Page 177 of If You Claim Me

“She has too big a heart,” Mildred agrees. “How do you feel about all of that?”

“I expected to feel more vindication. I’ve spent my whole life being the family embarrassment, but maybe I was just a convenient shield for my father. If everyone was always looking at me, they wouldn’t be focused on him. Mostly I’m sad for my mother and sisters and Meems and the way this has affected them. The donation to the library has at least helped smooth things in the eyes of the media. And my mother’s commitment to upholding the Grace family name is both impressive and an imprisonment.”

“I’m really proud of the way you flipped the script on your father,” Mildred says. “So was Meems.”

“She’s been pretty pissed at me.”

Mildred smiles. “I know. We talk every day. She told me notto fold too quickly.”

I laugh. “Meems would not want to make this easy for me, considering how hard I made it for myself.”

“I think you learned the lesson,” Mildred says wryly.

“I’m making a personal vow to only learn these lessons once from now on.” I rub my thumb over her knuckles, so grateful to have her close again. “How are Everly and Victor? I’ve been messaging them, but sometimes Victor is hard to get a read on.”

“They’re excited about this date. I think Everly is hopeful, and Victor is more cautious. They’ve been let down a lot.”

The wash of guilt makes my heart clench. “I’m sorry I contributed to that.”

“They understand that you were under a lot of stress.”

“Doesn’t excuse my inability to see how it affected anyone but me.” The impact of all the hurt I caused has been sobering.

“Stop beating yourself up over things we can’t change, Connor.” She squeezes my hand. “We’re here and moving forward. They’re resilient, and so are we. We wouldn’t have gotten ourselves into this in the first place if we weren’t.”

I park in a public lot and guide her down the street. It’s a busy afternoon, with people out shopping despite the biting cold. Mildred stays close, hugging my arm and tucking her chin into the collar of her coat.

“Here we are.” I hold the door open and usher her in.

Her glasses fog up immediately. She takes them off and looks around, a smile curving her mouth. “A bookstore. It’s like you know me.”

“Not just any bookstore.” I take her glasses and use a cleaning cloth to rub away the moisture before I carefully set them back in place. “The best bookstore.”

She looks around, eyes widening in surprise. “Oh wow.”

“They just opened this week.”

It’s like walking into a storybook. Archways made of old library books frame each aisle. “It’s romance focused, and forevery three books purchased, one is donated to a charity organization of your choice.”

“This is incredible.”

“Shall we browse?”

“Please.” I grab a book basket, and Mildred links her arm through mine.

She leads me down the romantasy aisle, and we scour the shelves of new and gently used books. She points out favorite authors and favorite titles, noting the ones she thinks I would like and adding books to her basket as we go.

We spend two hours browsing, picking for her, Everly, Victor, and Meems before we grab coffees and settle into one of the plush couches. Mildred nestles into my side while we read one of the books she selected together, like we often used to do in the library at home.

I press my lips against her temple, comforted by the weight and warmth of her against me. “I missed having you close.”

She looks up, eyes meeting mine. “I missed everything about you.”

My gaze drops to her mouth.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that when we’re in public,” she whispers.

“Then you and your lips should try to be less audaciously tempting, darling.”