Page 36 - It Ends with Us

toni ght .” I tel l her goodbye and watch her walk outside, then turn my

attent ion back to Allysa.
“I’m not rea lly hi ring yet ,” I say. I wave my ha nd around the room.
“I’m openi ng up a floral sho p, but it’ll be a couple of mont hs , at
lea st.” I sho uld kno w bet ter tha n to ho ld prec onc ei ved judgment s, but
she doesn’t look like she’d be satisfied with a mini mum wage job. Her
purse probably cost more tha n thi s building .

Her ey es light up. “Rea lly? I love flowers !” She spins around in a
circle and says, “Thi s place ha s a ton of potent ial. Wha t color are you
paint ing it?”
I cross my arm over my ches t and grab my el bow. Rocking back on
my heel s, I say, “I’m no t sure. I just got the key s to the building an
ho ur ago, so I ha ven’t rea lly come up with a des ign plan yet .”
“Lily, right ?”

I no d.
“I’m not going to pret end I ha ve a deg ree in des ign, but it’s my
absolute favorite thi ng . If you need any hel p, I’d do it for free. ”
I tilt my hea d. “You’d work for free?”
She no ds. “I don’t rea lly need a job, I just saw the sign and tho ught ,
‘What the he ck?’ But I do get bored somet imes . I’d be ha ppy to hel p

you with wha tev er you need . Clea ni ng , dec orating , picking out paint
colors. I’m a Pint eres t who re. ” Somet hi ng behi nd me catches her ey e
and she point s. “I could take tha t broken door and make it
magni fic ent . All thi s stuff, rea lly. There’ s a use for almost ev er ythi ng ,
you kno w.”
I look around at the room, kno wing full wel l I’m no t going to be
able to tackle thi s by mysel f. I probably can’t ev en lift ha lf thi s stuff

alone. I’ll ev ent ually ha ve to hi re someo ne any way. “I’m no t going to
let you work for free. But I could do $10 an ho ur if you’re rea lly
seri ous.”
She starts clapping , and if she weren’ t in heel s, she might ha ve
jumped up and down. “When can I start?”
I glanc e down at her whi te capris. “Wi ll tomorro w work? You’ll

probably want to sho w up in disposable clothes .”
She waves me off and drops her Herm ès bag on a dusty table nex t
to her. “Nons ens e, ” she says. “My hu sband is watchi ng the Bruins play