, had never kissed. When she looked at him, she didn’t even know why she had been attracted to him. Yes, he was drop-dead gorgeous, but it was just window dressing, really. There was no substance to this man. Not like Jai, who was equally beautiful, but with such a big heart. She had to help Jai be free.

  On her way home that afternoon, she stopped and grabbed take-out Thai food and some expensive chocolates. She wanted to make this last wish count, and she also wanted to spend some time with Jai before he was free. He had somehow touched her soul
in the short time she had known him. She wanted to do the right thing for him. Hopefully, she would know what to wish for to free him.

  When she got home, Beth put the food on plates and set them out on the table. She rubbed the bottle to summon Jai, and he came out immediately. There was a sadness about him, and she wondered if it was because he knew she would wish wrong just like all the others before her. She hoped she proved him wrong.

  “Look, I brought food. You can eat, can’t you?”

  “Of course I can eat. I don’t have to, but I can. Thanks for thinking of me.”

  He was mostly quiet during the meal, and it made Beth feel terrible. She offered him the chocolates for dessert, and that seemed to perk him up a bit.

  “There’s nothing better than good chocolate,” he said with a small smile. “I wish I could have chocolate anytime I wanted it.”

  Suddenly, Beth knew. She realized what the perfect wish would be. It was a mystery to her why she hadn’t thought of it before!

  “Jai, I’m ready.”

  He looked at her, and she was lost in his black eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I know what I want more than anything else.”

  He looked weary as he stared at her. “May I make one request before you wish?”

  “Anything,” she said.

  “May I have just one kiss before you wish?”

  She smiled at him, knowing for sure that she was making the right choice. “Of course.”

  He lowered his head to hers so slowly, it was almost agony. The butterflies in the pit