Dare to Play Read online

Braden shot Austin a wry smile. “He’s always trying to run the show.”

  “You can say that again,” Jaxon muttered.

  “So where’s your beautiful wife?” Braden asked, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

  “Ladies’ room. She should be back any minute.”

  As they continued to talk, he kept an eye out, and when he caught sight of her, her glow and easy smile were gone.

  As soon as she joined them, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  She met his gaze. “I’m so sorry.”

  “What? For what?”

  Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her handbag. “Hannah had a party at your house that got out of hand. Someone called the press.”

  Austin groaned. “More press. The very thing we were trying to avoid.”

  “Oh, God.” Macy’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

  With a glare at his brother, Jaxon wrapped an arm around Macy’s shoulder. “Let me go explain what happened to my manager. He’s got teenagers. He’ll understand.” He used that opportunity to shoot daggers at Austin again for making Macy feel guiltier than she already did. “Then we’ll get home and handle things.”

  “I’ll call Bri,” Austin said, pulling out his phone from his breast pocket.

  Jaxon shook his head. “No. Not until I have a handle on what happened. And if she calls you, tell her to sit tight until she hears from me.” He slid his hand down and clasped palms with Macy. “I want to know what happened, and her sister’s privacy comes first. Do you understand?”

  He was telling Austin to put Macy and her sister first before protecting his own reputation. In no time, these two women had come to mean something to him, and he would safeguard them, even at his expense.

  Austin met his gaze, his own expression as serious as Jaxon had ever seen it. “I understand. I just hope you do.”

  Jaxon did. He cared about Macy and Hannah, and it scared the living shit out of him. But he turned his focus to Macy. “Let’s go make our excuses and get out of here.”

  She squeezed his hand in reply and what he sensed was gratitude. What she didn’t understand was that he knew what it was like to be a team. And he was coming to feel like they were one.

  * * *

  Macy wanted to throw up. She’d married Jaxon not just to help retain custody of her sister but to keep him out of the press. They’d left Hannah alone for the first time at Jaxon’s house, and she’d gone and had a party that could destroy his career. Yes, his manager had been understanding, but she’d seen the look on the team owner’s face at the word viral. The man was pissed, and Jaxon was going to take the brunt of her sister’s actions.

  She didn’t speak on the way home, her fury at her sister simmering inside her. Jaxon merely held on to her hand and his temper. He hadn’t once launched into a tirade over Hannah’s behavior, while she was ready to throttle her sister.

  And when they pulled into the driveaway and saw Lilah’s car, Macy’s anger skyrocketed. “What is she doing here?” She unhooked her seat belt and grabbed the door handle.

  “Wait.” Jaxon grasped her wrist. “We need a plan. And it starts with staying calm and finding out what happened before you go off on her.”

  She expelled a long breath. She turned to face Jaxon, who’d unhooked his bow tie and opened the top of his dress shirt. Even disheveled, his hair messed from running his hand through it and his suit undone, he was handsome and sexy. He was also much more relaxed than her.

  They’d had to leave the party early. Their seats would be noticeably empty. Another strike against him, and it was her sister’s fault.

  “I’m so sorry.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have left Hannah alone.”

  A wry smile lifted his lips. “She’s fifteen. My mother left us alone at that age. Sometimes we behaved and sometimes we didn’t.”

  She nodded, grateful for his understanding. “We might as well go see what we’re dealing with.”

  The fact that there were no cops at the house calmed her somewhat. Media was one thing. Legal troubles another.

  He pulled the car, the Lamborghini she’d learned he saved for special occasions, into the garage, and together they met by the door to the house.

  As he grasped her hand, they stepped inside and walked through the hall and into the family room. Red cups were spread all over, while Lilah and Hannah were rushing around, cleaning up, dumping the plastic into the trash, and setting the turned-over tchotchkes to their former upright positions.

  “I’d like an explanation,” Macy said, startling them both.

