Page 55 of Daring the Hockey Player

I wince as I try to think of exactly what Amber is to me. We're not family yet. "No," I say.

"That took you a while to answer. Not family, but you weren't sure. Oh, is it for my sister, Emerson? She's going to be family, but not quite yet."

She is too damn astute.

This time, I answer quicker, "No."

"Okay, not for family. Not for my sister. It's for a girl, so it can't be any of your teammates."

"Is that a question?" I ask, knowing it's not but trying to veer her off course.

"Is it for someone who enjoys hockey?"

I laugh. "Yes." I think she enjoys hockey, she's been to two games, so I'm going with yes. That was a total cop-out question on her part. She could have asked me something better, juicier. I should be relieved that she didn't include herself in the line of questioning. "You have fourteen questions left."

"Is it for me?"

That's the question that I don't want to answer. I glance in the side mirror, wait for traffic to clear, and slam on the gas.

"Well?" She's waiting for my answer.

I'm not about to lie to her. Avoid, maybe, but not lie. "Yes," I finally say.

"Can I open it?"

"No."

"Why not?" Amber whines, and I swear she sounds a lot like Bristol when my niece doesn't get her way.

"Yes or no."

She grumbles under her breath. "Are you planning on giving me the gift?"

My hands white knuckle the steering wheel. "Yes."

"When?"

"Yes or no," I repeat. "And you wasted two questions with your why and when."

"Those don't count because you didn't answer."

At least this time, there's not a question in there. She huffs and folds her arms across her chest. She doesn't seem mad, just annoyed with me. "Fine, next question. Are you going to give it to me today?"

I glance at her. Probably not, but I have to answer yes or no. "No."

"Tomorrow?" she asks.

"No."

She rests her head back on the seat. "On a holiday?" she guesses.

"No."

"It's for me, but you don't plan to ever give it to me. What gives, Jasper?"

"That's another wasted question," I say, trying to hide the smile on my face. She's asked fifteen questions so far, and she's far from guessing the gift.

"Okay, so not for a holiday. Oh, my birthday. Do you plan on giving it to me for my birthday?" Her eyes light up like maybe she figured it out.