Page 40 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

From my peripheral vision, I can see her look up from her phone and at my face. “That’s it?”

“What’s it?”

“Justokay?” On the last word, she lowers her voice to copy my own.

“You said no, so yes, that’s it.”

“Fine,” she huffs, returning to her regularly scheduled scrolling.

“Fine,” I repeat, and for reasons I can’t define, a tiny spark of relief shines inside my chest.

CHAPTER 12

Libby

Iwiggle excitedly in my seat when, one by one, my author friends’ faces pop onto my computer screen. Well, except for…

“Can you see me?” Ava’s voice asks.

“No,” we all chorus.

“Shit. Hold on.” Five minutes later, she figures out how to turn on the camera, and all four of our faces appear in squares on the screen like the spicy author version ofThe Brady Bunch.

Another ten minutes is spent catching up on life events before we get down to business. “Who wants to go first?” Gemma asks, and I raise my hand like a sixth grader.

“I’ll go. As you know from my texts, I’m actually working with two BBB clients right now. The first is Gina, the woman that’s one half of a lesbian couple.”

“I’ve been curious about that. How’s it working out?” JoJo asks.

“Really well, actually. I think most people want the same basic things from a relationship, no matter their gender or sexual orientation. The lady is really sweet and very in love withLauren, but Gina had a hard home life growing up. She didn’t receive much affection as a kid, and now she’s not sure how to show affection to her partner.”

“That’s sad,” Ava says.

“It is, and Lauren’s love language is physical touch. I’m trying to be cautious because I don’t want Gina to do anything she’s uncomfortable with, so I told her to take it slowly. I gave her a few assignments for the week, things she said were within her comfort level, and she was eager to try.”

“Sounds like you’re doing everything right,” JoJo says. “What about your other client?”

Closing my eyes, I puff out a long breath. “I’m struggling with this one.”

“Asshat?” Gemma asks.

I open my eyes and massage my forehead. “No. Actually, it’s Riggs Romero.”

Beat of silence.

And then my speakers erupt with a cacophony of yells.

“Riggs fucking Romero?”

“Holy shit!”

“Lib’s totally going to bang her client.”

“Lucky bitch.”

“Yep, totally banging him like a screen door in a hurricane.”

I wave my hands at them and laugh. “Stop it! I’m not going to bang him.” Three sets of skeptical eyebrows raise. “Seriously, I’m not. Hisgirlfriendsigned him up. Plus, it would be totally unprofessional.”

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