Stay with Me (Return to Haven 1)

With her hair down and loose curls lying over her shoulders, her leggings, and tank, she looked almost human . . . not at all like the business shark trying to steal his only source of income and future.

“An elderly lady who watches Piper for me sometimes. She has a granddaughter the same age and she was staying all night. They asked if Piper wanted to come over to make cookies and watch movies.”

And that’s all that needed to be mentioned for Piper to run and grab her favorite stuffed horse and pillow. She’d changed into her pajamas with unicorns, shoved her ladybug rain boots on, and promptly clomped out the back door with a wave of the hand. She was growing up on him, which he was proud of, but she could at least act like she’d miss him.

Jax dropped his arm from the door and shrugged. “I figured this was as good a time as any since I’m not busy.”

Two women came down the hallway behind Olivia. Jax recognized Jade instantly. That woman was striking, she hadn’t changed one bit, but she’d never done a thing for Jax. Even though she’d been older, too, when he was a preteen, nobody held a candle to Olivia Daniels.

Mercy, he was an idiot for allowing those juvenile thoughts to resurface.

“Jade, nice to see you. I’m not sure you remember me.”

The redhead offered him a wide smile he was sure she’d used to trap many men into her web. “I do remember you. You’ve changed quite a bit since I saw you last.”

That seemed to be the consensus of people who hadn’t seen him since he was an awkward teen and hadn’t weighed more than a buck fifty.

Turning his attention toward the blonde, he nodded. “I’m Jax.”

“Melanie,” she greeted with a shy smile.

This one seemed quite different from the outspoken Jade and the uppity Olivia. A beautiful trio, that much was for sure. If those three strutted down the streets of Haven, there would definitely be talk.

“Nice to meet you,” he replied. “You ladies don’t mind if I steal Livie, do you?”

Jade’s smile turned into a smirk as she nudged her friend. “We don’t mind at all. We weren’t doing much of anything anyway.”

Olivia’s eyes widened as she stared back at him. “You can’t possibly think I’m going on a date right now. I’m not dressed—”

“What you have on will be fine.” More than fine because at least now he felt they were somewhat on the same level. He couldn’t deal with her in those stuffy clothes, anyway. “We’re not going far.”

Olivia rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes. “Jackson—”

“Go,” Melanie urged. “Jade and I are fine.”

Jax waited for Livie to come up with another excuse, but she legitimately seemed at a loss for words. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as he first thought. Clearly, his plan of catching her off guard was brilliant. Now, if he could just keep this momentum going. He wasn’t going to put much effort into this fight for the simple fact he didn’t have to. He refused to sell, so there wasn’t much she could do.

But he was going to hear her out because he was a gentleman and respected women. Livie was wasting her time, though.

“You may want to put shoes on,” Jax stated, pointing down to her bare feet with the brightest shade of red on her toes. He would’ve pegged her for more of a French manicure type, something classy and simple. The red was a nice surprise and sexy as hell.

“I’ll meet you wherever we’re going,” she replied, crossing her arms in defiance.

Adorable how she thought she could act like a child. He was quite used to that sort of behavior, so again, he had the edge here.

“That wouldn’t be much of a date, would it?” he countered.

Livie turned back to her friends and Melanie held her hands out. “No argument from me. I’d love if a hot guy came and forced me on a date.”

Oh, he liked this new friend already. She could be a useful ally. Jade remained silent, which pleased him. At least her friends weren’t slamming the door in his face. They clearly wanted her to go, which spoke volumes about how lackluster her social life was. Apparently, they felt she needed to get out—or they thought she could persuade him into agreeing to a sale.

No doubt they’d all sat around and discussed this situation in depth and Olivia had been given advice and encouragement to go after what she wanted.

“Fine.” Livie turned toward the left side of the door and slid on a pair of flip-flops before facing him once again. “Let’s get this over with.”

Jax held a hand over his heart. “I’m crushed you’re in a hurry to get this over with.”

Livie let out an unladylike growl as she marched past him. Jax flashed a grin at Jade and Melanie, who weren’t even trying to hold back their laughter.