Page 105 - It Ends with Us

He puts hi s ha nd s on my sho ulders and takes a step back to look at

me. “You ha ven’t cha ng ed at all.”
I cover my mouth with my hand , still in sho ck, and give hi m the
onc e- over. His face looks the same, but he’s no long er the scrawny
teena ger I remember . “I can’t say the same for you.”
He looks down at hi msel f and laughs . “Yea h, ” he says. “Eight yea rs
in the military will do tha t to ya.”

We’re both in sho ck, so no thi ng is said right after tha t. We just
keep sha king our hea ds in disbel ief . He laughs and the n I laugh.
Fina lly, he rel ea ses my sho ulders and folds hi s arms over hi s ches t.
“Wha t bring s you to Boston?” he asks.
He says it so casually, and I’m tha nk ful for tha t. Maybe he does n’t
remember our conv ers ation all tho se yea rs ago about Boston, whi ch
would save me a lot of em barra ssment .

“I live here, ” I say, forcing my ans wer to sound as casual as hi s
ques tion. “I own a flower sho p over on Park Plaza.”
He smiles kno wing ly, like it does n’t at all surprise hi m. I glanc e
toward the door, kno wing I should get back out there. He notices and
then takes ano ther step back. He ho lds my gaze for a moment and it
get s rea lly quiet. Way too quiet . There’ s so much to say but nei ther of

us ev en kno ws where to start. The smile lea ves hi s ey es for a moment
and the n he motions toward the door. “You sho uld probably get back
to your company,” he says. “I’ll look you up somet ime. You said Park
Plaza, right ?”
I no d.
He no ds.
The door swing s open and a woman walks in ho lding a toddler.

She moves bet ween us, whi ch puts ev en more distanc e bet ween us. I
take a step toward the door, but he rem ains in the same spot. Bef ore I
walk out, I turn back to hi m and smile. “It was rea lly good to see you,
Atlas.”
He smiles a little, but it does n’t touch hi s ey es . “Yea h. You too, Lily.”

• • •

I’m mostly quiet for the res t of the mea l. I’m no t sure R yle or my

mother ev en no tice, tho ugh, bec ause she’s ha ving no issue firi ng