  Hannah, red cups in each hand, turned to face her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes red from crying. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear. I invited a few friends over. Actually two. Okay four. But two of them thought it would be cool to announce a party at Jaxon Prescott’s house on their pages.”

  She spoke fast, obviously trying to get all the information out at once. “And the next thing I knew, people were pouring into the house. I was freaking out the whole time, I swear. I tried to clean up as things went along, but everything got out of hand.” She tossed the cups from her hand into a large green garbage bag and started to cry.

  Before Macy could get to her, Lilah stepped over and wrapped an arm around her daughter. “When things got out of control, Hannah called her mother. Because she knows she can trust me. I came over to help her clean up the mess the kids left.” She looked around the room before settling her gaze on Macy. “And it’s a good thing I did, because the police showed up soon after, and they had to ask permission to come inside. I said no. So they gave me a warning to get the kids out of the house and not to have an underage party again.” She wiped her hands as if she’d handled the problem to everyone’s satisfaction.

  Which she seemed to have done. But it didn’t make sense that Lilah knew she could refuse to let the police enter. Macy hadn’t known that. In fact, faced with a police officer, she’d probably do whatever they asked. This situation aside, Macy just didn’t trust Lilah.

  Macy narrowed her gaze. “You’re saying that you looked out for us.”

  Lilah shook her head. “I looked out for Hannah and, by extension, both of you. The only way police can constitutionally enter a house are with a warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances. I denied consent,” she said, sounding proud of herself.

  How did Lilah know these things? Macy tucked the question away for a later time. Lilah’s actions didn’t help Jaxon with his team, but they did prevent a bigger scandal and problems with the law, all of which begged the question, why? She could have gained even more of a custodial upper hand by letting the police inside.

  “I suppose I should say thank you?” Macy asked.

  “Not so fast.” Jaxon glanced at Hannah. “You, Macy, and I will talk later, but can you give the three of us a few minutes?” He tipped his head toward the bedrooms, indicating Hannah should go to her room.

  “Umm, yeah.” She took the opportunity to leave and quickly darted out.

  Confused and curious, Macy glanced at Jaxon. “What’s going on?”

  He looked at Lilah, the picture of innocence in a pair of jeans and a loose, flowing top, casual without makeup, like her daughter had called her and she’d rushed out to help her.

  “How did the police know to come by? We have no neighbors the kids’ noise would be bothering.” He owned such a large parcel of land, they couldn’t see his neighbors, Macy realized.

  “And better yet, how did the paparazzi know there was a party at my house? Because I doubt they were following social media pages of kids in high school.” Jaxon pinned her with a knowing glare.

  Although there was a damned good chance the paps were hanging out by his house, waiting for something like the morning she’d left doing the walk of shame, Macy assumed this was Jaxon’s way of pushing Lilah into an admission.

  “I’m sure the paparazzi follow police scanners,” Lilah said, not meeting Jaxon’s gaze.

  And the wheels in Macy’s head be
gan to turn. About Lilah and how she could use this situation to her advantage yet still look like the more caring parent.

  “Hannah called you because you’re the good friend in her eyes, not a parent teaching her right from wrong,” Macy said, laying things out. “You helped her clean up and sweep away her problem, and now she’s grateful to you. Maybe she even wants to live with you.” Her stomach churned at that thought and reminder that her sister had once said that she preferred Lilah to Macy.

  “Of course I did those things. I want to do whatever I can for my daughter.”

  Jaxon folded his arms across his chest. “And after she called, I’ll bet you did a quick Google search. Looked up the law on open house parties. After which you called the cops, probably anonymously,” he said. “And then you called the paparazzi. So now Macy and I look bad. Less fit guardians than you. And if you think I can’t hire the right people to find out if you made those calls, think again.”

  The satisfied gleam in Lilah’s gaze was all Macy needed. “You bitch.” Macy started toward her, but Jaxon grabbed before she could lunge at the other woman. Not that Macy knew what she’d have done. Just that the anger and hurt flowing through her were out of control.

