Page 31 of Thrown Off Balance

“I'm Jude, Sloan’s boyfriend.”

“Huh, that’s interesting,” Wes mutters under his breath.

“What’s interesting?” Jude brows furrow as he tilts his head to the side.

“You’re definitely not her type.” He stares at Jude for a solid five seconds before he sweeps Addi into his arms and carries her to the front of the pavilion, leaving us alone.

“What was that supposed to mean?” Jude frowns as he stares at Wes’s back.

Wes puts his thumb and forefinger in his mouth, making a high-pitched whistle to get everyone’s attention. Peck and Sophia are standing at the front of the room with massive smiles stretching across their faces.

“I want to thank everyone for coming… Even though we do this every Sunday.” Peck grins and everyone laughs. “I'm thrilled Sydney, Maverick, and the kids could make it for this special day.” He gestures towards a woman who must be his sister and a handsome man. “As well as Sloan and her boyfriend. I'm sure a lot of you remember Sloan.” Peck motions towards me and my cheeks heat under the attention.

“We can’t wait to find out if this little one is a boy or girl. We have another surprise for everyone too! But all of that will wait until it’s time for cake! Until then, it’s time to eat!” Sophia is practically bouncing with excitement. She’s so adorable.

Wes prays for dinner, then everyone gets in line to get food. I remember these Sunday dinners all too well. They were the highlight of my week. There were always so many people to chat with and everyone was genuinely interested in your life and how you were doing. We didn’t have superficial conversations. Nope, the people of Mulberry Lane knew exactly what my hopes and dreams were. They were always there to offer words of encouragement or support whenever they thought I needed them.

“Hey, Sloan! I'm so glad you made it!” Charlie appears at my side. She has a little girl perched on one hip and she links her free arm through mine and leads me towards the long line of people getting dinner. “This is Carter. Can you say hi, sweetie?”

The little girl waves and flashes me a big toothy grin.

“Hi, Carter. It’s so nice to meet you.” I brush a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and smile at her “She’s adorable. The perfect blend of you and Wyatt.”

“I know! I'm so glad she looks like both of us. I was a little worried one of our genes would win over the other since we both have really strong genes. All of the siblings look alike on both sides.” She chuckles.

Before I can respond, Cody appears at Charlie’s side. He holds his arms out for Carter and she practically jumps to Cody.

“I’ll take care of her while you eat.” He kisses Charlie’s cheek and positions Carter on his hip. He looks like he was born to have a baby on his hip. Whatever woman ties him down will be lucky to have him as the father of her children.

“Thanks, Cody. You’re the best.” Charlie smiles as Cody heads over to one of the couches along the far side of the pavilion.

He takes a seat and tickles Carter. Her sweet laughter can be heard above the murmur of voices. His head falls back and his deep laughter mixes with hers. He looks so happy to have her with him too.

“He wants a family so badly,” Charlie says softly.

“I was a little surprised to find out he didn’t already have one,” I admit. “I know he wanted to get married and start a family at a young age.”

“Yeah, he did… He hasn’t found the right woman though. He thought he did, but she slipped through his fingers years ago.”

My attention snaps to Charlie and I find her gaze already zeroed in on me. She can’t be talking about me, right?

“He never got over you, Sloan.”

“Charlie, I'm with Jude…”

“I know.” She sighs and glances over at her brother. “I guess I just always hoped you’d come back and you guys would figure things out. It happened for Wyatt and I, so why couldn’t it happen between the two of you.” She shrugs without an ounce of guilt.

“Man, there’s something about watching a big, strong man with a baby that just makes you swoon,” Emma sighs as she steps behind us with Bella. They’re watching Cody.

“Or with a little girl,” Bella murmurs, staring straight at Jax, who’s holding a little girl in his arms.

“Oh, he’s obsessed with Bree. He’s going to make the world’s greatest daddy.” Emma nudges Bella, making her glare at her cousin. Their dads are twins and their genes are strong because Emma and Bella almost look like twins as well.

“Ew, why are all of you staring at my brothers like you want to beg them to marry you?” Sophia grimaces as she comes towards us.

“Because they’re hot.” Emma shrugs.

“Jeez, don’t say that! We all grew up together. Aren’t they like brothers to you?” Creed shudders at the thought.