Close.
She started walking away.
Evan stopped.
“Look at it.”
“I don’t need it.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
She turned.
“You already spent enough.”
“The certificates are still covering it.”
“Dad.”
He looked at the price.
Then at her.
“Does it do what you need?”
Sophie touched the box.
“Yes.”
“Then put it in the cart.”
Her eyes widened.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
She hugged him hard enough to embarrass him in aisle twelve.
At checkout, one certificate remained partially unused.
Sophie held it in the car.
“So they were worth something after all.”
Evan started the engine.
“No.”
She frowned.
“We literally just bought all that.”
“They became worth something because Beckett chose to honor them.”
“What’s the difference?”
Evan backed out of the parking space.
“The company gave them to me as if their value already existed.”
Sophie thought.
“And it didn’t.”
“Correct.”
“So Blackidge lied.”
Evan glanced toward her.
“Yes.”
She looked at the certificate.
“Why not just say that?”
“Because the important part is understanding how.”
She rolled her eyes.
“There’s the larger lesson.”
He smiled.
“Apparently.”
She placed the last certificate in the glove compartment.
It stayed there.