Page 59 of Had To Be You

“Okay, enough about that,” Kate interrupts, leaning toward me and lowering her voice to a stage whisper. “We want to hear the naughty stuff. Is he as huge as he looked in his ill-fitted suit pants?”

A laugh escapes me as I remember the photo that circulated in our wedding group chat. If they only knew.

Jules shakes her head beside us, holding up one hand like a stop sign. “Okay, nope. This is where I draw the line. So gross. I can’t take it.”

Taking the skirt of her dress in her hands, she turns on her heels, moving away from us towards the racks of bridal gowns on display in the showroom.

“So?” Kate asks as soon as Jules is out of earshot. She can barely contain herself.

“Let’s just say there are zero complaints from me,” I tease, biting my smile back.

Kate dramatically presses the back of her hand to her forehead, miming a fainting action. “You have all the luck. Both of you. What did the two of you do in your past lives to score such insanely attractive, successful men? I could scour every dating app, restaurant and bar and come up empty-handed. Actually, I think I literally have scoured every dating app, restaurant and bar. And… nothing.”

Exchanging a look, Olivia and I can’t help but laugh. Kate is right. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could be this happy.

“You’ll find him, Kate. He’s out there. You know what they say: you’ll find him when you least expect it, and most likely you’ll be in sweatpants with no makeup, dirty hair and a fleck of parsley in your teeth.”

Kate tilts her head to the side, hands on her hips, and shakes her head. “I sure hope only the first part of that sentence comes true.”

When the seamstress appears, Jules decides it’s safe to return. A few tucks and pins later, each of our dresses fit perfectly, and we snap a few photos. After getting changed, our gowns are zippered into garment bags. Olivia will bring them to the Bennett estate today for safekeeping.

After saying my goodbyes to the girls, I decide to walk back to Bloom, enjoying the bright, beautiful day. The sun’s rays cast a golden glow upon the streets of Reed Point and I smile, taking it all in.

There’s an extra pep in my step and a smile on my face I haven’t been able to erase in days as I round the corner to work. I’m walking on sunshine. I’m falling in love. Life is good.

* * *

A few hours later, I order an Uber to drop me off at the front entrance of Brooks, Gamble and Bennett. It’s been two days since we returned from Manhattan, and I decided this morning I would surprise Liam at his office on his lunch break. Wearing fitted jeans and a pair of heels I know drive him wild, I cross the foyer to the elevators, hitting the button to bring me to Liam’s floor.

Checking my appearance in the mirrored walls of the elevator, I re-apply my lip gloss and run my fingers through the waves I curled into my hair this morning. I check the time on my phone and am happy when it shows one o’clock, the time Liam typically takes his lunch break. The man goes about his day like clockwork: gym at six, green smoothie at eight, lunch at one. It makes it easy for me to always know where he is. My little control freak. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Once I’ve exited the elevator, I cross the hallway to the etched glass doors of his office. The door swings open and I’m greeted by Silvia, Liam’s assistant, who smiles a hello and lets me know she’s headed out for lunch.

I practically dance through the office door, excited to surprise Liam. Then my whole world tumbles down around me.

The man standing in Liam’s office is taller than I remember him. His shoulders seem broader, and his wavy blond hair longer than it used to be. His Henley stretches tight over his bulging biceps.

I blink, trying to convince myself it can’t be him. There’s no way.

He makes eye contact, and then smirks that smug smile that has been etched in my mind for all these years, and my worst fear is confirmed. My mouth goes dry and I feel like I’m going to be sick. Like run-to-the-washroom-immediately sick. My body starts to tremble.

“Ellie. Hi,” Liam says, acknowledging my presence, stopping his conversation mid-sentence when he sees me. It’s just me, Liam and the man I’m currently married to standing in this way-too-small waiting room that feels like it’s closing in around me. “Let me introduce you to Mason Ford, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.”

Mason.

My once-upon-a-time Mason.

The room seems to spin as I try to understand what is happening. The man I married six years ago, my biggest mistake, is standing in front of me in my boyfriend’s office.

How is this happening?

What is he doing here?

It feels like a cruel joke. I can see by the look in his eyes that Mason knows exactly who I am. He hasn’t forgotten me. Despite that, his face holds almost no emotion other than the slightest glimmer of confusion.

I feel a chill go up my spine, and my hands turn ice cold. I know I should say something, but I am unable to form even a single sentence.

Liam doesn’t flinch, he doesn’t bat an eye. Like the ace lawyer he is, he holds his poker face, not reacting to my strange behaviour. The coffee cup I’m holding falls from my hand to the tile floor at my feet and I back away shakily, then turn and burst through the doors to the elevator.

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