Page 83 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

From the very first time I saw you, I knew you were the one for me. Your beauty is indescribable, but your warm heart is what captured my own. The love I have for you burns from within my soul, and I can’t wait to spend my life with you.

My lungs have forgotten how to breathe. My heart has forgotten how to beat. My legs have forgotten how to hold me up.

As I sink to my knees, I force myself to read the rest of the elaborately worded proposal.To her. Not me.

A warm nose nuzzles my neck, and I wrap an arm around Ace’s furry body as he whimpers, trying to give me comfort that I’m not sure is even attainable at this point.

“Is this how he feels about her?” I ask the dog, and he licks my face. “Thank you, nugget. You love me, don’t you?” Sweet Ace crowds me until his big body is on my lap, and I bury my face in his fur and dampen it with my tears.

Sitting like that for the longest time, I let the pain pour out of me. I feel more for Riggs after a couple months than I did during the years with Logan. I thought he was my person.

My stomach clenches with nausea at the thought of losing him. He can’t possibly want to be with Lucinda. She’s not right for him. BecauseI’mright for him.

Wiping my face, I kiss Ace on the head. “I’m okay, buddy. You can let me up now.” With a gentle shove, I manage to remove the pooch from my lap and stand. After replacing the letter in Riggs’s underwear drawer, I give my fluffernugget one more hug and leave.

My lips press together as I sit in my car and stare at the house I love but will probably never see again.

“Goodbye,” I whisper, gritting my teeth against the need to cry again. My breastbone feels like it’s sinking into my chest, attempting to crush my heart, andfuck, this hurts.

Without thinking, I swipe on a name on my phone and wait.

“Hey, Libs,” a voice answers.

Pulling out of the driveway, I don’t even look back as I speak. “Gemma, I need you.”

Her voice is instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”

“You know how I called you, Ava, and JoJo this week and told you about me and Riggs?”

“Yeah,” she replies warily. “And we said we’re all happy for you.”

“It’s all blown up in my face, Gem. I think it’s over.”

On the short drive back to Port Saint Joe, I fill her in on what I found.

“What the fuck? Why are men so goddamn stupid?” she spits, and I hear something in her tone that worries me.

“A-are you and Trey okay?” I ask, momentarily forgetting about my own problems. Trey was Gemma’s first BBB client, and much like Riggs and myself, they fell hard for each other.

“No, I don’t think Trey is my happily ever after,” she sighs sadly, and my broken heart manages to shatter into even more pieces.

“Gemma, no! I thought…”

“I did too,” she murmurs.

“Tell me what happened.” I pull up in front of my cute little house and grab my purse. By the time I get inside and change into lounge pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt that hangs to my knees, Gemma has spilled her guts.

“So that’s it,” she says, as I lounge onto my couch.

“Damn, Gem. I’m kinda torn. On one hand, I’m thinking maybe he had a good reason, but on the other hand, I want to put on a boxing glove and punch Trey in the face.”

That earns me a watery laugh from my friend. “I’m oscillating between the two as well. Why are all the men with good dicks so deceptive?”

“I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at that. What are you going to do?”

“I have no clue. What about you?”

“Same. All I know is that I can’t go to the Christmas Eve party at Nana’s tonight. Especially if he’s going to propose to Lucinda there. I was thinking, since you’re visiting your grandmother in Florida, and you’re only about an hour from me…”

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