Colleen Hoover - It Starts with Us

It Starts with Us

Every ending has a beginning.

Colleen Hoover

#1 Sunday Times Bestselling Author of It Ends with Us

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This book is for the brave and bold Maria Blalock

Dear reader,

This book is a sequel to It Ends with Us and begins right where the first book concluded. For the best reading experience, It Starts with Us should be read second in the two-book series.

After releasing It Ends with Us, I never imagined I would one day be writing a sequel. I also never imagined that the book would be received as it has been by so many. I am so grateful to all of you who found Lilys story to be as empowering as I find my own mothers.

After It Ends with Us gained momentum on TikTok, I was inundated with requests for more Lily and Atlas. And how could I possibly deny a community that has changed my life? This novel was written as a thank-you for the tremendous support, and because of that, I wanted to deliver a much lighter experience.

Lily and Atlas deserve it.

I hope you enjoy their journey.

All my love,

Colleen Hoover

The way ass whole is misspelled in red spray paint across the back door of Bibs makes me think of my mother.

She would always insert a brief pause between syllables, making it sound like two separate words. I wanted to laugh every time I heard it, but it was hard to find the humor in it as a child when I was always the recipient of the hurled insult.

Ass whole, Darin mutters. Had to be a kid. Most adults know how to spell that word.

Youd be surprised. I touch the paint, but it doesnt stick to my fingers. Whoever did this must have done it right after we closed last night.

Do you think the misspelling was intentional? he asks. Are they suggesting youre so much of an asshole that youre a whole entire ass?

Why do you assume they were targeting me? They could have been targeting you or Brad.

Its your restaurant. Darin takes off his jacket and uses it to pry a large shard of exposed broken glass out of the window. Maybe it was a disgruntled employee.

Do I have disgruntled employees? I cant think of a single person on payroll who would do something like this. The last person Id had quit was five months ago, and she left on good terms after getting a college degree.

There was that guy who did the dishes before you hired Brad. What was his name? He was named after some kind of mineral or somethingit was super weird.

Quartz, I say. It was a nickname. I havent thought about that guy in so long. I doubt hes holding a grudge against me after all this time. I fired him right after we opened because I found out he wasnt washing the dishes unless he could actually see food on them. Glasses, plates, silverwareanything that came back to the kitchen from a table looking fairly clean, hed just put it straight on the drying rack.

If I wouldnt have fired him, he would have gotten us shut down by the health department.

You should call the police, Darin says. Well have to file a report for insurance.

Before I object, Brad appears at the back door, his shoes crunching the broken glass beneath his feet. Brad has been inside taking inventory in order to see if anything was stolen.

He scratches the stubble on his jaw. They took the croutons.

Theres a confused pause.

Did you say croutons? Darin asks.

Yeah. They took the whole thing of croutons that were prepared last night. Nothing else seems to be missing, though.

That wasnt at all what I was expecting him to say. If someone broke into a restaurant and didnt take appliances or anything else of value, they probably broke in because they were hungry. I know that kind of desperation firsthand. Im not reporting this.

Darin turns to me. Why not?

They might catch whoever did it.

Thats the point.

I grab an empty box out of the dumpster and start picking up shards of glass. I broke into a restaurant once. Stole a turkey sandwich.

Brad and Darin are both staring at me now. Were you drunk? Darin asks.

No. I was hungry. I dont want anyone arrested for stealing croutons.

Okay, but maybe food was only the beginning. What if they come back for appliances next time? Darin says. Is the security camera still broken?

Hes been on me to get that repaired for months now. Ive been busy.

Darin takes the box of glass from me and starts to pick up the remaining pieces. You should go work on that before they come back. Heck, they might even try to hit up Corrigans tonight since Bibs was such an easy target.

Corrigans has working security. And I doubt whoever it was will vandalize my new restaurant. It was a matter of convenience, not a targeted break-in.

You hope, Darin says.

I open my mouth to respond, but Im interrupted by an incoming text message. I dont think Ive ever reached for my phone faster. When I see the text isnt from Lily, I deflate a little.

I ran into her this morning while I was running errands. It was the first time weve seen each other in a year and a half, but she was late for work and I had just received the text from Darin informing me we had a break-in. We parted somewhat awkwardly on the promise that she would text me once she got to work.

Its been an hour and a half since then, and I still havent heard from her. An hour and a half is nothing, but I cant ignore the nagging in my chest thats trying to convince me shes having doubts about everything that was said between us in that five-minute exchange on the sidewalk.

Im definitely not having doubts about what I said. I might have gotten caught up in the momentin seeing how happy she looked and finding out shes no longer married. But I meant every word I said to her.

Im ready for this. More than ready.

I pull up her contact info in my phone. Ive wanted to text her so many times over the last year and a half, but the last time I spoke to her, I left the ball in her court. She had so much going on, I didnt want to complicate her life even more.

Shes single now, though, and she made it sound like she was finally ready to give whatever could be between us a chance. However, shes had an hour and a half to think about our conversation, and an hour and a half is plenty of time to form regrets. Every minute that passes without a text is going to feel like a whole damn day.

Shes still listed as Lily Kincaid in my phone, so I edit her contact info and change her last name back to Bloom.

I feel Darin hovering, looking over my shoulder at my phone screen. Is that our Lily?

Brad perks up. Hes texting Lily?

Our Lily? I ask, confused. You guys met her once.

Is she still married? Darin asks.

I shake my head.

Good for her, he says. She was pregnant, right? What did she end up having? A boy or a girl?

I dont want to discuss Lily because theres nothing to discuss yet. I dont want to make it more than what it might be. A girl, and thats the last question Im answering. I focus on Brad. Theo coming in today?