It Should Have Been Us Summary, Characters and Themes

It Should Have Been Us by Anna B. Doe is a heartfelt contemporary romance set in the small Texas town of Bluebonnet Creek. The novel explores themes of love, regret, family ties, and the struggle between personal dreams and responsibilities.

It follows Miguel Fernandez, a rising NFL star, who returns to his hometown for the wedding of his childhood best friend, Emmett. This visit forces him to confront his painful past, especially the unresolved relationship with his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Williams. Both Miguel and Rebecca grapple with what they left behind, the paths their lives have taken, and the question of whether they can find their way back to each other.

Summary

Miguel Fernandez, freshly signed as a rookie with the Austin Lonestars, returns to Bluebonnet Creek, Texas, for the first time in years to attend his childhood best friend Emmett’s wedding. The return is fraught with tension—Miguel left town after a bitter fallout with his father over his football dreams.

His departure left scars not just in his family but also in his relationship with Rebecca Williams, his high school sweetheart who still lives in town. Rebecca has stayed behind, running a cozy café/bookstore while taking care of her family’s needs.

She’s a grounded, strong woman, shaped by sacrifice and duty. Miguel’s unexpected arrival unsettles her carefully managed world.

They share an intense, awkward encounter at a local bar, stirring up emotions neither has fully processed. Their reunion is complicated by their roles in the wedding—Miguel as best man, Rebecca as maid of honor—which means they must work closely despite the emotional distance between them.

As wedding preparations ramp up, Miguel and Rebecca find themselves thrown together repeatedly, and the unresolved tension between them surfaces in moments of unintentional intimacy and emotional vulnerability.

The town’s gossip amplifies their complicated history, adding pressure and awkwardness. Miguel begins to understand the depth of Rebecca’s ties to Bluebonnet Creek, especially her sense of responsibility to her family, which once drove a wedge between them.

Rebecca struggles with her conflicting feelings—her enduring love for Miguel clashes with her fear of repeating past mistakes. She finds support in her close friends, including Savannah and Nico, the latter of whom harbors protective and romantic feelings for her, complicating matters further.

Miguel, on his part, wrestles with regret over leaving and the emptiness of his success without Rebecca by his side. Their interactions are charged with tension, honesty, and moments of painful reflection.

Family dynamics add layers of complexity: Miguel’s strained relationship with his father and brother is a backdrop to his internal conflict. Rebecca’s emotionally distant family weighs heavily on her decisions.

Both Miguel and Rebecca confront their past through a series of flashbacks revealing their once deep connection, their breakup rooted in diverging life paths, and the sacrifices Rebecca made for her family.

As the wedding day approaches, emotions come to a head. Miguel and Rebecca’s mutual pain, frustration, and lingering affection lead to heated conversations and vulnerable confessions.

They share intimate moments that rekindle old flames, yet the path forward remains uncertain. Miguel’s heartfelt best man speech at the wedding underscores his feelings, but Rebecca is still hesitant, guarded by fear and duty.

Following the wedding, Miguel prepares to leave again, offering Rebecca a choice—come with him or say goodbye for good. This moment forces Rebecca to confront what she truly wants.

In a tearful, decisive moment, she chooses to take a chance on love and stops Miguel, signaling her readiness to commit and face the future together.

Their reunion is passionate and honest, marked by a new maturity and willingness to communicate. They discuss the practicalities of balancing their careers and love, with plans to manage a long-distance relationship as Miguel returns to Austin and Rebecca expands her café remotely.

The story concludes on a hopeful note of new beginnings, resilience, and the power of second chances. The epilogue shows Miguel and Rebecca settling into a life that honors both their dreams and their shared commitment.

They are surrounded by the support of friends and family, symbolizing healing and growth.

Characters

Miguel Fernandez

Miguel is the novel’s male protagonist, an NFL rookie who has returned to his small hometown after several years away. His character is layered with internal conflict and emotional complexity.

