I share a glance with Kayden.

“Yeah?”

“Would you guys like to be her Goddessparents?”

“Do you mean Godparents?”

Ava’s cheeks flush. “Yeah, my brain is mush.”

I blink. “I didn’t know you guys are religious?”

“I suppose we like the idea of having two people we trust to help look after our little girl,” Jaxon says slowly. “We want you guys to be involved in her life because you’re very important to us.”

A hand presses to my mouth as I release a soft cry of happiness. “Yes,” I nod in agreement. “I’d love to be involved in her life as a Godmother.”

“Me, too,” Kayden says from behind me.

I twist my head to look at him, and he beams at me with the same expression I must have. The pleasure of being invited to be a part of their baby's life. I’ll do everything in my power to make myself present.

Ava turns to Jaxon with relief. “Thank you.”

“No.” I laugh out a sob. “Thank you for trusting us.”

Kayden’s fingers gently wrap around mine again, resting against the back of my thigh. I try my hardest to keep myself together, but I can’t stop the tears from free-falling. Instead, I squeeze his fingers back and drown in the sensation of his touch.

Jaxon whispers something to Ava as Kayden leans in, his lips hovering over my ear. “The name is cute, but I still won the bet.”

I gasp at him and shoot him a look. “No, you did not.”

He smirks as if he’s won the lottery. “I did.”

“We’ll discuss this later,” I say in a hushed tone.

“We sure will,” he says playfully.

My attention moves back to Ava. “How long are you meant to stay in the hospital?”

Ava sighs, her eyes firmly on Aurora. “Until they think I’m ready. But as long as I have these two, I’ll be just fine.”

My body warms at her happy ending. No one deserves it more than her.

“Lucy and Bash are coming over soon,” Jaxon comments and shoots Kayden a look, to which he nods as if they’re silently communicating something.

“You guys are going to be the best parents ever,” I comment.

Ava grins timidly at me. “I hope so. That's all I want.”

Jaxon shakes his head. “No need to hope. We are, Ava,” he says confidently. “We’re going to be the best parents ever.”

20

KAYLEIGH

We leave the hospital shortly after meeting Aurora. Ava and Jaxon need their peace with their little girl before things become hectic. I sigh as we stroll towards the car park and dig out my phone.

“I should probably call an Uber. I left my car at the shopping centre,” I say.

Kayden stops walking beside me, snatches my phone out of my hand, and places it in his pocket. I stare back at him, mouth hanging open, ready to protest, but he shakes his head at me. “I’ll drop you to your car,” he says. “How’s it running now?”