“My father certainly said that a lot,” Sable chuckled.
“Do you think Dad will say that?” Clover asked.
“Why would your dad tell you to ask your mother?” Sable felt sick at the words. Had The Ombra escaped prison? Was there some legal agreement that would force them to share Clover with that cruel woman?
“Because of this.” Cash slipped a manila envelope onto the table before her.
“I have one more Mother’s Day present,” Clover said. “This is for you… it’s from me,” he clarified. “Dad helped though, so I guess it’s from him too, butit’smostly from me.”
“Go on, my love.” Cash slid his broad palm down her back. “Open it.”
With shaking fingers, Sable picked up the envelope and withdrew its contents, and one look at the legal heading on the papers was all it took to destroy her. She dissolved into ugly tears, the entire restaurant turning to gawk at her, but she didn’t care.Shesimplyhugged Clover tighter and sobbed uncontrollably.For minutes, no one spoke as she cried, and she was vaguely aware of Cash and Clover sobbing with her. Cash had somehow pulled her into his embrace, and together, the three of them made a scene in the middle of the brunch rush, for those were no ordinary legal papers. They were adoption papers… for Clover.
“Dad talked to a lawyer,” the boy said through hitched breaths. “A judge ruled that my birth mom is an unfit parent and that she no longer has parental rights. That means I don’t have a mother.” He wrapped his arms around Sable’s neck, and through her tears, she noticed both sets of grandparents dabbing at their eyes.
“Will you adopt me?” Clover cried, and Sable thought she might break into a million pieces.
“You’re the one, Sable,” Cash said. “You’re it for us, and I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted you to be the mother of my children. I meant all of my children. You’re the mom Clover never had, and we both want you in our lives forever. We also want it to be legal so there are no more incidents. You are and always will be Clover’s mother.”
“So will you be my mom?” Clover asked, and Sable understood why he’d been acting so insecure. He wanted the woman he found in the restricted section of the museum to be his mother, and he was afraid that, like the thief who bore him, she wouldn’t agree.
“Of course, I want to be your mom,” she shouted, the entire restaurant jumping at her declaration. “I want it so badly that I was upset today.” She pulled him into another hug as the air erupted with applause.
“I know,” Clover said. “Dad said you were sad, but we didn’t want to ruin the surprise. We wanted this to be your first Mother’s Day.”
“Well then, give me those papers so I can sign them.” Sable snatched the pen from Cash and eagerly signed all the dotted lines as the restaurant applauded her.
“We have to file these to make it legal, but that’s a technicality,” she said, kissing Clover’s temple. “How are you doing, son?” she asked. “Are you happy?”
“I’m happy.” Clover rested his head against her chest as Cash leaned over and kissed Sable with such passion that both grandmothers blushed.
“I’m really, really happy, Mom.”
Say cheese.” Cash aimed his camera at his posing family.
“Cheese!” Sable and Clover called over the chatter of the busy Italian street, and Cash snapped a few photos before casually swinging his aim upwards to capture shots of the security cameras hiding within the house’s elaborate design.
“Beautiful,” he said as his family rejoined him. “You guys look great.”
“Can I see?” Sable asked. “I want to make sure I’m not squinting.”
Cash angled the viewer at her and clicked through the images showing the building’s surveillance.
“Oh, perfect.” She smiled at him. “You got my good side.”
“Every side is your good side.” Cash playfully slapped her ass.
“Dad, do you want a picture with Mom?” Clover asked as he gestured toward the camera. To the boy, this summer trip to Italy was merely a vacation. Sable’s most recent client had a falling out with a family member, and as a result, their relative was refusing to return their priceless sculpture. The client hired Rabbit’s Foot Consulting to recover it, and since this was a safe and simple job, they’d turned this into their first family vacation. Cash was helping Sable with the recon, but his son was in the dark about their real purpose here. He assumed their time was all museums, gelato, and pizza, and it mostly was. This job was something Sable could do in her sleep, yet she’d allotted two weeks for it.
“Sure. Thanks, buddy.” Cash handed Clover the camera and captured Sable in his arms. She’d legally adopted his son right before this trip, and to hear his boy call his soulmate mom was a moment worthy of a photo.
“Cheese on three?” Cash asked as they posed.
“No!” Clover called. “Kiss her!”
“I thought you didn’t like it when I kissed your mom,” Cash teased. They had an ongoing family joke about his and Sable’s PDA. When he and Sable made their relationship official, Clover started making comments every time they touched. They’d assumed he was uncomfortable by his father’s sudden affection for a woman, but he just liked to heckle them. When they asked if they should refrain in front of him, he’d cried and made them promise to always stay in love. He didn’t want them to get divorced like one of his classmate’s parents, and while Cash and Sable weren’t technically married yet, Clover didn’t see the difference. They were Mom and Dad. They had the soulmate bond, and it had trickled down to him as a parent bond. He didn’t want Sable going anywhere, and he enjoyed seeing a healthy relationship playing out before him after eleven years of living with a single father.
“You can kiss her for the photo,” Clover said.
