In the Unlikely Event

by L.J. Shen

Approaching footsteps clack on the floor behind me. Something heavy falls on my shoulders. A rich wool coat, still warm from body heat. It smells masculine and expensive: clean earth, pine, smoke, and the type of cologne that’s too pricey for mass retail. A shadow looms by my side. He puts a glass of whiskey on the wide marble bannister, his elbow next to mine, almost touching, but not quite. I twist my head, expecting to see Ryner, and come face to face with…Mal. My Mal. It is him after all. Malachy Doherty, with the lilac eyes. With the hypnotic smile. With the contract I signed on the napkin. With the piece of my heart he never gave back. Only he is not smiling anymore. It doesn’t look like he’s happy to see me. He said if we ever met again, he’d marry me, no matter what. But that was almost a decade ago—under the influence of alcohol and lust and youth. Of possibility. Mal opens his mouth. “Hello, darlin’.”