He reached to the floor and pulled a shoulder bag into his lap, opened it and tugged out a large fabric bag. He opened the bag and slid a book out onto the table.
Evie stared at it, reading, then her eyes widened. She picked it up gingerly and flipped through a few of the pages. “Is this a first addition signed copy of ‘Playing Beatie Beau’?”
He grinned. “Yep.”
“How did you get this?” She turned it over, admiring the cover and the perfectly clean pages. “It still looks brand new.”
“I bought it a long time ago for a friend, but I never gave it to her. I was going through some boxes and thought you might like to have it.”
She sighed. “No, I can’t accept it. It’s too much. You should keep it.”
He waved her off. “It’s not very much. You’ve lost everything, and I’d only store it in a box if I keep it.”
“It’s one of my favourite books,” she said.
Bea laughed. “I remember reading that in year seven. I loved it because it’s almost my name in the title.”
“Thank you,” Evie said, emotion welling in her throat. “This means a lot to me.”
“I hope you enjoy it, and maybe it can remind you of the bookshop. One day, that memory will be a happy one.”
Evie patted the back cover with her hand and then slid the book back into its protective bag. “One day.”
How had David known this gift would be exactly what she needed? In all the years of working at the bookshop, the stress, the schedules, and the customers, somewhere along the line she’d lost her love of books. She’d still enjoyed them, of course, and was excited to open new boxes of them to line her shelves, but the childlike passion for a first-edition copy of one of her favourites had been replaced with spreadsheets, balancing the books, making a profit and finding the next big novel to fly off the shelves.
She slipped her hand into his and squeezed, unable to find the words to express how she felt. He seemed to understand and dipped his head towards her.
Charmaine stepped into the café, glancing around until her gaze landed on Evie and the others at the table.
“Hi, Chaz. Want to sit with us?” Bea asked.
Evie patted the empty chair beside her. “Grab a seat.”
“Hi,” Chaz replied, eyeing the chair. “Um… okay. I guess I can stay a minute.”
She sat hesitantly, her back straight.
“How’re things?” Aidan asked.
Charmaine sighed. “I wanted to let you all know that I think Sean has left the island. I asked him to, and I haven’t seen him since. I stopped in at the motel where he was staying, and they said he checked out last week. So, it seems like he’s gone.”
“Okay,” Evie replied.
“I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t worry. The police needed to speak to him about the fire, but I believe he left town before they had a chance. I told him to go in for an interview, and I’m still hoping he will do that. He says he’s innocent, but we won’t know for sure until the police finish their investigation.”
Charmaine’s tone was formal. Her gaze darted from face to face and then to the table and back again. Her hands were linked together in her lap.
“I know we already said this, but it’s not your fault, you know…” Evie said.
Charmaine glanced at her. “Thanks.”
“It’s not,” Bea agreed.
“I shouldn’t have come to book club,” Charmaine said, raising her hands in surrender. “It’s my fault he was there.”
“He’s responsible for his own actions, not you.”
“I could’ve dealt with it sooner. I’ve given him what he wanted, and he’s gone. I wish I’d done it the first time he asked.”
