16. Sloan
Sloan
I tried to convince Jude we shouldn’t go to Mulberry Lane. I explained to him it was going to be awkward. How we’d be surrounded by dozens of people who consider Cody their family. People who would do anything to help Cody and will always have his back.
I tried to get him to understand how uncomfortable I would be. How I haven’t seen these people in years and I didn’t really want to face them.
“Can’t you just do this for me, Sloan?” He stares at me like I'm being the ridiculous one.
I want to growl with frustration and want to shake him until he gets out of this Jax Robinson obsession and realizes what a jerk he’s being to me.
I keep trying to remind myself this isn’t Jude. He was never like this before he met Jax and Cody. He’s just going through a little phase and wants to spend more time with someone he admires, but then I think it’s a bunch of crap.
It doesn’t matter who he wants to spend time with. He shouldn’t be using me to get what he wants, especially when I’ve told him I don’t want to do this. He should take my feelings into consideration and realize he’s asking way too much of me.
We still haven’t discussed him telling his dad I wanted off the Bradford account.
I haven’t let it go and I want to have a long talk about how he crossed a line and I don’t appreciate it, but I haven’t had time to talk to him since I found out.
As soon as he showed up today, he’s been trying to rush me out the door so he can see Jax.
I'm really confused because I thought we were going out for dinner, just the two of us. That’s what he said when he called to apologize to me after the Brazilian steakhouse night.
“Are you kidding me? I’ve been doing whatever you want since you met the twins. I feel like you’re trying to date Jax, not me.” I fold my arms over my chest and glare at him.
“I know. I’ve been terrible towards you.” He takes my hands in his and drops his gaze towards the ground. “Can we just go today, then that’s it? Sophia and Charlie really seemed to want you to come.” He peeks up at me through his lashes and a soft smile spreads across his lips.
I let out a sigh and shake my head. He’s not wrong. Sophia and Charlie will be really upset if I don’t come. They really wanted me there. They’ve texted me at least five more times, asking if I would please come.
“If we go, that’s it. I won't be going to anything else to get you around the Robinson twins. This is the last thing. Do you understand me?”
“Completely. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior and if you don’t like something, just let me know.”
“Fine. Let me get changed, then we can go.” I glance down at the royal blue dress I picked out to wear for our date. I curled my hair and did my makeup a little heavier than I normally do. I wanted to look cute, but I can’t wear this to Sophia’s party.
“Don’t change. You look beautiful.” Jude tugs me into his arms and wraps me in a hug. He kisses me softly and I melt against his body. This is the boyfriend I remember. The one I’ve been looking for over the past two weeks. Let’s see how long he sticks around once Jax is in the same room.
We step inside the pavilion and I swear all conversation stops as every set of eyes focuses on us. I take in the people I haven’t seen in years and my stomach sinks.
“Sloan Weathers, what are you doing here?” Addi comes right over to me and wraps me in a big hug. She was always the best mom. I was so jealous of Cody and his siblings that they got someone like Addi as their mom and Wes as their dad. They hit the parent jackpot.
“Sophia invited me to her gender reveal party… Is it ok that I'm here? Cody said it was.” I nibble nervously on my bottom lip as Addi releases me from her hug and takes a step back.
“It’s more than ok, sweetheart. I haven’t seen you in so long. It’s so nice to have you here. You know everyone here.” She spreads her hands wide and motions to the whole crew. “They’re all a little older, but they’re still here.”
“Oh my gosh. Is that little Creed?” I point to the devastatingly handsome teenager in the corner of the room laughing with a few other kids around his age. He looks so much like Blake.
“Yeah, that’s Creed. I'm fairly certain the boy will be playing professional football within the next few years.” Addi grins like a proud mama, even though Creed isn’t her son. “Oh, who is this?” Addi gestures to Jude.
“This is my boyfriend, Jude,” I say, a little embarrassed he’s with me. How weird is it to show up to a party with your ex’s family when your current boyfriend is at your side.
Jude takes a step closer and wraps his arm around my waist. He tugs me closer and smiles down at me before turning his attention to Addi.
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” He holds out his hand and Addi shakes it politely.
“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Jax, Cody, Sophia, and Charlie’s mom. Oh! Here comes my husband.”
I follow Addi’s line of sight and swallow hard as I watch Wes make his way over here. I love Wes. He was always sweet towards me, but he doesn’t take crap from anyone and I don’t know how he’s going to respond to seeing me again.
“Sloan Weathers,” he says softly. “I never thought I’d lay eyes on you again.”
“Hi, Wes.” I smile, unsure of what else to do.
“Dang, I don’t even get a hug?” He arches a brow at me. I roll my eyes and step away from Jude and into Wes’s arms.
His hugs are almost as great as a hug from Cody. They both make you feel like you’re safe and protected. Like you’re coming home after months of being gone.
“We missed you, sweetheart,” he whispers right before he lets me go.
He watches me carefully as he wraps an arm around Addi’s waist. He pulls her close and presses a kiss to her lips.
I smile at them. They never hid their love and passion towards each other.
It’s something I always loved about them.
I dreamed of getting married to a man who wanted their type of relationship… Someone like Cody.
“I'm Wes, Cody’s dad.” Wes holds his hand out to Jude and when Jude takes it, I don’t miss the wince on his face. Wes likes to intimidate people and I'm sure he’s squeezing Jude’s hand hard, making sure he knows he’s weaker than him.
I don’t miss the way he only introduces himself as Cody’s dad. He’s slyly reminding me of Cody. Like I said, this massive group of people will have Cody’s back no matter what.
“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.”