Page 10 of Sexy Dare (The Sexy 1)

But apparently his friends weren’t. “Not taking her home and fucking her means you’re worried you could get serious about her,” Tanner said, sounding almost gleeful. If he could get under someone’s skin, it made Tanner happy.

“Shows what you know.” Jason threw the words over his shoulder as he walked out, but he was very much afraid they were right.

Faith Lancaster was in his head and he was beginning to think the only way to get her out was to see what, if anything, could be between them. And now, luckily for him, he had an excuse to see her again.

* * *

Faith woke up and performed her usual routine, settling in for her cup of morning coffee and a look at her website, orders, and sales numbers. Right now it appeared that her online orders had picked up and in-store sales were strong. Her goal with the baskets had been to increase both of those as well as her foot traffic, and a click would tell her if she’d had initial gains.

She clicked and … “Success!” There had been an exponential jump in the three short days since she’d left her baskets in stores downtown. It felt good to accomplish her goal, better to know her ideas had merit and were working for her.

She wondered if whatever notion she’d given Jason Dare the other night had helped him the way he’d hoped it would. She’d picked up his business card a few times over the last couple of days, wishing her life was simple and that she could call him. At the very least to just be his friend. But it seemed like lying low was working for her.

Things had been quiet since the tire slashing, leading her to believe it had been a freak incident. Maybe one of the neighborhood kids really had thought vandalism made for a fun night out. She couldn’t afford to bring anyone into her life that might bring attention to her or become a target her brother could use against her.

If she was lonely, well, at least she was safe. It was a trade-off she was willing to make.

After getting dressed, she headed out for the day, still on a high from the results of her experiment for her business. But when she pulled up to the front of the shop, her world fell apart. Graffiti covered the glass, ruining the beautiful painting she’d had done of her logo, and the glass on the door had been shattered.

She parked and walked to the entrance, her stomach twisted in painful knots, and tears sprung to her eyes. She hadn’t been able to afford a burglar alarm and because she was surrounded by so many other stores, she’d naively thought she could get by without one.

The shops surrounding her were clothing stores whose salespeople didn’t arrive for work until ten a.m. She came in early to prep and cook. Obviously no one had reported this yet or the police would be here.

With her heart in her throat, she dialed 911 and stood outside before entering, only willing to do so with a police officer by her side. While she waited, she’d never felt so alone or experienced the solitude of her life more acutely. She’d left behind a life with friends, who she hadn’t contacted for fear Colton would pressure them for her whereabouts.

And though she had Kelsey here, Kelsey was an intern, not a real friend. At twenty-five, Faith was four years older than the other girl, who had her own group of friends from school. New York City wasn’t conducive to meeting people if you didn’t make an effort, go to the gym or classes, and put yourself out there. And Faith had done everything but. She’d kept her head down, run her business, and gone home alone at night.

Her thoughts went to Jason, a man she’d just met. She felt silly, but she’d put his business card in her jacket pocket, and she fingered the cool paper now, hoping it would make her feel better, but she had no intention of calling him.

He didn’t need her problems and he wasn’t her friend. He’d just been a helpful stranger.

She forced herself to think about the incident and who could have done it. If her brother had been the culprit, and how could it be anyone but him, how had he found her? She’d put all the paperwork in the business entity name, not her own, hadn’t put her picture on any of her social media, including the company website, and she’d taken a new last name to ensure she’d be protected. But if these two back-to-back episodes told her anything, there was no such thing as safe.

Once the cops came, they checked out the business before declaring it clear for her to go inside, at which point she had to step over a brick that had been thrown through the glass. Thank God whoever it was hadn’t gotten inside. Her equipment and cases were all intact and she blew out a relieved breath.

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