Page 14 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

“Not really. My adoptive parents were awesome.” Libby holds out the popcorn bag, and I absently reach for another bite, fascinated with her story. “I did find some family on my mother’s side though, after going through her things when I was a teenager. Like her sister, Nancy.”

“And you’ve met her?”

“Yes, I met Aunt Nancy. She was a sweetheart.”

“Was?”

“She recently passed away.”

“Damn, I’m sorry. Are your parents still alive?”

Her smile turns sad for the first time, and I mentally kick my own ass for prying. “They were a little older when they adopted me, almost in their fifties, though you’d never know it becausethey were as active as the twenty-something parents. They both died when I was twenty.”

“Shit,” I huff out, “so you had no one?”

Her full-wattage smile returns. “No, Aunt Nancy had a daughter named Gianna.”

“So, your cousin?”

“Yes, we’re super close. She and Aunt Nancy actually lived only a few miles from me when we found each other, though Gia recently moved to New York.”

I feel the plane begin its descent, and Cara comes by to pick up our glasses and trash.Where the hell did the time go?

As soon as we land at DFW airport, Libby checks her phone. “It’s been so nice talking to you, Rocket Romero, but I have a connecting flight to catch from Terminal E in less than an hour.”

I laugh at her Rocket joke. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Libby. My flight leaves from E as well.”

Her smile is brilliant. “Okay, I’ve never had to switch terminals in this airport. What’s the fastest way there?”

“Stick with me, Lib. We’ll take the Sky Tram.”

We walk swiftly down the concourse, and I notice her long legs have no trouble keeping up with mine, even though she’s around six inches shorter than me. “I didn’t realize you had a connecting flight. I just assumed by your accent that you live in Texas.”

“I used to,” she says, but doesn’t expound on that.

Libby checks her phone again. “I’m at gate thirty-three. Where are you?”

My heart thumps in my chest. I can’t believe this. “I’m at thirty-three as well.”

Her eyebrows lift in surprise. “Oh, you’re going to Northwest Florida Beaches International?”

I’m as surprised as she is. NFBIA isn’t a huge airport like Miami or Orlando, mostly serving the Panama City area.

“That’s exactly where I’m going. Do you live in Panama City?”

She hesitates, and I mentally kick myself.Of course she wouldn’t tell a virtual stranger where she lives, doofus. She’s smarter than that.

“Sorry, that was rude of me to ask. You don’t have to answer.”

Libby shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. It’s just… complicated. I’m in the process of moving.”

“Oh, gotcha.” We start walking again and finally reach our gate. The sign over the counter informs us that boarding will begin in eleven minutes. “We made it,” I say, finding two chairs beside each other, and we sit.

My phone pings, and I check it to find a text from Lucinda, my girlfriend.

Lucinda: I signed you up for this. I think it will really help you.

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