Page 2 of Thrown Off Balance

“You can have a party at our place,” I sigh, knowing I'm going to regret this, but I don’t have anything else to offer him.

“What kind of party?” He narrows his gaze on me.

“I don’t know, a party! Twenty people tops.”

“Thirty.”

“You don’t know thirty people, Jax.” I shake my head.

“I know hundreds of people. Jeez, there are like fifty people living on Mulberry Lane alone.” He rolls his eyes.

We grew up on Mulberry Lane. It’s this magical place most people don’t believe is even real. Our dad and his best friend built seven houses for them and their friends. The houses form a circle and, in the center, they built an oasis for us. It was the best childhood you could ask for. We were always surrounded by loved ones. We might not be related to anyone by blood, but they’re our family through and through.

Now that all the kids are growing up, Dad and Uncle Blake are building houses on the outer circle for some of the kids. So far, our sister, Charlie, and her husband have one house, and our sister, Sophia, and her husband have another. They’re currently building my house and Jax’s, but they won't be finished for a few more months.

“Yeah, but you’re not inviting people from Mulberry Lane to a party at our house.”

“Why not? Uncle Linc is awesome. He’s always the life of the party.”

“Because he’s like twice our age, Jax. You don’t want to party with him.” If I wasn’t wearing a helmet, I’d be pinching the bridge of my nose and praying for patience with my brother.

“So… I can invite thirty people. Obviously the first line, probably some Pit Bulls, and some ladies.” He wiggles his brows.

The Pit Bulls are our city’s professional baseball team. Charlie and Wyatt both work for them and so do a few other people we grew up with. We’ve developed relationships with most of the guys on the team. They’re easy to hang out with because they know what it’s like to be a professional athlete and they understand the troubles we face.

“I said twenty people,” I groan, knowing this will end up being over forty people.

“Fine, I’ll invite twenty people.” He grins, skating away from me.

“Jax! I swear if forty people show up I'm going to be mad.” I skate after him.

“I hear you, brother. I can't control if someone invites other people though.”

Chapter 2

Sloan

I let out a long sigh as I take my seat behind my desk. I don’t want to finish this marketing campaign. This client is a complete jerk and he doesn’t care about his company. He wants to micromanage everything I do and it’s grating on my nerves.

“Why do you look so annoyed, babe?” Jude drops into the chair on the other side of my desk and watches me.

We’ve been dating for almost six months. I met him at work and we hit it off almost immediately… before I knew he was my boss’ son.

“I just… I don’t like working with this client,” I sigh as I pull up the files for this project and scan the work I’ve already done.

“Do you want me to talk to my dad about it? I'm sure he could put someone else on it. The Bradfords are known to be a pain to work with. I'm not surprised they’re giving you trouble.”

“No, nothing like that.” I wave my hand through the air like I'm erasing this conversation. “I don’t want to bother your dad or be put on a different assignment. I'm just venting.”

“He wouldn’t care, Sloan. He likes you and you do great work. He always gushes about how he can give you any assignment and know it will be handled perfectly. You submit work on time and it’s always more amazing than everyone else.” He smiles sweetly at me.

“Which is why I don’t want you to say a word to him.” I narrow my eyes on him, trying to convey how much I want him to keep his mouth shut.

Jude has a history of trying to fix things that aren’t broken. He’s sweet in how he wants to make my life easier, but we can't all work for companies our fathers own and get special treatment.

I'm not saying Jude hasn’t worked to get to where he is today, because he has, but he gets to pick his assignments and he always picks the easiest ones. Life is just all around easier for him.

“Fine, babe. My lips are sealed.” He makes a motion like he’s zippering his lips shut and throwing away the key. I want to roll my eyes at him, but I end up chuckling at him. He’s adorable and he cares about me. How can I get annoyed with him?