On the surface, Miguel is successful and confident, having made it into professional football despite family opposition, particularly from his father. However, beneath this exterior lies a man grappling with unresolved feelings for Rebecca, his childhood love and ex-girlfriend.

His return to Bluebonnet Creek forces him to confront the emotional scars of his past—his estranged relationship with his parents, especially the tension with his father, and the heartbreak of leaving Rebecca behind. Miguel’s journey is one of reconciliation, not only with his family but with his own vulnerabilities and the possibility of a future with Rebecca.

His protective instincts emerge especially in his interactions with Rebecca, although they are sometimes complicated by jealousy and misunderstandings involving Nico, the local cop. Ultimately, Miguel grows from someone running from his past into a man willing to face difficult truths and fight for the love he almost lost.

Rebecca Williams

Rebecca is a deeply responsible, grounded woman whose life is shaped by family obligations and sacrifices. After Miguel’s departure, she stayed behind to take care of her family and to manage her own café/bookstore, which symbolizes her independence yet also her entrapment by duty.

Her character embodies resilience and quiet strength, but she also carries a heavy burden of regret and unfulfilled dreams. Throughout the story, Rebecca’s internal struggle is evident—she yearns for the love she lost with Miguel but is fearful of repeating past mistakes and jeopardizing the stability she’s built.

Her emotional walls are high, and while she tries to maintain composure, Miguel’s return destabilizes her carefully constructed world. The presence of supportive friends like Savannah and the protective Nico highlights the community’s role in her life, but Rebecca’s heart remains tethered to Miguel.

Her arc is about reclaiming agency over her choices, learning to balance love and responsibility, and ultimately daring to take a leap of faith for her own happiness.

Emmett

Emmett serves as a pivotal secondary character who embodies the theme of friendship and loyalty. As Miguel’s childhood best friend and the groom, Emmett’s role brings Miguel and Rebecca back into close proximity, creating a pressure cooker of emotions.

Emmett’s character is nuanced—he is supportive yet aware of the emotional undercurrents between Miguel and Rebecca. His confrontation with Miguel about Rebecca suggests he is protective of both his friends but also wary of potential heartbreak.

Emmett’s wedding is a central event around which much of the story’s tension and resolution revolve, making him a symbolic anchor for the past and future connections between the characters.

Nico

Nico represents a stabilizing yet complicated presence in Rebecca’s life. As a local cop and one of Rebecca’s close friends, he clearly harbors feelings for her, which introduces a subtle love triangle dynamic.

Nico’s protectiveness reveals his genuine care and concern, but also sparks jealousy and tension with Miguel. His decision to step back gracefully when recognizing Rebecca’s unresolved feelings for Miguel shows maturity and respect for her emotional journey.

Nico’s character underscores themes of friendship, unrequited love, and the importance of putting others’ happiness before personal desires.

Savannah

Friends like Savannah offer Rebecca emotional support and perspective, encouraging her to confront her feelings honestly. They act as a sounding board and provide contrast to the heavier family and romantic tensions.

Their presence highlights the significance of friendship and community as a source of strength and clarity in times of emotional upheaval.

Themes

The Enduring Burden of Unfulfilled Potential and Emotional Stagnation in Small-Town Life

One of the most themes permeating the novel is how small-town life can both nurture and imprison individuals through a suffocating web of obligation, unspoken regrets, and deferred dreams. Rebecca’s life epitomizes this tension: she embodies resilience shaped by sacrifice, having prioritized family and community over personal aspirations.

Her café/bookstore and caregiving roles symbolize the physical and emotional anchors that bind her to Bluebonnet Creek, reflecting the bittersweet reality of how ambition can be sacrificed for stability and responsibility. 

Miguel’s return as a successful NFL player contrasts sharply with Rebecca’s rootedness, highlighting the diverging paths shaped by circumstance and choice.

Yet, both characters grapple with emotional stagnation: Miguel’s career success cannot erase the pain of abandonment and fractured relationships, while Rebecca’s steadfastness masks unresolved heartbreak and longing. 

