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Baggage Claim

Juliana Smith
Chapters (48)
  1. 1. One
  2. 2. Two
  3. 3. Three
  4. 4. Four
  5. 5. Five
  6. 6. Six
  7. 7. Seven
  8. 8. Eight
  9. 9. Nine
  10. 10. Ten
  11. 11. Eleven
  12. 12. Twelve
  13. 13. Thirteen
  14. 14. Fourteen
  15. 15. Fifteen
  16. 16. Sixteen
  17. 17. Seventeen
  18. 18. Eighteen
  19. 19. Nineteen
  20. 20. Twenty
  21. 21. Twenty-One
  22. 22. Twenty-Two
  23. 23. Twenty-Three
  24. 24. Twenty-Four
  25. 25. Twenty-Five
  26. 26. Twenty-Six
  27. 27. Twenty-Seven
  28. 28. Twenty-Eight
  29. 29. Twenty-Nine
  30. 30. Thirty
  31. 31. Thirty-One
  32. 32. Thirty-Two
  33. 33. Thirty-three
  34. 34. Thirty-Four
  35. 35. Thirty-Five
  36. 36. Thirty-Six
  37. 37. Thirty-Seven
  38. 38. Thirty-Eight
  39. 39. Thirty-Nine
  40. 40. Forty
  41. 41. Forty-One
  42. 42. Forty-Two
  43. 43. Forty-three
  44. 44. Epilogue
  45. Afterword
  46. Also by
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About Author
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"Hilarious and heartwarming, Baggage Claim is rom-com gold." – Lynn Painter, NYT Bestselling author.

"Baggage Claim is the perfect holiday romance. I really enjoyed this novel, it had it all: fake dating, some Christmas fun, a little bit of grumpy x sunshine, and some incredible healing and growth." – Abigail, Goodreads reviewer.

"This book showcases everything Juliana has to offer us as an indie author, and it's so exciting to see the love that's been given this story already! The depth of the characters, the cuteness, the banter, and the scenic setting are enough to keep any romance lover deeply invested in this story from beginning to end. " - Emma, Goodreads reviewer.

To my mom,

who loved to read but never got to see me become an author.

Copyright © 2022 by Juliana Smith

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For permissions, contact [email protected]

Cover by Sam Palencia at Ink and Laurel.

Editing by Alex Whitmarsh.

CONTENT WARNINGS: The main character of this book suffers from body dysmorphia and there are many manifestations of such throughout the story. Readers please be advised. We deserve to love our bodies, no matter what they look like, and Olive is a representation of that.

1. One

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I used to say I didn’t believe in fate. I always thought, ultimately, your choices—good or bad—controlled your destiny.

As it turned out, fate was tangible, and it was a bitch.

Currently, I was sitting in seat 15A, en route to see some of my least favorite people in my least favorite place. I could have picked any flight; there were a multitude of options when I booked the ticket. But fate led me here, to this particular one, squished in an uncomfortably tiny seat aboard an equally tiny plane that was most definitely going to fall apart seconds after takeoff.

Every November for the last three years when my mother called and gently asked, “Don’t you want to spend the holidays here? You don’t want to be all alone on Christmas,” I couldn’t help but laugh. On the contrary, I absolutely did want to be alone on Christmas. In fact, all I wanted was to snuggle up on my couch in a sea of giant, fuzzy blankets, binge true crime documentaries, and devour an entire Costco rotisserie chicken by myself, sides and all.

My oversized tote bag was proving to be a poor choice on this budget airline. As I tried to shove it between my legs, it got stuck halfway. I gave it one more push, groaning as it snagged against the rough fabric of the chair and probably smashed the contents in the process. I hoped my YSL lipstick wasn’t smushed or someone on this plane would feel my wrath.