  She drew a deep breath and calmed herself down. “Get out. Until our court hearing next week, don’t ask to see Hannah. The answer is no.”

  “Come. I’ll walk you out.” Striding over, Jaxon took Lilah’s elbow, and she immediately shook him off.

  Macy lowered herself onto the sofa, leaned back against the cushions, and groaned, waiting for Jaxon to return, hearing Lilah’s complaints and threats as he escorted her to the door.

  A few seconds later, he returned to the room. “She’s gone,” he said softly, walking to where she sat and settled in beside her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again and he shook his head.

  “Stop. There’s no reason to apologize. Hannah is a teenager and this is pretty normal behavior as far as that goes.”

  She slid her fingers over the material on her thighs in a nervous movement. “I saw the look on the team owner’s face. He’s furious, Jaxon. I just gave you more bad press instead of less.”

  “And I saw my manager’s understanding. He’ll smooth things over. Seriously. I can handle this. I’m more worried about how it’ll look for you at the custody hearing.”

  Macy glanced at him, tears in her eyes. “Not good. Hannah’s given Lilah very solid ammunition to use against us. Not that I think she’d be a better parent, but I know she’s a stellar actress.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her against him, and Macy snuggled in, resting her head on his shoulder. “I have to punish Hannah. She can’t have a party and get away with it.”

  “She said she didn’t intend for it to be a party,” Jaxon reminded her.

  Macy inhaled, breathing in his masculine scent, and snuggled in closer, needing him. “Then she should have called me and been honest instead of calling her mother, hoping to cover up the evidence. Hannah didn’t know Lilah would turn this into a shit show. She thought she’d help her clean up and pretend the party never happened.”

  He groaned. “You’re right. There should be consequences,” he reluctantly agreed. “Since you’ve already prohibited Lilah from seeing Hannah, why don’t you use that as her punishment. It’s pretty light considering what she did.”

  “You can’t keep me from my mother!” Hannah shouted, walking in from the hallway.

  Macy’s head began to pound as she pushed herself up from her seat. “Come on, Hannah. You had to know there would be punishment.”

  “Not if I lived with Mom!” she yelled back, hysterical.

  “Your mother is putting on an act. Showing you what you want to see. It wouldn’t be the same if you lived with her, trust me.”

  “You’re just jealous that I have a mother.” And with that shot, Hannah ran for her room and slammed the door.

  “She didn’t mean that.” Jaxon rose and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him.

  “For the moment she did.” And it had been like an arrow to her heart. “And when I make her clean up the rest of this room, she’ll have some other choice words for me.”

  “Part of parenting, or so I’m learning,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Regretting our marriage?” she asked into his chest, not wanting to see his face.

  He waited a beat before answering. “Not for a minute.”

  At his words, tears that had filled her eyes fell and dampened his shirt. He was so easy to like and would be even easier to love. If only he could trust her not to hurt him the way his ex-fiancée had. But he’d been clear about his intentions going into this marriage and with women in general. She wouldn’t push or hope for more than he was willing or capable of giving.

  She stepped back, glanced at his shirt, and winced. “There’s makeup all over you.”

  “That’s what dry cleaners are for. Come on. Let’s get to sleep. Things will look better in the morning.”

  As he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and headed for the bedroom, she hoped he was right.

  * * *

  Jaxon woke up first. He knew how long it had taken Macy to fall asleep, and she’d tossed and turned for hours. He wasn’t sure which part of last night upset her more. The party and Hannah’s betrayal, calling her mother and not Macy when things got out of hand, or that Jaxon might take the brunt of the information that had gone viral. Probably all of it.

  He wasn’t thrilled, and the end result definitely was contrary to the reason they’d gotten married in the first place—lying low, staying under the radar, chilling out by having a family. But Jaxon did think his coach, having teenagers himself, understood. The owner? Coach would smooth things over or Jaxon trusted Austin to call and talk to him today. Jaxon definitely didn’t blame Macy. He’d had plenty of parties behind his parents’ backs when he was a kid.

