Page 52 of Daring the Hockey Player

I roll my eyes and grab a packet of sugar, tossing it at him. "Liar."

Jasper is leaning forward when the sugar packet hits his chest and falls to the table. He grabs a creamer and holds it in his right hand.

"I thought you take yours black."

"Oh, I do," he says with a smirk and gently squeezes the sides of the plastic container of creamer. The lid presses forward but doesn’t quite pop off.

"I swear, Jasper, if you spray that at me—" I warn him. The container is pointed directly at me.

"You'll what?" he asks with a sly grin. "What will you do?"

"I'll wear your rival's jersey to the next game I attend," I threaten.

He pushes a little too hard, and the creamer explodes across the table, hitting me in the face. He laughs, but it seems displaced. Perhaps he's embarrassed or nervous? I've never really known Jasper to be either of those things.

His eyes are wide, and he glances around. Is he worried that anyone saw him?

The waitress comes to the table. "That was cute," she says and places a half dozen extra napkins next to me.

I dab at the creamer, wiping up the mess that he made.

"Thanks," I say to the waitress, and she gives a nod.

"Are you ready to put in your order?"

"We need a few more minutes," Jasper says, and his face is turning fifteen different shades of red.

Oh hell, he's embarrassed. It's actually kind of cute, except for the part where he sprayed me with cream.

"You really enjoy it when I wear the Island Bruisers jersey to the game," I say, staring at him.

His gaze tightens. "You’ve already done it twice. I think you can leave the rival team's jersey at home." He winces when he hears his own words. Home. As in, the place that burned down last night. "Shit, I'm sorry." Jasper glances up at me and reaches for my hand on the table.

"It's fine," I say. "Just one more thing for me to replace, right?" I force a smile, and he glares at me.

"You're not buying another Island Bruisers jersey. Are you trying to tell me you're in love with them or something?"

Not them.

I wince, and his brow pinches. "I swear if you're dating Knox Storm or Charlie Hayes," he growls.

"That's cute. You getting all jealous," I say and scrunch my nose with a smile, teasing him. "Especially when you know I don't have a chance in hell with a professional hockey player."

Jasper clears his throat and glances at the menu.

He doesn't even deny it.

"Are you ready to order?" he asks.

What I want isn't on the menu.Him.

FOURTEEN

JASPER

After breakfast,we stop to buy her shoes first because she insists that I can't carry her around to every store. That's where she's wrong. I could, quite easily, carry her around. There have been a couple of people who stopped and stared. I've ignored every one of them.

A few snapped photos, but I’m sure it's because they're not used to seeing a guy carry a cute girl around in her pajamas.