It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Marshall glances over at the car that Ryle’s sitting in, and then back to me.
“Sorry he’s not getting out. This is all still a little weird for him. Her moving
in with you.”
When Marshall says “her,” he doesn’t mean Lily. He’s looking at
Emerson. I nod in understanding, because I do understand. “It’s fine. I can’t
imagine this is easy for him.”
Marshall ruffles Emmy’s hair and then says, “I’ll get out of here so you
guys can finish up. It was good finally meeting you.”
“You too,” I say. And I mean that. Marshall seems like someone I could
be friends with if the circumstances were different.
He turns to head back to Ryle’s car, but he pauses and faces me again
before he gets very far. “Thank you,” he says. “Lily means a lot to my wife,
so… yeah. Thanks for making Lily happy. She deserves it.” As soon as
Marshall says that, he shakes his head and holds up his hands, taking a step
back. “I’ll go now before it gets too awkward.” He makes a beeline for
Ryle’s car, but I kind of wish he wouldn’t have run off so fast. I would have
thanked him, too. I know his support has meant a lot to Lily.
Marshall shuts the passenger door, and Ryle puts his car in drive and
heads out.
I glance at Emmy, who is now chewing on my sunglasses. “You want to
go say hi to Mommy?” I start to walk in the direction of the building, but I
pause when I see Lily standing in the doorway to the stairwell.
As soon as she sees me, she spins around and wipes quickly at her eyes.
I’m not sure why she’s crying, but I walk a little bit slower so she can erase
the tears before she greets her daughter. Sure enough, several seconds later,
she spins around with a big grin and takes Emmy from me.
“Did you have fun with your daddy today?” she asks, right before she
smothers Emmy with several kisses.
When she looks at me, I shoot her a curious look, wondering why she was
crying. She gestures to the parking lot, where Ryle’s car was moments
before.
“That was a big thing,” she says. “I mean, I know Marshall was with him,
but the fact that he felt okay enough to leave her with you…” She’s starting
to tear up again, which makes her sigh and roll her eyes at her own reaction.
“It feels good knowing the men in her life can at least pretend to get along for
her sake.”