Dare to Play (Dare Nation 3)

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As Macy drove home, her entire body was aware of Jaxon’s kiss and proposal. Having already experienced the magic of Jaxon Prescott in bed, she had to ask herself if she could handle living with him, sleeping with him, and not getting her heart broken in the process when their union came to an end.

Because Jaxon didn’t want to be tied down and she didn’t do casual sex. Her night with him had been an aberration, one she’d needed, but it wasn’t her MO. To Macy, sex meant something or would come to. This marriage would have an expiration date, and she didn’t trust herself to sleep with him and not end up with her heart engaged. But she couldn’t deny that they both needed the results this union could provide.

She pulled into the driveway, surprised to see Lilah’s car, and her stomach churned with dread. Though she’d allowed Lilah to pick Hannah up, school had just ended, and they’d barely had time to get home. Wondering why they weren’t out shopping as planned, Macy headed inside, but Hannah and her mother weren’t in the kitchen, the family room, or anywhere she’d expect them to be downstairs.

As she walked toward Hannah’s room, she heard their voices, giggling and happy. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Hannah to have a relationship with her mother if Lilah could step up as a parent, but she didn’t want Hannah to be happier being with her mother than with Macy. And from the peals of laughter Macy hadn’t heard from Hannah in a while, that was exactly how her sister was feeling.

She stepped into the doorway and immediately saw the suitcase open on Hannah’s bed, Lilah sitting beside the luggage. Hannah must have been in the bathroom in the hall.

Worried, she cleared her throat. “Hi.”

“Well, well, well, isn’t it the star of social media? Or should I say social media slut?” Lilah batted her eyelashes not so innocently.

Macy narrowed her gaze. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“But a judge might.”

Hannah came bouncing past Macy into the room. “Macy! Mom said I could sleep over tonight. She’s staying at the Nobu Hotel on Miami Beach. Oh! I need my toothbrush!” she cried and ran for the bathroom off her bedroom, pushing Macy aside.

Looking pleased, Lilah grinned at Macy before focusing on her iPhone.

Macy’s stomach twisted, both at Lilah’s accusation and at the confrontation to come, because as she looked at Hannah, she saw the loaded cosmetic bag in hand. It looked like she was going for a lot more than one night.

“Hannah, you didn’t ask me if you could go, and you know you’re grounded this weekend.”

Her sister stilled. “I assumed me being with my mother was different than going out with friends.”

“Maybe it would have been if you’d asked permission.” God, was she always going to come out as the bitch when it came to dealing with Lilah?

“You can’t stop me from sleeping at my mother’s.”

Lilah, of course, stayed out of it, not without a smirk, of course, knowing it was better for Macy and Hannah to argue to drive a deeper wedge between them.

Macy glanced at her sister. “Please don’t leave. I’ll be back to talk more in a few minutes.”

She needed to think strategically. What was best for Hannah? What looked best to the court especially now that her own reputation had taken a hit? God, she needed a lawyer.

Unsure of who to call but knowing she needed to bounce the ideas circling her head by someone, she pulled out her phone, and after she unlocked her screen, Jaxon’s number stared back at her.

He wasn’t her friend, not really, but he was the person who’d offered to insert himself in her life and help her sort out her issues. She wondered if he really meant it, and as she tapped his name, she knew she was about to find out.

She listened as the phone rang, surprised when he picked up almost immediately.

“Macy?”

“Hi.” She bit down on her lower lip. “If you were serious about our situation, I could use some backup right now. And afterwards we can discuss my answer to your proposition.”

“Just tell me where to go. I’ll be right there,” he said without hesitation.

She gave him her address and hoped he could help her make the right decision tonight for her future.Chapter FiveCall him intrigued. Since Jaxon had just seen Macy a short time ago, he wondered what had her reaching out to him so quickly.

He pulled into the driveaway of the modest house, a little smaller than the one he and his siblings had grown up in, and cut the engine of his Range Rover. A red sport convertible sat in the driveaway, which he doubted belonged to Macy. He’d walked her to a Jetta earlier, and she didn’t seem the type to have a sports car on the side.