Chapter Twenty-Two
Allysa is three days overdue.
We’ve lived in our new apartment for a week now. We successfully
got all of our stuff moved the day Ryle was off, and Allysa and I went
furniture shopping the second day we moved in. We were practically
settled by the third day. We got our first piece of mail yesterday. It was
a utility bill for establishing service, so it finally feels official now.
I’m married. I have a great husband. An awesome house. My best
friend just happens to be my sister-in-law and I’m about to be an aunt.
Dare I say it... but can my life get any better?
I close my laptop and get ready to leave for the evening. I’ve been
leaving earlier now than I usually do because I’m so excited to get
home to my new apartment. Just as I begin to close my office door,
Ryle uses his key to open the front door to the store. He lets the door
fall shut behind him as he walks in with his hands full.
There’s a newspaper tucked under his arm and two coffees in his
hands. Despite the frenzied look about him and the urgency in his
step, he’s smiling. “Lily,” he says, walking toward me. He shoves one of
the coffees in my hand and then pulls the newspaper out from under
his arm. “Three things. One... did you see the paper?” He hands it
to me. The paper is folded inside-out. He points at the article. “You
got it, Lily. You got it!”
I try not to get my hopes up as I look down at the article. He could
be talking about something totally different from what I’m thinking.
Once I read the headline, I realize he’s talking about exactly what I was
thinking. “I got it?”
I’d been notified that my business was nominated for an award for
Best of Boston. It’s a people’s choice awards the newspaper holds
annually, and Lily Bloom’s was nominated under the “Best new
businesses in Boston” category. The criteria are for businesses that
have been open less than two years. I had a suspicion I might have