It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (z-lib.org).epub

Chapter Three
Six months later
“Oh.”
That’s all she says.
My mother turns and assesses the building, running a finger over the
windowsill next to her. She picks up a layer of dust and wipes it between
her fingers. “It’s . . .”
“It needs a lot of work, I know,” I interrupt. I point at the windows
behind her. “But look at the storefront. It has potential.”
She scrolls over the windows, nodding. There’s this sound she makes in
the back of her throat sometimes, where she agrees with a little hum but
her lips remain tight. It means she doesn’t actually agree. And she makes
that sound. Twice.
I drop my arms in defeat. “You think this was stupid?”
She gives her head a slight shake. “That all depends on how it turns out,
Lily,” she says. The building used to house a restaurant and it’s still full of
old tables and chairs. My mother walks over to a nearby table and pulls out
one of the chairs, taking a seat. “If things work out, and your floral shop is
successful, then people will say it was a brave, bold, smart business decision.
But if it fails and you lose your entire inheritance . . .”
“Then people will say it was a stupid business decision.”
She shrugs. “That’s just how it works. You majored in business, you
know that.” She glances around the room, slowly, as if she’s seeing it the
way it will look a month from now. “Just make sure it’s brave and bold,
Lily.”
I smile. I can accept that. “I can’t believe I bought it without asking you
first,” I say, taking a seat at the table.
“You’re an adult. It’s your right,” she says, but I can hear a trace of
disappointment. I think she feels even lonelier now that I need her less