Damon lowered his head to look at Mason and took the drawing from his hands.
The picture showed a family of four-him, N, Mason, and a little girl-standing under a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
Damon smiled and pointed to the little girl in the drawing. "Who''s this?"
"That''s my little sister. I hope Mommy gives me a baby sister," Mason said earnestly.
"What if it''s a baby brother instead?" Damon asked.
Mason paused, then nodded confidently. "If it''s a brother, I''ll protect him too."
Damon''s smile deepened at Mason''s innocent expression. "Well, it looks like our Buddy is growing up. You''re already thinking about protecting your little sibling." "Daddy, when are you and Mommy going to give me a little sibling?" Mason asked. "Soon. It won''t be long now," Damon answered.
Mason''s eyes widened with excitement. "Really? Daddy, you''re not lying to me, are you?"
"Of course not. When have I ever lied to you?" Damon asked.
Mason huffed. "You''ve lied to me plenty of times."
Like that time Damon said he''d be back from Meristate in two days, but he had been gone for so long! If he hadn''t returned with N, Mason wouldn''t have forgiven him so easily.
Damon chuckled. "Alright, alright. I know I was wrong. I promise I''ll try to lie to you less in the future. How''s that?"
Mason remained silent, clearly skeptical.
Damon ruffled his son''s hair and stood up. "Buddy, I have some work to do now. Mommy is sleeping, so don''t wake her up. Stay in the living room and y by yourself. If you need anything,e find me in the study, okay?"
"Got it!" Mason chirped.
Back in the study, Damon picked up his phone and dialed Spencer. "Come over to the vi. I need you to do something."
Half an hourter, Spencer knocked on the study door. "Mr. Sumner."
Damon set down the document he was reading and looked up. "I want to start nning a wedding for N. Contact a wedding nningpany and ask them to put together a few proposals."
Spencer''s eyes shed with surprise, but he quicklyposed himself and nodded. "Understood. Do you have any specific preferences for the theme or style?"
"Let the nnerse up with some options first. I''ll review them and make any necessary adjustments," Damon replied.
"Got it. If there''s nothing else, I''ll get started on the arrangements," Spencer said. Damon hummed in agreement.
After Spencer left, Damon called Brandon. "Send me Vrie''s contact information." "Uncle Damon, why do you need Vrie''s contact info?" Brandon asked.
"I need to discuss something with her," Damon replied.
"Oh. I''ll send it to you in a bit," Brandon said.
A momentter, Brandon sent the contact.
Damon hesitated for a moment before adding her.
A few minutester, Vrie epted his friend request and sent him a question mark.
Damon: [This is Damon Sumner. Do you have time tomorrow? I''d like to talk to you about something.]
Vrie replied quickly.
Vrie: [Is this about Brandon?]
Damon: [No, it has nothing to do with him.]
Vrie: [Alright, I''m free.]
After setting up the time and ce Damon specifically asked Vrie not to fell N about their meeting before putting down his phone and getting back to work
...
The next morning at 10:00 a.m., Damon and Vrie met at a café near the Weir
Group.
As soon as Vrie sat down, she raised an eyebrow at Damon. "Mr. Sumner, what''s this about? You were all secretive, even telling me not to mention it to N. You didn''t do something to betray her, did you?"
Without a word, Damon slid a document across the table toward her. "Ms. Weir, I
need your help filling out this questionnaire."
Vrie picked it up and flipped through the pages. The first question read: [What is N''s favorite color?]
She skimmed through the document—over 500 questions, all about N.
She looked up at him. "Mr. Sumner, can I ask what this is for?"
"I''m nning a wedding for N. Since you''ve been her best friend for years, you probably know her preferences better than anyone, f''d like you to help me fill this outso I can tailor everything to her liking," Damon exined.