Page 200 - It Ends with Us
P. 200

Chapter Twenty-Two








                Allysa is three  days overd ue.
                    We’v e  lived   in  our  new   apartment   for  a  week   no w.  We  succes sfully
                got  all  of  our  stuff  moved   the  day  R yle  was  off,  and   Allysa  and   I  went
                furni ture  sho pping   the  sec ond  day  we  moved   in.   We  were   practically

                set tled   by  the  thi rd  day.  We  got  our  firs t  piec e  of  mail  yes terday.  It  was
                a utility bill for es tablishi ng  ser vice,  so it fina lly feel s offic ial no w.
                    I’m  marri ed .  I  ha ve  a  grea t  husband .  An  awes ome  ho use.   My  bes t
                friend  just ha ppens  to be  my sister-in- law and  I’m about to be  an  aunt .
                    Dare  I say it . . . but can  my life  get  any  bet ter?

                    I  close  my  laptop  and   get   rea dy  to  lea ve  for  the  ev eni ng .  I’ve  been
                lea ving    ea rlier   no w   tha n   I   usually   do   bec ause   I’m   so   ex cited    to   get
                ho me    to  my  new   apartment .  Just  as  I  beg in     to  close   my  offic e   door,
                R yle  uses   hi s  key  to  open  the  front   door  to  the  store.   He  let s  the  door
                fall shu t behi nd  hi m as he  walks in  with  hi s ha nd s full.
                    There’ s  a  new spaper     tucked   und er     hi s  arm  and   two  coffees   in  hi s
                ha nd s.   Des pite   the   frenz ied    look   about   hi m   and    the   urgenc y   in   hi s

                step , he ’s smiling. “Lily,”  he  says, walking  toward me.  He  sho ves  one  of
                the  coffees   in  my  ha nd   and   then  pulls  the  new spaper  out  from  und er
                hi s  arm.  “Three    thi ng s.  One   .  .  .  did  you  see  the  paper?”  He  ha nd s  it
                to  me.   The    paper   is  folded   ins ide- out.  He  point s  at  the   article.   “You
                got it, Lily. You got it!”
                    I  try  no t  to  get   my  ho pes   up  as  I  look  down  at  the  article.   He  could

                be  talking   about  somet hi ng   totally  different   from  wha t  I’m  thi nk ing .
                Onc e  I rea d the  hea dline,  I rea lize  he’s talking  about exac tly wha t I was
                thi nk ing . “I got it?”
                    I’d  been  no tified   tha t  my  busines s  was  no mina ted   for  an  award  for
                Bes t   of   Boston.    It’s   a   peo ple’s   cho ice   awards   the   new spaper   ho lds
                annu ally,    and    Lily   Bloom’s     was   no mina ted     und er    the   “Bes t   new
                busines ses    in   Boston”    categ ory.   The    criteri a   are   for   busines ses    tha t

                ha ve   been   open    les s  tha n   two  yea rs.  I  ha d  a  suspicion   I  might   ha ve
   195   196   197   198   199   200   201   202   203   204   205