Page 118 of Daring the Hockey Player

"No, I respect your boundaries."

"But you knew the bag is under my bed."

Her nose wrinkles when she laughs and glances away, guilty as charged. I suppose she's not going to tell me where she's taking me. Knowing Amber, she's probably going to take some long, roundabout method to confuse me.

When we approach the platform, and I recognize the train that we're taking, a stone sits in the pit of my stomach. "We're going to Kyler's house, aren't we?" I ask, pinning Amber with my stare.

She purses her lips, debating on whether to answer.

"Dammit," I grumble. "I'm not going over there to apologize."

"I know. You both are too proud," she says, and I open my mouth to correct her that he might be proud, but I'm right. She puts a finger to my lips. "We're just going over for lunch. Besides, when was the last time you visited with your niece?"

"I can't believe you're bringing Bristol into this."

The first train approaches, but it's not the one that we take. Ours is a few minutes behind it. "Any chance you want to explore the city? We could go to the art museum or get tickets to a show?" I'm willing to do anything else right now.

"Tempting, but I've already made plans, and your teammates are coming by in a couple of hours for a barbeque."

That's a better surprise. "Kyler's hosting?" I ask, hoping that maybe it's at one of the other guys' houses and my older brother will bail on the event.

"He is, and we're going there early to help with the food prep and let you two work out your differences."

"Differences? If you mean Kyler overstepping and shoving his nose where it doesn't belong, then sure, as long as he apologizes to both of us."

"Apologizes to both of us," Amber repeats slowly. "I'm not mad at him."

She ought to be steaming, and if she knew half of the crap that was said, she'd be angrier, but I don't want any of that hostility pointed at me.

I don't elaborate. There's no sense in causing hurt feelings or creating a bigger rift between all of us. I'm not thrilled that Amber planned this get-together behind my back, but I know she's trying to do the right thing.

And if it doesn't work, then I have to deal with his ass at practice tomorrow. At least I'll have somewhere to release the pent-up frustration and anger on the ice.

"If Kyler is hosting, that means I don't get to take you out on that long-awaited, hot date this evening." I don't want to admit I'm disappointed. I want to take Amber out and let her experience what it's like to be my girlfriend. None of this hiding-behind-closed-doors crap.

"We can go out after the party with the team. Grab dessert or something when we've had enough socializing."

I'm not sure the guys will let me bail early, but tomorrow is a practice day, so they're not going to be out until the early hours of the morning, either. And the party is at my brother's house, who has a kid. He'll probably kick our butts out by nine o'clock.

I wrap my arms around her waist from behind, my lips teasing her neck as I brush her long locks to the side. "I want more than dessert with you," I say.

She chuckles and spins around in my embrace. "I like the sound of that." She rises up on her tiptoes and presses a kiss to my lips. "The train is almost here."

By the time we get to my brother's house, her infectious laughter has brought up my mood, and I'm not stressing or dreading dealing with Kyler.

I press the buzzer to the electric gate and wait for someone to let us inside. While I know the code, the fact that my brother and I aren't on the best terms means I don't want to just waltz in uninvited.

"Ever climb one of these?" I gesture with my thumb at the metal fence, smiling at Amber.

"No, and I don’t plan to," she says and smirks. "But I dare you to do it."

Well, in that case, I can't say no, nor do I want to.

I make sure not to climb the guard gate because of the pointed arrows at the top. No sense in risking a maneuver that might put me out of commission for a while.

Kyler's voice rumbles through the intercom system, and he doesn't seem the least bit pleased to see us. "What the hell is my brother doing?"

"Letting himself in," Amber chimes.