I frown, scanning down the page. It looks the same as always; it has Cami’s name, her date of birth, the hospital she was born in. Her father’s name: Sebastian Turner Bright.
Her mother’s name:Bethany Sarah Ellis.
“Oh,”I whisper.
And then I start crying. Not sweet, cute crying. Full-on ugly sobbing. Cami looks up at me wide-eyed, then offers me her bunny.
“Thanks, baby,” I whisper, re-reading the birth certificate again and again and again. It’s right there, printed in black and white.Mother, name and surname: Bethany Sarah Ellis.
I can’t breathe. I’m shaking all over. The men are all laughing around me. I hear a pop as someone breaks open a bottle of champagne. Three pairs of arms wrap around me as I’m covered in kisses. “When did it come through?” I gasp, pulling Cami—mydaughter—onto my lap.
“A couple of weeks ago,” Sebastian admits. “We wanted to save it for today.”
I slap his arm. “You mean I’ve been her mum for two weeks and you didn’t tell me?!”
Jack laughs. “Don’t you get it, Beth? You’ve been her mum for ages. Ever since you started treating her like your daughter.”
I look down at Cami. She’s wriggling on my lap, singing under her breath. When she meets my eyes, she smiles widely, and my heart melts.
Jack’s right. Cami’s been my daughter for one and a half years now. It might finally be legal and official; but I’ve beenactingas her mum for a long, long time. I’ve been a mother without even realising it. A piece of paper doesn’t make a family.A thought occurs to me, as I cuddle my daughter close, dropping kisses into her hair.
I’m never going to have a piece of paper that says I’m married.
When we were having issues with the adoption papers, we all talked about me marrying Seb. It would’ve been a lot easier for me to get approved as his wife instead of his girlfriend. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t. Even if we were doing it for the good of the family, I hated the idea of being officially connected to only one of them. I was so scared Jack and Cyrus would feel left out.
I sniff, looking up at the men over Cami’s pigtails. “Will you guys marry me?”
They all freeze.
“What?” Seb asks, his voice hoarse. “What did you say?”
I swallow, gathering Cami closer like a comfort blanket. “I mean, obviously, we can’t legally get married, but we can still have a ceremony, and rings, and promises, right? I can still call you all my husbands?”
No one says anything.
I take a shaky breath. “I just—I love you all so much.So much.And I want you to be mine. I want us all to be a family. Forever.”
There’s a few more seconds of silence, and then I’m suddenly flattened against the bed as Cyrus bowls me over in a hug. Cami laughs uproariously, wriggling between us.
“Sammich!” She announces.
“You’re our ladybug sandwich,” I agree, as Cyrus starts peppering my neck and shoulders with kisses. “Oh my God, Cy, stop, you’re gonna squash me—”
“He’s been wanting to ask you forever,” Jack says, laughing. “But he was waiting for you to be ready.”
“You want to be my wife?” Cyrus breathes against my skin. “Really?”
“Yes!” I wriggle underneath him. “Get off me before I die. I need to call Benny and Tony. Benny’s going to freak out.”
My flighty, permanently unattached best friend finally tied the knot with his husband last year. Their wedding was amazing; Tony set up a whole mixology bar, and we got served a different drink with every one of the seven dinner courses. I haven’t gotten that drunk since I was a teenager. Poor Seb had to pour me into bed that night.
Cyrus frowns, pulling back. “This isn’t the engagement,” he warns, his face serious. “I don’t have the rings yet.”
I laugh. “I don’t need rings, baby.”
“Yes, you do,” he insists. “We’re going to do this properly.”
“We want to take you somewhere,” Jack adds. “Maybe we’ll go on holiday. Somewhere tropical.”