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