Page 279 - It Ends with Us

for both of us to sit on the bed . After I ha nd her to hi m, I lay my hea d

on hi s sho ulder and we just can’t stop staring at her.
“Lily,” he whi spers . “Naked truth?”
I no d.
“She’s so much pret tier tha n Marsha ll and Allysa’s baby.”
I laugh and el bow hi m.
“I’m kidding ,” he whi spers .

I kno w ex actly wha t he mea ns, tho ugh. R ylee is a gorgeo us baby,
but no one will ev er ho ld a cand le to our own daught er.
“Wha t sho uld we na me her?” he asks. We didn’t ha ve the typical
rel ations hi p during thi s preg na nc y, so the baby’s na me hasn’t been
somet hi ng we’v e discussed yet .
“I’d like to na me her after your sister,” I say, glanc ing at him. “Or
maybe your brother?”

I’m no t sure wha t he thi nk s of tha t. I pers ona lly thi nk na ming our
daught er after hi s brother could be somew ha t hea ling for hi m, but he
may no t see it tha t way.
He glanc es over at me, no t ex pec ting tha t ans wer. “Emers on?” he
says. “Tha t’s kind of cute for a girl na me. We could call her Emma. Or
Emmy.” He smiles proudly and looks down at her. “It’s per fec t,

actually.” He lea ns down and kisses Emers on on her forehea d.
After a whi le, I pull away from hi s sho ulder so I can watch hi m ho ld
her. It’s a bea utiful thi ng , see ing hi m int era ct with her like thi s. I can
alrea dy see ho w much love he ha s for her just from the little time he’s
kno wn her. I can see tha t he would do any thi ng to protec t her.
Any thi ng in the world.
It isn’t unt il thi s moment tha t I fina lly make a dec ision about hi m.

About us.
About wha t’s bes t for our family.
R yle is amazing in so many ways. He’s compassiona te. He’s caring .
He’s smart. He’s cha rismatic. He’s driven.
My father was some of thes e thi ng s, too. He wasn’t ver y
compassiona te toward others , but there were times we spent toget her

tha t I knew he loved me. He was smart. He was cha rismatic. He was
driven. But I ha ted hi m so much more tha n I loved hi m. I was blind ed
to all the bes t thi ng s about hi m tha nk s to all the glimpses I got of hi m