“Good, because I suspect Sadie will be up here in the next five minutes if you don’t get down there. She’s worried about you feeling left out.”
I reminded myself that I was doing this for Sadie. “Let’s go,” I told him.
I followed Jax to the stairs and took in the crowd gathering in the foyer as Sadie opened the door again to let in more of her friends.
When I had been with Amanda at Marcus and Willow’s wedding, I had met several of them. They all seemed really nice, but Preston was one of theirs. I wasn’t sure just how well they would accept me. I left Sea Breeze on good terms with everyone after the wedding. It was easy to see who it was Amanda wanted. I didn’t even try to win her over. The girl’s heart was obviously owned by Preston.
Marcus Hardy walked in, holding a baby in a red-and-white blanket that looked like it had an elephant on it. Sadie squealed in delight and hugged Marcus’s wife, Willow, and then reached out to take the baby from Marcus. Two years ago that scene wasn’t something any of them would have imagined. Marcus had been determined to get Sadie’s attention, but he couldn’t compete with Jax. But then, no one ever could compete with my brother. I never dared to.
“I get him after Sadie,” Amanda’s voice called out just as I saw her walking into the room.
“You get him all the time,” Sadie told her, smiling down at the baby.
“He loves his aunt Manda,” Amanda cooed over the baby. I hadn’t seen Amanda since Marcus and Willow’s wedding. Her long blond hair was hanging loose down her back, and she was wearing a skirt that showed off her tanned legs. Preston walked up behind her and placed his hand possessively on her hip, and I froze. This might be a bad idea.
“I swear to you he’s over it,” Jax whispered beside me.
I nodded and started down the stairs toward the group. It wasn’t that I was scared of Preston—I just didn’t want to spend my night feeling like the unwanted guest. I was fine with not showing up to this thing.
“Cage and Eva are coming. They’re still getting used to life with a baby,” Willow told Sadie.
“I can’t wait to see Bliss,” Sadie said with a happy sigh.
Another baby? Damn, this group was multiplying like rabbits.
“She’s gorgeous,” Willow said. “I’m not kidding you. Like, stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous. Her little cheeks are so chubby, and her eyes are Cage’s. Eva can’t take her anywhere without being stopped by a million people to ooh and aah over her.” She smiled happily.
We reached the bottom step, and Sadie noticed us. She beamed brightly. I didn’t make eye contact with Amanda or even look in Preston’s direction. Instead I walked over to shake Marcus’s hand and congratulate him on the kid.
“Good to see you,” Marcus said, grinning at me.
“You too. Looks like you added another member to the family,” I replied. “Congrats.”
“Thanks. He’s keeping me up at night, but I’m okay with it. It’s a good time to talk football. Teaching him early.”
I laughed and turned to Sadie, who was holding the little guy out for me to see him. “Jason, meet Eli Hardy,” she said in a soft voice reserved for babies.
“Nice to meet you, Eli,” I replied. The kid smiled and stuck his hand in his mouth. The little fluff of hair on his head was as red as his mother’s, but the kid reminded me of Marcus. Maybe it was his eyes.
“I’m hungry. We gonna stand around and look at babies all night, or is there food here?” a new voice said, drawing my attention from the baby. I recognized him, but I couldn’t remember his name. He had his dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail. Tattoos decorated most of his arms, and he even had one coming up his neck. I didn’t stare long enough to figure out what it was. His lip was pierced, and when he talked you could see the metal in his mouth.
“We have plenty of food, Dewayne,” Sadie replied, smiling at him like he wasn’t a scary-ass dude.
“Good,” he said, walking over and stopping to kiss Eli’s head, which was not what I was expecting him to do. “Damn, that kid’s cute. But then, he looks like his momma.”
Marcus just chuckled.
Dewayne looked over at me and stopped. His gaze shifted from me to where I knew Amanda and Preston stood behind me. A slow grin stretched across his face. “Hell yeah. This should be a shit ton of fun. Preston, you gonna play nice with Jason?”
Sadie’s eyes went wide, and everyone went quiet. I decided now was a good time to turn and address them and get this over with.
Amanda was glaring at Dewayne like she was about to take a swing at him, but Preston had an amused grin on his face. “I always play nice,” Preston said with a lazy drawl that went well with his surfer-boy appearance. “I got no problem with Jason. At least not anymore.” He dropped his arm from around Amanda’s waist, stepped forward, and held out his hand to me. “No hard feelings,” he said.
The guy was hard to dislike. I shook his hand. “Not at all,” I replied.
“Good,” he said, stepping back to put his hand back on Amanda. “See, dickhead? We’re all good,” Preston said to Dewayne.
Dewayne just chuckled and shook his head. “Sure you are.”