Page 31 of Sexy Dare (The Sexy 1)

She nodded, hating the reminder. Although she was living at Jason’s, she tried her best not to focus on Colton when she could help it.

“Renault is the best,” Gabe said in a soothing tone. “He’s also a bodyguard if you need one. It might take time, but he’ll locate your sibling.” Before they could say more, the doorbell rang at the same time as Noah walked into the room rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, buddy!” Gabe strode over to his son, knelt down, and lifted the little boy into his arms. “It’s time for your party.”

“Party, yay!” He wriggled to get down just as friends walked into the room and the birthday party began.

Suddenly they were surrounded by children, and Jason grabbed her hand, pulling her to the side. Parents divided off into groups who knew each other, while Gabe kept a close eye on his son and Izzy flitted from person to person, making sure everyone was happy.

The doorbell rang and a life-size costumed Dalmatian with a red vest and firefighter hat on his head entered the apartment.

He stumbled into the room and the kids yelled and laughed.

“I’m good!” he said as he was surrounded by children.

“Marshall from PAW Patrol,” Gabe said, followed by, “I need a drink.”

Jason laughed. “I bet you never thought this would be your life,” he said to his cousin.

Gabe glared at him. “You have no idea. But … I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he said, his voice softening along with his expression as his gaze went from his wife to his little boy, who was sitting on the Dalmatian’s lap.

“I’m going to take pictures,” Gabe said. He walked over to Izzy, pulled her away from her friends, and wrapped an arm around her while they watched their son interacting with the other kids.

Faith sighed, viewing them, a feeling of longing tugging in her chest.

“What are you thinking?” Jason asked.

She bit the inside of her cheek, uncertain if she wanted to answer with the truth.

“Do you want kids?” he asked before she could answer, upping the stakes with his question to her.

She hesitated before answering. “Not with my life the way it is now, no. Not with a threat looming over me and while I’m still building my business. But someday? Yes. I do.” She looked over at him and tossed the hot potato in his lap. “Do you?”

* * *

Jason knew he made a mistake the minute he’d asked Faith if she wanted kids. He’d initially meant it as an innocuous question because they’d been surrounded by children, but as soon as it had come out of his mouth, he realized how deep the question was. Her long pause gave his stomach time to twist and turn. And though she had every right to turn the question around on him, she wasn’t going to like his answer.

“I don’t … like loss.”

She narrowed her gaze, confusion obvious on her face. “But kids don’t mean loss.”

“Kids mean more people to worry about in my life and that scares me.” His heart picked up a rapid beat in his chest, thoughts of Levi taking over, as they always did when he considered a serious future. Which was why he rarely let himself go there.

He glanced at Faith. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“Someplace we can talk. We came, we saw, we brought gifts and favors… Izzy and Gabe will understand.” As if sensing they were talking about him, Gabe glanced over.

Jason gestured to the door and Gabe nodded, his expression one of understanding. Grasping Faith’s hand, he wove through the crowds of people, and they grabbed their coats and slipped out the door. If he was going to have this necessary conversation, he was going to do it in a place that mattered.

“Where are we going?” Faith asked, rushing to keep up with his long strides. He couldn’t help it. Thinking about retelling this story made him antsy and anxious and he needed to move.

“You’ll see. Just bear with me.”

With traffic, it took him thirty minutes to cross town and head up toward the place where he and his brothers had met. He pulled onto the city street that housed Manhattan University, where he’d gone to school, and parked in a nearby lot.

“Is this where you, Tanner, Landon, and Levi went to college?” Faith asked after he’d handed the attendant his keys and they started walking up the ramp toward the street.

“What do you know about Levi?” he asked gruffly.

“The night I first met you, I Googled the nightclub and found the website. I read the dedication,” she said, her voice soft and full of understanding.

He swallowed over the lump in his throat but remained silent. They walked down the sidewalk and headed along the street known as Fraternity Row and came to a stop at a brownstone with steps leading to the front door. The fraternity located here now was a new one, not the one he and his friends had pledged, but the building was the same, just as the memories remained.

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