Page 80 of The Bookbinder's Guide to Love

She totally understood because Wes and Ford had both, on separate occasions, told her how the book had been handed down from father to son, and how each new generation wrote their names on the inside cover. Sera had asked the bookbinder who’d fixed the volume to add a new page so any sons Wes or Oz had could add their names.

“No, he didn’t,” she said.

“Did Wes?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “I took it to have it repaired—”

“You took it?”

“Uh, yes,” she said.

“That book belongs to our family,” he said.

“He’s right, Sera. Why do you have it?” Wes asked, coming up behind her.

She looked at him, and his face was so like it had been on that first day. The part of herself she’d allowed to bloom after their early morning together shut down. He watched her suspiciously, like she’d broken his trust.

She shook her head. She knew she needed to tell them why she’d taken it, but a part of her didn’t feel like she should have to defend herself. “I got it fixed for you. I had new front pages added so when you or Oz have sons, they can put their names in it too. I wanted it to be a surprise gift for you. Ford said books are meant to be read and I know you feel the same way.”

Wes just looked at her, but his father reached for the book and took it off the table. “That’s not something you had a right to do.”

“I guess not,” she said.

“Why would you take it without saying anything?” Wes asked. “Did you mean to keep it?”

What was it with these Sitwell men? “I’m not a thief. I took it because I knew how much the book meant to you and you said you weren’t sure you could repair it because of how much you valued it. I did it for you and your family. It’s a gift. Maybe I should have asked, but I wanted to surprise you.”

Wes’s mouth opened and she shook her head, so hurt and angry that he had immediately jumped to the conclusion she would steal from him. Angry that his first instinct had been to accuse her of something instead of listening to her reasons. Angry that she’d let herself trust him.

“I’ll thank you both to leave.”

Twenty-One

Fuck.

That was the only thought running through his head. His dad walked next to him but didn’t say a word. Wes shoved his hands into his pockets and threw his head back, ready to scream.

“Sorry, son,” his dad said, putting his hand on Wes’s shoulder. “I wish you didn’t have to experience that.”

“Experience what?”

“A woman who puts money before you. You asked why your mom wanted money from me to get you back and it’s because she was obsessed, thinking I was hiding money from her. After your grandmother died, I inherited a small amount and put it into a certificate of deposit for you and Oz’s college fund. But your mom wanted new furniture and a better house and thought I should have used the money for that.”

“So she took us?”

“No, she bought all the furniture and drove us into debt. I don’t know if she thought I’d pull the money out and use it on the stuff she’d purchased or what, but I didn’t. So one day I came home from the office and you were all gone,” his dad said.

Wes saw the anguish and heartbreak on his dad’s face. Wes wasn’t entirely sure if that was because he was experiencing those feelings for himself for the first time, or if it was just that he was old enough now to see his dad as a man and not just a parent. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“I thought I’d never see you boys again,” his dad said, tipping his head back.

Wes suspected his father was trying not to cry.

Wes wasn’t sure Sera wanted money. She knew he wasn’t wealthy and her stated reasons for taking the book made sense to him. What he couldn’t wrap his head around was why she hadn’t just asked him.

It wasn’t that her actions were totally sus. It was that her motivations weren’t clear. Or was his messed-up mind trying to complicate something way simpler than he was assuming?

If he trusted Sera, then there was no issue. She’d taken his book to repair it, as a gift for him. She hadn’t taken the book for herself.

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