“You’re hysterical,” she fake-laughed.
“Speaking of dinner, I wanted to run something by you,” Cash said. “This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and I invited my parents to brunch at that garden place you like.”
“Oh, your mom will love the food there,” Sable said.
“And if not, at least you will,” Cash said. “I also called your mom. Your siblings are all doing brunch with their kids, so I invited your parents, too. They accepted as long as you’re okay with it, but our parents haven’t met each other yet. I think it’s time.”
“That’ll be fun,” Sable said, that weird look returning to her eyes. “My parents love Clover, and theyobviouslylove me.”
“What about me?” Cash asked.
“You’re all right.” She squealed as he captured her waist and pulled her into his lap.
“Just all right?” he asked.
“Yeah, I put up with you.”
Cash buried his face into her neck, tickling her with kisses until she shrieked.
“Okay, okay, you are the most amazing,” she laughed.
“Better.” Cash kissed her lips before setting her back on the floor. “I’ll call our parents to confirm Sunday. It’ll be fun.”
“It will,” Sable agreed, and even though she tried to hide the sadness in her eyes, Cash saw it all the same.
“Okay, I have to go.” He shoved the last of his eggs into his mouth, kissed his son, and grabbed his keys on the way out the door. He hated seeing the sorrow in his girl’s eyes. He had a goodideawhatwas causing her heartache, and he suspected that the incident at Clover’s school caused it. He only hoped Sunday with her parents was the answer.
“Wow,” Clover’s voice sounded in the doorway, and Sable turned around to find the eleven-year-old gawking at her.
“You like the dress?” she asked, smoothing her palms over the skirt before giving a little twirl. She’d bought a new sundress for their Mother’s Day brunch. The floral pattern and flattering cut were magnificent on her, and while she owned many beautiful clothes, she needed a different type of armor for today. She wasn’t worried about introducing the parents. Her family was obsessed with Cash and Clover, just as his parents adored her. She was confident brunch would be delightful, so that wasn’t why she’d donned the new dress. No, she needed this extra shield because the restaurant would be filled with mothers. Womenwho could go to their kid’s schools during emergencies and take care of their children.
But Sable wasn’t like those women. They’d received one such emergency call from Clover’s school a few months back. Clover had been in a fight. He wasn’t the instigator, though. Some boys had picked on a smaller kid, and Clover came to the child’s defense. He’d gotten hurt in the altercation, and the principal called Cash to come pick up his son. Only he’d been in the middle of an urgent museum meeting, so he’d asked Sable to get Clover. Neither of them had thought anything of it. The teachers knew her, but because this incident differed from after-school pickups, the staff refused to release the boy to her care because she wasn’t his mother. Sable had to wait in the principal’s office until Cash got out of his meeting, and she’d been different eversince. She didn’t want to be. Clover loved her. Cash loved her. His parents loved her. It should be enough, but she wasn’t Clover’s mom, and she never would be. A woman in prison who didn’t care for herownson claimed that right, and brunch would be a reminder of that.
“You look pretty,” Clover said. “Really, reallypretty. Dad will lose his mind.”
“Why am I losing my mind?” Cash asked as he walked into the bedroom. “Holy shit, Sable… sorry, Clover. Don’t use that language.”
“See, I told you he would like it.” The boy beamed.
“Babe, you’re going to cause a riot at the restaurant.” Cash captured her in his arms. “Why do you always have to be so pretty? You make me look like a bum.”
“Have you looked in the mirror?” Sable kissed him, bursting into a laugh when Clover groaned. It was a quick peck on the lips, something Clover saw every day, but he liked to tease them about their romance. They’d sat him down once after she’d moved in and asked him if their PDA bothered him. They’d assumed all his comments meant he was uncomfortable, and they promised to keep their touching to a minimum around him if that’s what he preferred. Clover instantly burst into tears, which freaked both adults out until he made them swearto never stopkissing. The parents of a boy in his class were divorcing, and Clover had witnessed some of the intense hatred between the couple. It had terrified him. Because his father’s soulmate bond extended to himin the form ofa parental bond, he never wanted Sable and Cash to break up. He didn’t want to live in a home where his dad no longer loved his unofficial stepmom. They agreedto always showhow much they cared. Heagreedto tease them whenever he caught them kissing, and it had been a wonderfully fun exchange over the past few months.
“All right, are we ready?” Cash asked.
“Sable is,” Clover said. “If we give her any more time to get ready, she really will start a riot.”
“Sable, dear, you were right about this restaurant,” Cash’s mother Lily said as brunch came to a close. “What do they put in these waffles to make them so addicting?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll have another order to take home,” Sable’s mom Angora said. “Sweetheart, you’ve been holding out on us. How many times have we visited you, and you never brought us here?”
“It’s our little secret,” Sable joked as she grabbed Cash’s hand.
“I see how it is. You don’t love yourownmother.” Angora fake cried on her husband’s shoulder, but couldn’t keep the charade up for more than a few seconds before she started laughing. She had ears just like her daughter, and while most of their kids looked like her husband or a blend of both parents, Sable was the spitting image of her mother.
“Oh, come on, Mom.” Sable rolled her eyes. “You usually visit for dinner. This isn’treallyan evening place.”
“I know, I’m teasing,” Angora said.
