It Ends with Us

regroup. After a few minutes, I lean over to Ryle. “I need to run to the
restroom.”
He stands up to let me out and my eyes are scanning the face of every
waiter as I make my way across the room. I push through the door to the
hallway that leads to the restrooms. As soon as I’m alone, my back meets
the wall of the hallway. I lean forward and release a huge breath. I decide
to take a moment and regain my composure before heading back out
there. I bring my hands up to my forehead and close my eyes.
For nine years I’ve wondered what happened to him. Years.
“Lily?”
I glance up and suck in a breath. He’s standing at the end of the
hallway like a ghost straight out of the past. My eyes travel to his feet to
make sure he’s not suspended in the air.
He isn’t. He’s real, and he’s standing right in front of me.
I stay pressed against the wall, not sure what to say to him. “Atlas?”
As soon as I say his name, he blows out a quick breath of relief and then
takes three huge steps forward. I catch myself doing the same. We meet in
the middle and throw our arms around each other. “Holy shit,” he says,
holding me in a tight embrace.
I nod. “Yeah. Holy shit.”
He puts his hands on my shoulders and takes a step back to look at me.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
I cover my mouth with my hand, still in shock, and give him the once-
over. His face looks the same, but he’s no longer the scrawny teenager I
remember. “I can’t say the same for you.”
He looks down at himself and laughs. “Yeah,” he says. “Eight years in
the military will do that to ya.”
We’re both in shock, so nothing is said right after that. We just keep
shaking our heads in disbelief. He laughs and then I laugh. Finally, he
releases my shoulders and folds his arms over his chest. “What brings you
to Boston?” he asks.

---

He says it so casually, and I’m thankful for that. Maybe he doesn’t
remember our conversation all those years ago about Boston, which would
save me a lot of embarrassment.
“I live here,” I say, forcing my answer to sound as casual as his question.
“I own a flower shop over on Park Plaza.”
He smiles knowingly, like it doesn’t at all surprise him. I glance toward
the door, knowing I should get back out there. He notices and then takes
another step back. He holds my gaze for a moment and it gets really quiet.
Way too quiet. There’s so much to say but neither of us even knows where
to start. The smile leaves his eyes for a moment and then he motions
toward the door. “You should probably get back to your company,” he
says. “I’ll look you up sometime. You said Park Plaza, right?”
I nod.
He nods.
The door swings open and a woman walks in holding a toddler. She
moves between us, which puts even more distance between us. I take a step
toward the door, but he remains in the same spot. Before I walk out, I turn
back to him and smile. “It was really good to see you, Atlas.”
He smiles a little, but it doesn’t touch his eyes. “Yeah. You too, Lily.”
• • •
I’m mostly quiet for the rest of the meal. I’m not sure Ryle or my mother
even notice, though, because she’s having no issue firing question after
question at him. He takes it like a champ. He’s very charming with my
mother in all the right ways.
Unexpectedly running into Atlas tonight put such a wrinkle in my
emotions, but by the end of dinner, Ryle has smoothed them back out
again.
My mother takes her napkin and wipes her mouth, then points at me.
“New favorite restaurant,” she says. “Incredible.”
Ryle nods. “I agree. I need to bring Allysa here. She loves trying new
restaurants.”
The food really is good, but the last thing I need is for either of these
two to want to come back here. “It was okay,” I say.
He pays for our meals, of course, and then insists we walk my mother to
her car. I can already tell she’ll be calling me about him tonight, simply by

---

the prideful look on her face.
Once she’s gone, Ryle walks me to my car.
“I requested an Uber so you wouldn’t have to go out of your way to take
me home. We have approximately . . .” He looks down at his phone. “One
and a half minutes to make out.”
I laugh. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck first, and
then my cheek. “I would invite myself over, but I have an early surgery
tomorrow and I’m sure my patient would appreciate it if I didn’t spend
the majority of the night inside you.”
I kiss him back, both disappointed and relieved he’s not coming over. “I
have a grand opening in a few days. I should probably sleep, too.”
“When’s your next day off?” he says.
“Never. When’s yours?”
“Never.”
I shake my head. “We’re doomed. There’s just too much drive and
success between the two of us.”
“That means the honeymoon phase will last until we’re eighty,” he says.
“I’ll come to your grand opening Friday and then the four of us will go out
and celebrate.” A car pulls up beside us and he wraps his hand in my hair
and kisses me goodbye. “Your mother is wonderful, by the way. Thank you
for letting me come to dinner.”
He backs away and climbs inside the car. I watch as it pulls out of the
parking lot.
I have a really good feeling about that man.
I smile and turn toward my car, but throw a hand up to my chest and
gasp when I see him.
Atlas is standing at the rear of my car.
“Sorry. Wasn’t trying to scare you.”
I blow out a breath. “Well, you did.” I lean against the car and Atlas
stays where he is, three feet away from me. He looks out at the street. “So?
Who’s the lucky guy?”
“He’s . . .” My voice falters. This is all so weird. My chest is still
constricted and my stomach is flipping, and I can’t tell if it’s leftover
nerves from kissing Ryle or if it’s the presence of Atlas. “His name is Ryle.
We met about a year ago.”
I instantly regret saying we met that long ago. It makes it sound like
Ryle and I have been dating that long and we aren’t even officially dating.

---

“What about you? Married? Have a girlfriend?”
I’m not sure if I’m asking to extend the conversation he started, or if
I’m genuinely curious.
“I do, actually. Her name is Cassie. We’ve been together almost a year
now.”
Heartburn. I think I have heartburn. A year? I place my hand on my
chest and nod. “That’s good. You seem happy.”
Does he seem happy? I have no idea.
“Yeah. Well . . . I’m really glad I got to see you, Lily.” He turns around
to walk away, but then spins and faces me again, his hands shoved in his
back pockets. “I will say . . . I kind of wish this could have happened a year
ago.”
I wince at his words, trying not to let them penetrate. He turns and
walks back toward the restaurant.
I fumble with my keys and hit the button to unlock the car. I slide in
and pull the door shut, gripping the steering wheel. For whatever reason,
a huge tear falls down my cheek. A huge, pathetic, what-the-hell-is-this-
wetness tear. I swipe at it and push the button to start my car.
I didn’t expect to feel this much hurt after seeing him.
But it’s good. This happened for a reason. My heart needed closure so I
can give it to Ryle, but maybe I couldn’t do that until this happened.
This is good.
Yes, I’m crying.
But it’ll feel better. This is just human nature, healing an old wound to
prepare for a fresh new layer.
That’s all.

---