Dare to Play (Dare Nation 3)

“Wait until my friends see this ring. It’s all over school, you know. That you’re marrying Jaxon Prescott. It’s making me a big deal.” Hannah sounded impressed and Macy wanted to lecture her sister on the difference between real and fake friends, but before she could speak, Jaxon did.

“I know the attention must be cool,” he said, walking over and putting a hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “But the truth is, you want friends who like you for you, not the ones who want to be around you because your sister is marrying a pro baseball player.”

Macy would have said the same thing, but Jaxon’s gentler voice seemed to reach Hannah in a way Macy was having trouble doing lately.

Hannah blinked and nodded. “I get it. Because all of a sudden Hailey Claiborne and Victoria Mason are paying attention to me and including me at lunch.” Hannah bit down on her lower lip. “I’ve been leaving my best friend, Ruby, to eat with them. I guess that’s not cool, huh?”

Jaxon shook his head. “Nope. Not cool.”

Amazed at how easily he’d reached her sister when Macy had been struggling, she just stared at the two of them in shock.

“But the guys are talking to me, too. That’s okay, right?” She looked up at Jaxon with something akin to hero worship.

“It is … as long as they treat you with respect and aren’t just being nice to you in order to get to meet me, only to dump you after. That said, once you’re settled at my place, you could have a few friends over, if it’s okay with your sister.”

Hannah looked at Macy with longing in her eyes. Though she wished this was a conversation she’d been prepared for, she understood how quickly it had come up and how huge it was that Hannah was revealing things about her life to Jaxon. Macy wasn’t about to blow it now.

“It’s fine. I already said you could have friends over, so it’s all good.”

“The guys, too?” Hannah asked, a tinge of disbelief in her voice.

“Outside at the pool.” Not in the movie theater basement. Macy had to draw the line somewhere, and as long as she could see what was going on, she’d agree.

Besides, this conversation had sidetracked Hannah from thinking about catching Macy and Jaxon kissing, and that was a plus.

“Yes!” Hannah fist-pumped her approval.

“Have you started packing?” Jaxon asked.

Not that he knew it, but Macy had put suitcases in Hannah’s room, which she’d deliberately ignored and left empty against the wall.

“I’m going to start tonight.” She sheepishly met Macy’s gaze, knowing how nasty she’d been about moving. “After I call Ruby and apologize.”

“Perfect,” Macy said with a smile. Jaxon had worked miracles, and she wasn’t about to argue with success.

“Hannah, what do you say we exchange phone numbers, and if you have any questions about the house or your room, you can call and ask me.”

Her eyes opened wide and her phone was in her hand in an instant. They made the number exchange, and Hannah beamed, grinning from ear to ear.

And as Macy watched Jaxon earn her sister’s trust, she lost the first piece of her heart to Jaxon Prescott.

* * *

Jaxon had to admit he admired his technique. Getting Hannah’s phone number had been easier than he thought but only because he’d bonded with the teenager. He understood Hannah on a level very few people could. Between his uncle Paul, who owned the Miami Thunder, and his brother Austin, who’d been an All-Star wide receiver, he knew what it was like to be used for who you knew. The idea of anyone taking advantage of Hannah in any way pissed him off and turned his stomach. If she was going through a rough patch with Macy, the very least he could do was provide support and understanding while they were a family.

The word family didn’t choke him as much as he’d have thought. It helped that Macy beamed at him, obviously pleased with how he’d handled her little sister, and a part of him puffed up, knowing she saw him in a positive light.

Hannah had headed to her room, supposedly to start packing, and now he sat in the kitchen while Macy prepared dinner, a roast chicken, red potatoes, and broccoli topped with Parmesan cheese. She’d already invited and convinced him to stay.

As she easily moved around the room, they’d talked about Bri’s wedding ideas and laughed at how easily they’d both agreed to her plans. In Macy’s case, she said she didn’t want to be difficult and there was nothing her friend had proposed that she’d disliked, and for Jaxon, he knew better than to argue when Bri was in tornado mode.

“I need to bring up something awkward,” Macy said while the chicken roasted in the oven. She sat down beside him at the island on one of the barstools beside him.