Page 4 of Sexy Dare (The Sexy 1)

For sure, his father, Robert Dare, hadn’t taught him, as he’d rarely been around. Maybe he’d taught Jason’s half brothers from a woman nobody knew about how to handle the things a man should know. Shaking off that painful memory, Jason called his cousin Gabe and let him know he would be late before throwing his jacket into the back of his car, rolling up his sleeves, loosening his tie, and getting down to his task.

While he worked, Kelsey called an Uber to take her home and one showed up quickly. Apparently Faith, having taken one of his business cards, had decided he was a legitimate businessman and safe to be alone with.

It didn’t take long to get the tire off the van, and on examination, Jason realized it had been deliberately slashed, and that bothered him.

“How’s it going?” Faith asked him.

“No problems, unless you count the fact that someone deliberately cut your tire.” He glanced over his shoulder.

Faith had frozen in place, her eyes wide, her concerned expression clearly telling him she was upset.

“It’s probably some of the kids in the neighborhood,” she finally said, visibly forcing herself to relax. “They congregate around here late at night, and I haven’t looked at the van since the day before yesterday.”

He wasn’t sure whether or not he believed her, and he tucked her reaction away to dissect another time.

She wrapped her arms around herself, appearing uncertain for the first time since he’d met her. And a fierce feeling of protectiveness rushed over him, one he’d previously experienced only for people he cared about, yet he didn’t know this woman at all.

“So what are you doing with all the candy?” he asked as he worked on the tire, eager to take that stricken look off her face, change the subject, shake off the weird emotions she provoked in him, and maybe get to know her at the same time.

“I own a store called Sweet Treats,” she said. “I want to build my business, so I made baskets of my signature item, and I was going to go around to the local businesses and ask if they’d put the candy and my business card by the register.”

“What makes your candy stand out?” he asked.

“Other than how good it is?” she asked cheekily. “It’s handcrafted and made with love. If I grow enough, I’ll have to bring in outside-made candy to fill the cases, but that’s for another time. Meanwhile, I know I’m a small shop and it’ll be hard to get my name out there, but if I can dominate the area around my store based on the one thing I offer that’s different than anyone else, then maybe word of mouth will work in my favor.”

He listened to her words and his hand stilled on the last lug nut. Everything she said made sense.

Her words dominating the area and standing out jumped out at him. “That’s it!” he said, excitement filling him because her words had hit on the one thing missing from Club TEN29. Something unique to them, and suddenly he knew just what he needed to discuss with Gabe.

“What’s it?” she asked.

“You’ve come up with a brilliant idea, Faith Lancaster. And it just might help me with my business, so thank you.” He turned the wrench one last time and rose to his feet, his legs stiff from crouching in one position for so long.

“Happy to help.” She shrugged, obviously confused, but that was okay because he wasn’t. He finally had direction.

He looked down at his hands, now completely covered in dirt and grease.

Faith glanced at his blackened skin. “Oh! Come upstairs and wash up. It’s the least I can do for you after you saved me.”

He didn’t want to get into his car covered in filth, and she seemed okay with him now, so he nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”

He followed her inside and up two flights of dark stairs. He immediately didn’t like where she lived. From the description of the guys hanging out front late at night to the lack of lighting in the walk-up, it screamed danger. But who was he to judge? Yet it bothered him. He wouldn’t let his sister live here.

By the time they walked into the small apartment, he was frowning, but one look at the cheerful décor and his mood lightened. This was a woman who made the best of any situation, he realized, taking in the white curtains and the old furniture with bright pink throw pillows covering the cushions. A matching fun pink rug sat under a beat-up coffee table covered in well-read books.

“You like pink,” he mused, coming up beside her. “And candy.” She even smelled sweet and delicious. “Are you fun, Faith?”

Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of … pink. “I can be, in the right situation.”

He wondered what that right situation might be, because he’d definitely like to have fun with her. The kind between the sheets. Before his dick could react to that thought, he asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”

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