This tension between mobility and immobility, progress and paralysis, underscores the novel’s exploration of how personal growth can be hindered by environmental and emotional inertia.

It creates a nuanced commentary on the cost of loyalty and the price of survival in tightly knit communities.

Personal Identity, Familial Expectations, and Rebellion

Miguel’s journey vividly illustrates the intricate dance between self-identity and the heavy expectations imposed by family and culture. 

His estrangement from his father over his pursuit of an NFL career speaks to the generational and cultural clashes common in many familial relationships, especially within communities that prize tradition and stability over unconventional dreams.

Miguel’s internal conflict—balancing the pride of achievement against the scars of rejection—reveals the complexity of forging an authentic self while seeking parental approval. 

Similarly, Rebecca’s steadfast commitment to her family’s needs reflects a form of silent rebellion: by choosing to stay and shoulder burdens rather than pursue personal dreams, she simultaneously fulfills and defies expectations.

She embodies the paradox of duty as both a prison and a source of identity. The novel thus probes how individuals navigate the treacherous terrain between honoring familial legacies and asserting autonomy.

These struggles are portrayed not as simple oppositions but as layered, ongoing negotiations that shape and reshape one’s sense of self over time.

Love, Regret, and the Possibility of Emotional Redemption

At the heart of the narrative lies a profound meditation on the intricacies of love that has been tested by time, distance, and miscommunication. The theme explores how regret can coexist with enduring affection.

Miguel and Rebecca’s fractured relationship encapsulates how love is not merely a static feeling but a complex interplay of past hurts, unspoken truths, and hopeful yearning. Their interactions are laden with tension born from unresolved emotional wounds, yet also moments of vulnerability and tentative reconnection.

The narrative refuses simplistic resolutions, instead portraying the slow, often painful process of emotional redemption, where forgiveness must be earned and fears confronted. 

The theme also interrogates the limits of second chances, questioning what it truly takes to rebuild trust and whether love alone is enough to overcome deeply entrenched pain.

This rich exploration of love’s resilience and fragility challenges the reader to consider the nuances of reconciliation. It makes for a poignant reflection on human connection and the courage required to choose hope amid uncertainty.

Social Ecosystem of Small Communities as Both Sanctuary and Source of Scrutiny

The novel also delves into how tightly woven social networks in small towns can act as double-edged swords, providing support while simultaneously amplifying personal struggles through gossip, judgment, and collective memory.

Bluebonnet Creek’s inhabitants serve as more than just background; their eyes and voices create a pressure cooker environment where personal histories are public knowledge and social roles are rigidly enforced. 

This environment intensifies the protagonists’ conflicts, as community expectations and whispers about Miguel and Rebecca’s past fuel anxiety and complicate their attempts to move forward.

The narrative exposes the isolating effect of such scrutiny, where individual desires must constantly be negotiated against collective perceptions, and mistakes are magnified in the court of public opinion. 

Yet, paradoxically, the community’s eventual acceptance of the reunited couple signals the potential for collective healing and the importance of belonging.

This theme paints a complex portrait of community life as simultaneously nurturing and suffocating. It reveals how social dynamics can both hinder and facilitate personal transformation.

Journey Toward Emotional Maturity and Authentic Communication as Foundations for Reconciliation

Finally, the story underscores the essential role of emotional maturity and honest communication in resolving long-standing conflicts and building sustainable relationships. Both Miguel and Rebecca undergo significant personal growth as they confront their fears, vulnerabilities, and missteps.

Their journey from avoidance, blame, and guarded interactions toward moments of raw honesty and openness illustrates how true reconciliation requires more than passion—it demands self-awareness, empathy, and the willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.

The novel depicts this maturation as neither linear nor easy but as a gradual unfolding of trust and understanding, shaped by moments of confrontation, forgiveness, and compromise. This thematic thread emphasizes that healing fractured relationships is an active process involving mutual effort and courage.

It offers a nuanced exploration of love’s evolution from youthful idealism to adult commitment grounded in reality and acceptance.