Mom, Don't Cry! Here comes a new Daddy! novel Chapter 119

Chapter 109-1

(Ethan’s POV)

Sabrina sinks into the chair next to him. “When did you get so smart?”

“I’ve always been smart. You just notice it more now because I’m six, and not five anymore.”

+25 Pointe

Pointe

She pulls him into a hug and he lets her, even though he’s usually too busy for hugs when he’s in the

middle of research. Over his head, she looks at me.

“Three days,” she says.

“Three days.”

“Okay.” She takes a breath. Lets it out. “Okay. I can do three days.”

But I see the way her hands shake slightly when she releases Jake. The way she picks up her coffee mug and sets it down without drinking. The way her eyes keep going to her ring like she’s

checking to make sure it’s still there.

I’ve seen Sabrina face down her ex–husband’s mistress in front of an entire office. I’ve watched her

fight for custody of her son against someone with more money and more connections. I’ve seen her rebuild her entire life from scratch after everything fell apart.

But this is different.

This is my family. My world. My grandmother, who raised me and built everything I have.

The rest of breakfast is quiet. Jake goes back to his research, taking notes in his sketchbook with

the focused intensity he usually reserves for art projects. Sabrina finishes the dishes and starts

planning dinner even though it’s barely nine in the morning. I sit at the table with my laptop but don’t actually get any work done.

My phone buzzes. A text from Grandma.

Does she have a proper background? Education? A proper career, at least?

I type back: She’s the Creative Director at Hale Global. Her campaigns are brilliant. You’ve seen her

work.

Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.

That’s not what I asked.

I don’t respond.

TUE

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Another text: I assume there’s a reason you’re marrying a woman with a child from another man.

My jaw clenches. I type: Her son is exceptional. You’ll see.

Friday. Six o’clock. Don’t be late.

I set my phone down harder than necessary.

Sabrina glances over. “Her?”

“She wants to know about your background.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That you’re brilliant and she’ll see that when she meets you.”

“But what about-” She gestures vaguely. “Everything else? The divorce? The drama with Jessica?

The fact that I’m not from—”

“None of that matters.”

“It matters to her.”

She’s right. I know she’s right. Grandma will have already run a complete background check by

now. She’ll know about Dustin and Jessica and the custody battle and every detail of Sabrina’s life that I fell in love with but Kate will see as messy.

“Mom.” Jake looks up from his tablet. “Stop worrying. You’re going to give yourself worry lines and then you’ll look old at the wedding.”

“Jake,” Sabrina says.

“I’m serious. Worrying doesn’t help. You need a strategy plan.” He pulls a piece of paper from his

sketchbook and starts writing. “Here’s what we know about Granny: She’s smart. She’s successful.

She cares about family. She does charity work but doesn’t talk about it.” He looks up. “That last

part is important. It means she doesn’t do good things for attention. She does them because she

cares.”

“How does that help us?” I ask.

Jake looks at me long and hard, then sighs, as if he’s faced with a difficult task. “Because if she cares, then she’ll care about what’s best for you. Meaning…” He writes something else. “We just have to show her that Mom is what’s best for you.”

“And how do we do that?”

Jake grins. It’s the grin he gets when he’s figured out the answer before everyone else.

TUE

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