Page 64 of It Should Have Been You

I’m nursing a tumbler of whiskey, the strong notes of the aging spirit coating my throat, when a familiar, sweet perfume wafts towards me, cutting through the scent of the liquor.

“Well, if it isn’t my could-have-been-husband.”

Glancing up from my glass, I see Emily approach, her signature grin accentuated by the scarlet lipstick she always wears.

“Seeing you in a suit… I’m wondering why we didn’t get married.”

I laugh under my breath before I kiss her cheek. The sight of her brings back memories, but it doesn’t cause regret. We made the right decision.

“It was my inability to separate laundry. Tragic, really.”

“Yeah, I did have a penchant for wearing rose-tinted outfits for a month straight,” she retorts, her eyes gleaming with shared amusement.

She’s dressed in a form-fitting, sleek red dress which I’m sure is designer. A testament to her successful career as a model.

My eyes slide to the rock she’s sporting on her ring finger. “Congratulations.”

I heard she was engaged again but hadn’t had the chance to congratulate her.

She twirls the ring around. She looks happy, and she deserves it.

Squeezing my arm, she winks, “He doesn’t quite pull off a suit like you.”

“Yeah?” I scoff, finishing my drink. “Bet you say that to all of your ex-fiancés.”

“Ah, but you’re my favorite.”

Taking another drink, I ask, “What are you doing here, Em?”

“Just passing through,” she explains. “I have a few photoshoots in the city, thought I might as well stop by. Wasn’t expecting to see you here. I heard you’re a small-town boy again.” She shakes her head. “Never thought I’d see the day Logan King moved back to Pine Falls.”

I lean back, the cool glass of whiskey settling in my palm. I always lived in the city, expanding the business to open studios across the country. It was a life shaped on relentless work, filled with long hours and sleepless nights, consumed by the need to succeed. And it worked. But I had always planned on moving back to Pine Falls, settle down, get married, have some kids. Not exactly in that order, but something close to it. I tried to pull back over the years, but work was all I knew. I buried myself in the business. It took me places I only ever imagined in my wildest dreams. I was grateful for it. I’m still grateful every fucking day. It’s a far cry from how I grew up.

But in the haze of building my own empire, time turned traitor. Before I realized, years had slipped through my fingers, with those dreams losing their footing on my priority list.

Then life as I knew it got turned on its head, and I realized all those things, even the business, didn’t really matter. Not in the grand scheme of things.

When everything went to shit and tragedy hit our family, I knew where I needed to be.

It was time to go home.

I opened another studio there, wondering why I hadn’t done it sooner.

Now small town Pine Falls sees a regular inflow of paparazzi for the celebrities who fly in to get inked by me.

I draw a deep breath, feeling a familiar sting in my chest, the memory of the painful past making its presence felt.

“It was time to go home.” That’s all there is to it.

A flash of sorrow crosses her eyes, and I know there’s a thousand memories playing in her head. She was there. She knows.

“I hear you. It always calls us back.” She holds up her ring finger. “I’m going home to get married.”

That surprises me. Emily marrying back home? “The Plaza couldn’t cut it for you?”

With an exaggerated eye roll and a coy grin, she replies, “Pine Falls has something The Plaza will never have.”

I raise an eyebrow, resting my elbows back on the bar as a knowing smirk curls on my lips.

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