Page 36 of Sexy Dare (The Sexy 1)

Somehow they’d bonded, and he trusted her as much as his brothers, which was odd. And something that unnerved him to no end. Also something he didn’t want to think about too much, so he picked up his coffee mug, drank his caffeine, and began scrolling through his phone, checking in on Landon and Tanner.

Jason had missed a Saturday night at the club, and his partners weren’t pissed exactly, but they weren’t happy with him, either. Since there was no way he was going to tell them he’d been reliving their shared past, he let them give him shit and took it as his due.

He’d finished his first cup of coffee and was on his standard second when his doorbell rang, startling him. He narrowed his gaze.

He glanced at his phone. Eleven a.m. Who would be here at this early hour on a Sunday? He strode to the door, glanced in the peephole, and did a double take.

Unsetting his alarm, he unlocked the door and swung it open. “Mom? What in the world are you doing here?”

Savannah Dare walked into his apartment, but instead of the tears he expected, he saw anger in her blue eyes. “Your father wants me back. Of all the self-centered, ridiculous notions, he thinks I’m going to forgive and forget.” She met Jason’s gaze and pulled him into her arms. “I’m sorry. How’s my boy?” she asked, hugging him tight. She smelled like the perfume he associated with home, a light floral scent that said mom.

“I’m fine. And we’ll talk about Dad. But why are you here?”

“He showed up last night with his flowers and apologies and I told him to leave. He swore he’d be back this morning. I wasn’t ready to deal with him, so I left.”

“The state? Why didn’t you just go stay with Alex and Madison?” he asked of his brother and sister-in-law, who lived nearby his mom.

“That’s the first place your father would look for me. And with the baby, I didn’t want to just show up on Sienna’s doorstep.” She rolled her suitcase into the entryway and met his gaze. “Show me to your guest room?”

Jason rubbed a hand over his face, wondering how he was going to explain away the fact that he had a woman staying in the extra room who was currently fast asleep in his bed.

“Jason?” As if on cue, Faith walked into the living area wearing nothing but his shirt from last night, buttoned and hanging down on her bare thighs. Her gaze landed on his mother and her eyes opened wide. “Oh my God. You have company!” She pulled at the shirt as if she could magically lengthen the fabric.

“Jason Dare, why didn’t you tell me you had a woman here?” his mother asked in a chiding voice.

“I was just about to,” he muttered. And though he was a grown man and had every right to have a woman in his bed, he wasn’t thrilled that Faith’s face had turned beet red and she looked mortified.

He had no choice but to introduce them. “Mom, this is Faith Lancaster. Faith, this is my mother, Savannah Dare.”

He gave Faith credit. Despite her embarrassment, she walked right up to his mom, extended her hand, and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“The same here. I apologize for interrupting. I flew in from Florida unannounced. I’ll just go–”

“No. I, umm … I’ll go get dressed and let you two talk.” Faith turned and fled back the way she’d come.

With a groan, he glanced at his mother. “That went well.”

She tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m really sorry. I should have called but I just took the six-a.m. flight.”

“It’s fine. It’s just that the situation with Faith is complicated. She’s staying here because she has some personal issues right now and despite her … being in my shirt, she’s using the spare bedroom,” he said instead of saying despite the obvious fact that we’re sleeping together. It was awkward enough for everyone.

His mother nodded in understanding. “I didn’t stay in a hotel because your father has contacts and private investigators. He’ll track me down. At least this way, once he finds me, he has to deal with us both. But given the circumstances, I can take a room. Or go stay with Sienna. I can help with the baby. I just didn’t want to intrude because they’re still newlyweds, but it’s really no problem.” She was rambling.

“No.” Faith returned, dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, her hair brushed and pulled into a sleek ponytail. “I can go home. You stay here with your son.”

“Not happening, Faith, and you know why.” Jason’s words came out like a command and had her snapping her shoulders back and narrowing her gaze.

“I’m not putting your mother out. It’s not right.”

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