17. Asher #3
It had been a couple hours now since Jane and Henry arrived and Jane had been hogging Sophie.
Aside from feeding and a diaper change that Sutton insisted on doing, Jane had been trying to keep a hold of her.
Yet all the guys demanded a turn, passing her around and playing with her on the mat Sutton brought.
It’d been fun watching her grow more comfortable each time a new person either sat with her or held her.
Although I was a little pissed off that she wasn’t with me. The only solace I had was that every time she caught sight of me, she would smile a little toothless smile and either clap her hands or start blabbering excitedly.
Sutton had relaxed over dinner as Jane scolded us for one thing or another and the guys joked around.
It was the normal chaos of us all being at dinner together but adding in Jane’s hard opinions and Henry’s jokes made it even more over the top.
I, as usual, didn’t contribute much to the conversation but I did enjoy watching Sutton experience it all.
She had started to open up more as the day had gone on, talking more and not looking so scared.
She even teased Noah along with everyone else.
We were now sitting around the fire, everyone relaxing and enjoying the warmth.
Sophie had started to get fussy a while ago, likely because it was past her normal bedtime.
Sutton had tried to leave but I had snatched Soph from her and settled her on my chest. That was twenty minutes ago and she was now asleep under the blanket, snuggled up against me, Sutton sitting beside me with her legs curled underneath her.
There was a break in the conversation and Sutton looked over at me.
A small smile touched her lips and the light from the fire was dancing on the side of her face, almost making her look ethereal. “I should get her home,” she said softly, almost reluctantly. I could tell that she didn’t want to leave but I didn’t know what to say to get her to stay.
“You should stay!” Jane, overhearing Sutton, stepped in with a sly look at me. “You should let the baby sleep. She looks very comfortable.”
Sutton shifted closer to me so she could look down at her daughter, her arm now touching mine. She smiled softly and then looked up at me. “Are you okay to continue being used as a pillow?”
“Would prefer it actually.” I shifted the blanket that had slipped off Sophie to make sure she stayed warm.
“Sutton,” Quinn said, rising from her place on the couch beside ours and holding out her hand, “I want popcorn. Do you want some?”
“Absolutely.” She smiled, hesitating a moment, looking over at me.
I just nodded, letting her know I had Soph. Her smile grew as she grabbed Quinn’s hand and stood up.
“I’ll help. I’m starting to feel the jetlag and I need to move,” Jane said. Henry kissed her hand that he’d been holding as she stood up and the girls headed inside.
That man had loved Jane deeply every second I’d been in their home and long before that.
“I would love you all eternally if you brought some for me!” Noah called at their backs.
“Honestly.” Jane shook her head in disappointment, looking back at us over her shoulder. “I don’t know who raised you.”
“Should have offered to help us.” Quinn looked at him with mischief in her eyes. She loved it when Jane was here because she gave us all hell.
Everyone around me kept talking while I watched Sutton head into the house, laughing at something that Jane said. The sway of her hips was fucking distracting. I wanted to sink my hands into them as she was on top of me but those weren’t thoughts I should be having in this setting.
Jane touched her arm and smiled as they all stood in the kitchen, Quinn disappearing from view.
Jane kept talking and I wasn’t sure what she was saying but Sutton reached out and grabbed her hand and nodded before turning around, almost like she was wiping tears from her face.
I would be forever grateful that my family was folding her in so easily, no questions asked.
“You gotta stop that.” Jaxson’s voice pulled my attention back to the men. All of them were already staring at me.
I lifted an eyebrow, patting Sophie’s back gently. “Stop what?”
“Staring at her like she’s your next meal.” Will smirked as Henry let out a snort. I narrowed my eyes at all of them.
“If that’s how you look at all your friends…” Noah pumped his eyebrows while the others let out a laugh. If I wasn’t holding a baby I would probably go over there and slap him upside the head or at least throw something at him.
“Shut the fuck up,” I muttered, taking another pull of my beer.
“Thank goodness the baby is asleep so she doesn’t hear that language,” Henry scolded with a shit-eating grin on his face that made him look so much like Noah.
I looked over at Knight for support. He’d been through this but the asshole just shrugged and took a sip of his drink. He was enjoying someone else getting ribbed. That was fine, I could take it.
Because the only reason they were poking fun at me like this was because Sutton was here. And that was the best reason to have to roll my eyes more than I normally did.