Page 151 of The Boyfriend Goal

My heart stutters as I read the first line.

Top Five Things For You To Do

1. Pick out your hottest librarian clothes.

2. Pack your bags.

3. Go to the airport.

4. Find a hockey player to collect your suitcase to take home.

5. Start your fully funded new job at the library near your home.

I gasp, shuddering out a shocked breath. My eyes widen, and I read it again and again.

“What’s going on? Did you get a coupon for deals on shoes?” The question comes from Penelope.

“Better. It’s from Wes. I got a job in San Francisco.”

Penelope beams, then sweeps out an arm toward the door. “Go!”

Two weeks later, I shuffle off the plane in San Francisco as if I’ve drunk ten espressos. Every cell is buzzing. I’m amped up. I can’t wait to race down the jetway, then fly along the concourse. But first, I have to get off this plane. It takes as long as the Pleistocene era, but eventually I make it to the jetway, and then…I run.

Past the gate, down the concourse, toward security, through the doors, and into Wes’s arms on the other side.

He scoops me up in a koala hug. “You did it!”

“No, you did it.” I kiss him again and again. “You did.”

“Nope.” Then he shrugs, and smiles. “Okay, we did.”

The funding made it possible for Thalia to make my old job a regular one, where I can manage the Your Next Five Reads and also the library’s digital efforts, like I did before. I didn’t want to leave the foundation in the lurch, but I didn’t have to—Penelope is taking the permanent job they’d offered me in Boston.

With that behind us, and the future ahead of us, Wes takes me to the charming townhouse where I’ve laughed, cried, and loved. The second he pulls into the garage it feels just like that—home. I’m ready to race up the stairs and reconnect with him, but once we’re in the foyer, he says, “Remember that promise I made you?”

“Which one?”

He reaches for my hand. “I’ll show you.”

He takes me to my old room under the stairs and swings the door open. I gasp. He’s turned it into a library. Gleaming white walls are filled with shelves and books, fresh pillows line the window seat, and best of all—there’s a ladder resting against the shelves.

I tug him close to me, against the ladder, and kiss the breath out of him.

He’s always been the most generous person I’ve ever known, but to put himself out there like he did the other week? He’s not just my boyfriend. He’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.

But first things first. “Will you fuck me on this ladder? I feel like this belongs on a list somewhere after all.”

“Our new list,” he says, then fulfills a brand-new fantasy.

EPILOGUE: NUMBER TEN

Josie

As I settle into my new old job at the little library next to the fire station in the Upper Haight, I feel both like an explorer in San Francisco and like a regular.

When I first arrived here back in the fall, I connected instantly with the city. San Francisco is a vibrant tapestry of cultures and experiences. It’s a little like a new book. You crack it open and discover a story on every page.

When our schedules align, Wes and I explore the city’s neighborhoods, from the postcard charm of Chinatown to the edgier vibes of the Mission District. We go to bookstores, and we check out night markets, picking up some of Maeve’s lamps to decorate our place.

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