Page 76 of Booked for Theft

“Us? Be married there?”

Bradley smiled. “You love everything about that building, so I figured you’d like it. And I, of course, informed the clergy that we would be making a sizable donation to the church for use of the cathedral and to have the clergy oversee the vows. And if things work out as we want, well, it will bring the cathedral a rather impressive amount of prestige.”

No kidding. “We could make them a copy of the prayer book. I don’t know if it’s even the same religion as theirs, but it’s a beautiful old thing, and we can loan the original to them for services if it is related to their religion.”

“I’ll take pictures of it and inquire with them if they’d like a copy. Mom? Do you know anyone who can make accurate duplicates of old books?”

“I do,” his mother confirmed, and she smiled. “I’ll hire to have copies of your specialty antiques made. I’m sure you’ll want duplicates of the Roman codices made.”

I straightened, and unable to contain my enthusiasm over the idea, I blurted, “You better get three of those done. I want my branch of the library to have one, I want one so I can handle it without fear, and I’d like to have one available to gift if a good situation comes up. I’ll pay for it.” I sighed and bowed my head. “I mean, I’ll ask Bradley to pay for it, because I’m pretty sure I can’t afford that bill.”

“Easily done. Now, knowing how much the trip is costing, how are you two not in the poorhouse?”

“I may have lied about how many shares I purchased,” Bradley confessed. “I was uncomfortable with my portion of the earnings, so I was a little less than forthcoming regarding my wealth.”

Both of his parents stared at him, and in unison, they raised a brow.

I recognized their expression: they waited for their child to dig himself his own grave, which would take him all of twenty seconds if I didn’t intervene and come to his rescue. After learning the truth and the reason for why, I decided to be the white knight for a change. “He was depressed and felt he deserved to lose a bunch of money on a big gamble, but he wasn’t courageous enough to actually wager the money on a bad gamble. The gamble was such he was willing to invest for you and my parents, but the depression ultimately made him commit more money than he should have. Then the stock hit big, and he sold wisely, resulting in him having a great deal more money than he’s comfortable with having. Please have mercy on him. I’ll be taking him in for therapy on it, but he told me about the problem, why he’d done it, and how he’s struggling to cope with his fiscal success. He is not happy about sharing familiarities with Midas right now. Have mercy on his soul. But he really can afford the entirety of the trip, and he has good reason to handle it as he is.”

My fiancé sighed. “That was merciless, Janette.”

“Your pride will eventually survive. Even after spending all that money, you’re still a spoiled little billionaire. I’ve decided I’m an expensive trophy wife, and my tastes involve old books, preferably ones that are on the felony list.”

“You can’t buy those books,” he reminded me.

“I can if they’re like Schindler’s Ark.”

“I’m not spoiled.”

Like hell he wasn’t. I pointed in the direction of our new robotic litter management device. “You bought how many of those automated contraptions?”

“Three. We have one per cat. Each cat deserves their own automated throne.”

“I rest my case.”

“I also dislike scooping litter, and these scoop the litter for me. I just have to lift the bag out, tie it off, and escort it to the garbage chute. As my librarian has long and strenuous days of walking to work, wrangling politicians, and herding books, it is only fair that I, the homebound gentleman, make certain our felines have pristine litter thrones.”

I giggled, went on a hunt for Ajani, and discovered she had made off with her kittens, taking them back to bed. “They aren’t even our kittens. They’re Ajani’s kittens, and we’re just lucky we’re permitted to pet them.”

“I’m thinking I’ll name the white one Flufflestiltskin and the black one Tika Meowsala.”

My mouth dropped open. “Flufflestiltskin? Tika Meowsala?”

“You love Indian food, and it was the punniest name I could think of. Smacking you with a book pun also seemed wise. And we can call them Fluff and Tika for short.”

My fiancé had found a way to weaponize his kittens’ names, and I couldn’t decide if I needed to kick his parents out so we could have some energetic evening entertainment or scream over the assault to my sensibilities. “As they’re your kittens, I cannot protest your naming of them. But Ajani is my fluffy goddess, and I will fight you for her. But aren’t people going to think Flufflestiltskin is a little demon? A boy demon at that.”

“I am foreseeing that she will take after her mother and be a little demon, yes. And then I will point out cats don’t particularly care if their names are masculine or feminine. We’ll be calling her Fluff, and most will agree that Fluff is inherently skewed feminine.”

“It’s true,” Bradley’s mother stated, and she snickered. “I do not think of strong, manly men when I hear the name Fluff.”

“But being serious. Bradley has the money, he’s not comfortable nor happy with having the money, and if we could limit how much teasing is done until he has a chance to go to therapy over the money situation, I’d appreciate it. He told me about it, and that’s what matters. But the money is not going to be an issue.”

“I recommend investing at least a hundred million in overseas stocks, bonds, and real estate.” Bradley’s father made a thoughtful sound. “I can help you if you need.”

“I’m buying a castle in France for my librarian. The library is one of its predominant features. We’ll be hosting some of the trip things at the castle, so it won’t come across as suspicious. I have already entered into an agreement with France regarding tourism. We’ll be opening the property for a week out of every year for those who wish to view the interior of the castle. I will definitely need to hire your security firm.”

“Hire?” his father asked, narrowing his eyes.