“What did he do?” My heart is in my throat.

“He hugged me,” she says, her voice tinted with a drop of laughter.

My jaw drops. “He hugged you? You caught him with your daughter red-handed and he hugged you?”

She nods. “He did. And it was a knowing hug, too. It was like he carried this genuine sorrow for me, and I felt that in his hug. Like he was encouraging me, or comforting me. And then he just… walked away. I never even got the chance to yell at him for being in my house with you unsupervised. Maybe that was his plan—it could have been a manipulation tactic, I don’t know.”

I shake my head. “It wasn’t a tactic.” Considerate Atlas.

“I knew you were seeing him. And I knew you were hiding him from your father rather than me, so I didn’t take it personally. I never interfered because I liked that you had someone, Lily.” She gestures toward the house behind us. “And now look. You have him forever.”

That story makes me squeeze Emerson a little tighter.

“It makes me happy to know there’s a man in your life that gives meaningful hugs like that,” my mother says.

“He gives more than great hugs,” I deadpan.

My mother scoffs. “Lily!” She stands up, shaking her head. “I’m going home now.”

I’m laughing to myself as she leaves. Then I use my free hand to text Atlas.

I love you so much, you idiot.

Chapter Thirty-Seven Atlas

“Are you seriously about to do this?” Theo asks.

I’m standing in front of a mirror, adjusting my tie. Theo is sitting on the couch, attempting to convince me to let him read my vows before the wedding. “I’m not reading them to you.”

“You’re going to embarrass yourself,” he says.

“I’m not. They’re good.”

“Atlas. Come on. I’m trying to help you. For all I know, you probably end them with something like, It is my wish for you to be my fish.”

I laugh. I don’t know how he still comes up with these lines after two years of this. “Do you practice your insults when you lie awake at night?”

“No, they come naturally.”

Someone knocks on the door and opens it a crack. “Five minutes.”

I give myself one more glance in the mirror before turning to Theo. “Where’s Josh? I need to make sure he’s ready.”

“I’m not supposed to tell you.”

I tilt my head. “Where is he, Theo?”

“Last time I saw him, he was in the gazebo with his tongue down some girl’s throat. He’s gonna make you a grandad soon.”

“I’m his brother. I’d be an uncle, not a grandad.” I look out the window, but the gazebo is empty. “Go find him, please.”

Josh and I are a lot alike, but he’s a little bit more confident with girls than I was at that age. He just turned fifteen, and so far, this is my least-favorite age. I’m sure when he’s old enough to drive next year, it’s going to age me an entire decade.