“It’s springtime,” she states.
“I know,” I say with a confused smile.
“We should go see the cherry blossoms at the Royal Park,” she suggests, eyes lighting up. “Remember, we went there when we first met?”
“How could I forget?” I ask as I brush my fingers through her hair and pull it away from her face. “One of the best days I’ve had.”
Maya smiles back at me. “Same, before Skye, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Can we go?”
I nod. “Whatever you wanna do, sunshine.”
Maya leaps off the bed and rushes to the bathroom, squealing as she tries to keep her legs closed. I don’t fight the grin that works its way onto my face. When she returns, she’s in a fluffy towel with her hair damp.
I step out of bed and make my way to her before leaning down and brushing my lips over hers. “Today’s going to be a good day,” I murmur.
Her big brown eyes gleam as she buries her teeth into her bottom lip. “Yeah. It really is.”
Once we’re dressed and ready for the day, we head over to the Royal Park. I hold onto Skye’s pram as we head towards the bright row of cherry blossom trees on this clear morning. It’s been a long winter, but seeing the colours of spring makes everything feel brighter.
Maya insists we take some photos as she picks Skye up from the pram and props her up in her arms as she wears the cutest yellow and cream outfit. We snap some pictures and take a family selfie with the pink blossoms in the background.
“I love this place,” Maya sighs dreamily. “Reminds me of us so much.”
“Me too.”
“Which also reminds me,” she says as she swishes her hips from side to side.
I adjust Skye in my arms as she grabs onto the collar of my jacket. “What?”
“We’ve got an appointment in an hour.”
My forehead creases. “Appointment for what?”
“To go to the registry office.”
“Maya, you’re not making any sense.”
She steps forward to place her hand on my shoulder and the other around Skye’s back, which is in my arm. “So we can putyou on the birth certificate as Skye’s father. I managed to get the application through, and they gave us a slot for today.”
My mouth parts as I flick my eyes between hers. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” She beams. “And I was thinking of changing her surname from Brooke to Thompson. What do you think?”
I breathe out jaggedly, digesting her words. “Maya?—”
I’m lost for words, literally.
“It’s been long overdue,” she murmurs as she slides her hand up my neck and cups the back of my head. “It might be a bit of paper, but to me it’s so much more than that. We’re a family, and I want it to be official.”
Without hesitation, I lean forward, wrap my arms around Maya, and hold her close. “Oh my god,” I blubber with a tremble. “Please tell me you’re not joking.”
“I’d never joke about this.”
I pull back and hold her face with my hand. “She’s going to be Skye Thompson?”
