Page 15 of Back to December
Henry once told her that every love story is a kind of folklore. Maybe this is just ours—half memory, half myth, waiting for its next verse.
I stare until the image blurs, then I squeeze my eyes shut to lubricate them again. Ella getting engaged is a huge deal. It might as well be a Batman signal to Laila. So, it’s not a matter ofifLaila is coming back to Enchanted Hollow.
It’s a matter of when.
Fall in Enchanted Hollow always churns up all sorts of ghosts where she’s concerned, but we’ve never faced them. She’s only here for one season, one weekend at a time.
I guess our time is up now, and we get to face them. Everyone else grew up, moved on. We just hit pause on the story and never found the nerve to press play again. Maybe this is how it always starts in Enchanted Hollow—a whisper, a ghost, a breadcrumb leading someone home.
five
LAILA
Instinctively,my hand moves to finger the ring that frequents my left ring finger way more often than it should. It’s not there, but spinning it is a pure habit at this point. I grab my phone out of my pocket and quietly film what’s playing out in front of me, instead. The moment feels too important not to document.
The missing rings started as props, but ended up as souvenirs from a white lie last December, which earned us a honeymoon suite in a snowstorm. Somewhere between now and then, they became a habit.
Maybe even a wish.
The metal always warmed under my thumb, like it remembered something I didn’t.
I’ve never been married, outside of pretending for a weekend. Honestly, I never even entertained the idea until roughly ten months ago. Anytime someone brought it up, I actually insisted—with a lot of enthusiasm—that I didn’t believe in marriage.
But that’s always been a lie.
And standing here in this bridal shop with Ella and Luke? It’s bringing every single memory from that weekend back with a force I can’t reckon with. I actually feel like I’m drowning in it.
I wasn’t expecting to feel this way.
I film weddings and content like this all the time, but it’s not my sister and the man who’s loved her most of his life. Obviously, they’re finally admitting it to themselves. We’re probably the only ones who realize this isn’t what it looks like, but I’m well-versed in how it feels to get caught up in a moment.
And how much you’d like to test it out.
I’m also well-versed in the aftermath, and Ella is inwayover her head.
Luke fastens a bracelet on Ella’s arm and then presses a kiss to her wrist, murmuring something to her. The emotion of the moment almost brings me to my knees.
Henry would call this modern folklore—love caught on camera, part legend, part proof.
I’m whisked back to a moment on a sleigh ride—a very similar moment—and I stop filming. This feels intrusive. I never used to believe in soulmates until recently, but I can feel within my bones that they’re it.
I have questions for her later about her pen pal and what this new development means for that relationship. She sent letters through the enchanted mail system back when we were in high school. Supposedly, they’re delivered directly to your soulmate. It’s brought a lot of people together.
But if Luke isn’t on the other end of those letters, I’ll quit every social media account I’ve got right now. They’re gone for each other.
Soulmates.
Poor Holly had no choice but to assume they were together if this is how they look all the time. They might as well wear bright neon signs that scream, “I’m madly in love with this person”.
There’s nothing else I can do here, so I head to the place my heart has been trying to pull me this entire time. I quietly whisper my goodbyes to Holly and Susie, the owner of Moonlight and Lace, and head out.
It’s a lovely shop, with light, shimmery walls and a moody floral focus wall at the back. It’s a perfect juxtaposition of light and dark wrapped in elegance. I’d actually love to find out why she started it, or what inspired her.
This is all very messed up.
I’m escaping two people madly in love with each other to chase the way I feel when I’m with Holden. Yet we only see each other once a year—well, until recently.
Like I said. We changed the rules.
