Over the next month, Eva became a fixture in the shop. She didn’t just drop the book off; she stayed. She brought him coffee and watched as he used surgical tools to peel back pages thinner than skin. They talked in the low, hushed tones the shop demanded. He learned she was a researcher who spent her life looking for answers in other people's pasts because her own was a series of blank spaces. She learned that Aiden didn't restore books because he loved the stories, but because he loved the idea that something broken could be made whole again.
Aiden usually turned away cases this far gone. It was tedious, heartbreaking work with no guarantee of success. But when he looked up, he saw the desperation in Eva’s eyes—a sharp, intelligent grief that he recognized instantly. It was the look of someone trying to hold onto a ghost. "I’ll see what I can do," he heard himself say. Aiden - Eva Alexander.epub
One Tuesday, as the afternoon sun hit the dust motes in the air, Aiden managed to separate the final two pages. Between them lay a pressed wildflower, remarkably preserved despite the water and heat. Over the next month, Eva became a fixture in the shop