I take a deep breath and turn to the tall bookcase with the locked glass door. Inside are all the reference books, the books with leather bindings and gold leaf edges. I take out my key ring and insert a small gold key into the lock. The glass door clicks open. I pull out a thick well-worn album and hold it to my chest.

“This is one of two albums in Romeo that records every soul mate match since 1948.” Chloe has the other album. It’s kept by her Aunt Erma. I set the heavy book on the table. “The head librarian has always been in charge of keeping the records.”

“I see. It’s your irrefutable proof.” He gives me a wry smile.

I sit down in one of the cushioned chairs at the table and open the book to the last page. It’s a picture and record of Veronica’s wedding.

Will sits down in the chair next to me. He turns the pages and we look at the pictures. The styles of the wedding dresses and tuxedoes change as we flip back through the decades, until we’re at a photo of a man in a World War II era Air Force uniform kissing his bride.

I stop looking at the pictures and instead I watch Will. When he leans down, a lock of hair falls across his forehead. I want to reach out and brush it back. As he looks through the pages, his fingers curl under with tension. I ache to take his hand. Will reaches the last page and gently closes the book. We sit in the quiet stillness of the library. Neither of us speaks.

Finally, I run my hand over the soft leather binding. “I used to wish that someday I’d end up in this book.”

Will nods, a short, curt acknowledgment.

“And now that Erma saw my soul mate, I could be the next entry.”

Will’s jaw clenches. I reach out and brush my fingers along it. He looks at me. His body coils with tension but he doesn’t move.

“Do you know what I realized?” I don’t take my hand from his cheek.

“What?” he says, his voice is raw.

“You were right. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Will swallows and his eyes narrow on me. “What does that mean?”

I take my hand off his cheek. “Erma said that my soul mate was the Williams boy I’ve always loved. But I loved a fantasy. I loved the idea of Gavin. I hung onto that fantasy for years, it was the life raft that got me through the worst storm of my life. But I’m on dry land now. I don’t need a fantasy anymore. It’s time I admitted I loved the idea of a person, not the actual person.”