  He glanced at her asleep beside him and felt a sense of peace. The feeling was as foreign to him as the calmness he experienced having both Macy and Hannah in his home, prior to last night’s antics. The three of them eating a rushed breakfast before school, the hum of music from the room that was now Macy’s office, someone to come home to after working out, it was all better than he’d anticipated.

  He studied her profile and admitted to himself that he was falling in love with her. Everything about their relationship had been rushed, but because of Macy’s honest personality and how deeply she drew him in, the feelings were genuine.

  Panic set in as he realized he didn’t know if he was alone in his emotions, and he knew how difficult it was to trust another woman with his heart. Even Macy. He pulled her into his arms and she didn’t wake up. He used the time to stay calm and remember Macy’s comments about how youth might have colored both his emotions and Katie’s reactions. He was an adult now, he and Macy were married, and he had time to build a foundation with her before admitting his growing feelings.

  The thought relaxed him and he must have fallen back to sleep, because the next thing he knew, Macy was standing by the bed, shaking him awake.

  “What’s wrong?” He pushed himself to a sitting position.

  “Hannah’s not in her room. She’s not in the house and she’s not taking my calls.” She ran a hand through her hair, messing it up as she continued to work herself into a frenzy.

  He narrowed his gaze. “I set the alarm before we went to bed.” And he’d given both Macy and Hannah the code in case they came home without him or needed to leave. “We would have heard the beeps if she unset it.”

  “Well, she did unset it and neither one of us woke up!”

  He rubbed his hand over his face, still exhausted. Last night had probably made them crash hard. “It’s pretty easy to guess where she went. Did you call Lilah?”

  Macy shook her head. “I was too busy panicking. Damn that credit card I gave her for emergencies. She probably took an Uber.” She turned over the phone in her hand and pulled up Lilah’s name, then hi
t send.

  “Lilah, is Hannah with you?” Macy asked.

  Jaxon watched her pace, her tanned legs peeking out from the edge of the long tee shirt she wore.

  “Well, can I speak to her?” As she listened, Macy’s eyes opened wide. “I don’t care what she’s busy doing, put her on the phone.” She paused, then said, “Never mind. Just tell her I’m coming to get her and she’d better be downstairs in the lobby and waiting.”

  He wondered what Lilah’s reply would be, and then Macy spoke again. “You might be her mother, but I have custody and she walked out of here without permission. So have her ready when I get there unless you want me coming with the police.”

  Silence and then, “Fine. No later than two.” She stabbed at her phone with her finger, ending the call. “Ugh. That woman is going to make me crazy, and as for my sister, Lilah said Hannah’s upset and she’ll bring her back this afternoon. I let it go.”

  He patted the bed and she sat down. He slid over and began to massage her shoulders, working on the knots he found there.

  Leaning forward, he whispered, “Relax. At least you know Hannah is safe.” He kissed the skin behind her ear and watched as she shivered, goose bumps prickling on her skin. “And now we have time alone, so why don’t we make the most of it?”

  He felt the moment her muscles eased up and she let herself fall into the moment. Her head tipped, her hair fell forward, revealing the back of her neck, and he took advantage, running his lips over her flesh. He slipped his hands around her waist, beneath her shirt, and cupped her bare breasts.

  “Mmm. You know how to make me forget my troubles.”

  He chuckled, low and deep. “I aim to please,” he said, tweaking her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers.

  She squirmed at the sensation; meanwhile his cock jerked in his boxer briefs, hard and ready for more than a slow and sensual perusal of her body. But he took his time, wanting to tease and play with her a bit before he slid inside her. Clearly she had other plans, because she turned and pushed him down onto the mattress before straddling him.

  Her hands on his shoulders, she bent down and kissed him, her lips soft on his, her damp sex grinding against his straining dick. Then she rose and lifted her shirt over her head, tossing it aside, giving him a view of her breasts, her nipples red from his fingers, causing him to groan.