Page 2 of Should Have Been Me

“You’re going to love these, I swear,” I assured the bride, hoping to loosen the tension in her jaw, but also because it was the truth. I was damn good at my job, and I’d make these images shine if it took every last ounce of my talent. “Go. Enjoy your dinner.”

The rest of the wedding party, clearly having had enough of their bossy friend, broke off from the group photos I’d been taking and headed toward the tables like cattle being called to feeding time, not that I’d blamed them. I’d seen Lexi smack a Tic Tac out of one of her bridesmaid’s hands and yell at her for trying to eat before the ceremony. I was sure they were starving. Lexi had no choice but to grab her new husband’s arm and pull him toward the rest of her guests.

I was grateful for the reprieve, no matter how small it was. I headed toward the reception area at a much slower pace, spotting Ryan standing at the DJ booth, ever-present clipboard in hand as she rattled off instructions.

“Thanks for the assist,” I muttered so she could hear me through the earpiece. Her head turned in my direction, and she shot me a quick thumbs-up before getting back to work.

The woman was a machine. In all honesty, the main reason Three’s a Charm was so successful was Ryan. She lived and breathed for our business and was the one who steered the ship, keeping the rest of us in line. She was the visionary. Not only was the company her idea, but it was also her creative genius that made the events we put on spectacular, which was why we were so damn popular in the first place.

Whatever gene made a person brilliant at their chosen profession, Ryan had two of them. She could envision things that would never cross my mind. She had single-handedly created some of the most beautiful weddings I’d seen and was the cause of countless happy brides all over.

I moved along the outskirts of the crowd, shooting photos of people talking and laughing, capturing the excitement only a happy occasion such as a wedding could garner.

As much as I loved my job, being around so much love and romance on a regular basis stung a bit. It was a reminder that my own plans for my dream wedding and happily ever after had gone up in smoke.

Ever since I was a little girl, I’d been in love with the idea of love. I was that little girl forcing one of the boys in her kindergarten class to play the groom in her fake wedding, or wearing my mom’s pretty scarf as a veil and a pair of her high heels as I pretended to walk down the aisle. I recited my wedding vows in front of the mirror while holding my collection of slap bracelets half curled as a bouquet.

I kept a scrapbook of cut-out magazine images of dresses and flowers and cakes. Hell, I’d been planning the day for as long as I could imagine. There was always a groom in those fantasies, of course. He just happened to be whatever celebrity I’d crushed on as a little girl, then, as I got older this dark-haired, well-built dude dressed in a tux who had no face.

At least that had been the case until Barrett Cohen.

On that thought, I shook off the melancholy that had slithered over me and got back to work.

By the time the limo took off with the happy couple and the last of the guests staggered home, Ryan, Tarryn, and I were dead on our feet.

We sat at one of the empty tables as the crew moved around us, breaking everything down and converting the room back to its original state. It was tradition that, at the end of every wedding or event, we gave ourselves a few minutes to decompress and toasted with a shot of something eighty proof.

“Another one in the books, ladies,” Ryan said, holding her shot glass up. “Not all of them can be easy, but we still managed to pull off a gorgeous wedding.”

“Hell yeah, we did.” I threw the shot back, wincing at the fiery path the liquor took down to my stomach.

“I mean, once we finally convinced her this place wouldn’t allow live geese in the fountain in the lobby, no matter how special the bride thought she was,” Tarryn added.

I shook my head, my shoulders slumping. “Are we even sure that groom was human? I’m pretty sure he was a robot.”

Tarryn poked me in the arm on a laugh. “Pretty sure I saw him plugged into an outlet in the corner at one point. Must have needed to charge his batteries.”

Ryan downed her shot and plunked the glass onto the table as she rose to her feet and stretched her back out. “Yeah, well, it’s done, and so am I.”

Tarryn and I stood as well, the three of us moving on autopilot through the ballroom and out into the fresh night air. “See you guys at the office tomorrow,” she said as we broke off in the parking lot, heading in different directions.

“I’ll bring coffee and donuts,” I called out as I beeped the locks on my car.

Ryan nodded, looking as tired as I felt. “Sounds perfect. See you in the morning. Love you, crazies.”

“Love you back.” Tarryn and I chorused.

My heart felt a little lighter as I climbed into my car and started the engine. I might not have romance in my life, but I had my best friends and, for now, that was enough.

2

JOLIE

The soft glow of the lamp on my entryway table lit enough space for me to see as I dropped my keys in the bowl beside it and hung my purse and jacket on the hooks on the wall by the door.

The silence of the house was broken when my cat trudged over to greet me with a low, husky meow.

“Hey, Smoosh,” I said as I bent down to pick up my little princess. She let out a contented purr as I nuzzled my face into her downy fur. When I decided a few months earlier maybe it was time for me to get a pet, I headed to the shelter thinking I’d get a cute little puppy. But the moment I set eyes on the gray and white Exotic Shorthair, I knew I’d found the one. I’d fallen in love with her smooshed in face and big yellow eyes and took her home with me that day. Since then she’d been the best companion. Affectionate without being clingy, she enjoyed her own space. Sure, she could be a bit of a diva at times, but I chalked that up to her being gorgeous and knowing it.

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