Page 24 of Home Ice

He hitches his bright smile a bit higher. “Ah, I can check for you?”

“Yes, please. Nothing too big, but with good trunk space.”

He disappears as Gigi reaches me.

“Have you hit your head?”

I laugh. “No, why?”

“Because we’re standing in a BMW dealership, and you seem to think you’re buying one for a fourteen-year-old.”

“No, I am buying one for a fourteen-year-old.”

“You’ve lost it.”

“Shut up and be supportive.”

“You can’t buy his love, Jensen.”

That turns my good mood sour. “I’m not trying to. Kasen was being an asshole, and he asked for something he thought was ridiculous and would never happen. I’m making it happen. And hopefully, once he sees that I’ve called his bluff, we can have a real conversation.”

She sighs, running her hand over the closest car. “I don’t think it works like that. But if I yell at you and ask for a car, will you call my bluff and buy me one too?”

“No fucking way.”

“You are actually the worst brother in the world. I hope you know that.”

“Right back at you.” I hold up the keys to the rental. “You don’t have to wait around for this part if you don’t want to. I’ll drive the new one back.”

She knocks my hand away. “Oh no, if you’re doing this, I’m going to make sure you don’t go overboard. Apparently, you need adult supervision today.”

If that’s what it takes for her support, I’ll take it.

The salesman doesn’t take long to get back to me, and he walks us through three options.

“Get the 1 Series,” Gigi says almost as soon as he’s finished going over the features.

“It’s ugly.”

“Again. He’s fourteen.”

I turn back to the salesman. “I want it to impress his friends. And be safe.”

“Ah, well, I wouldn’t suggest the M-range for a kid. Maybe the X5? It’s pricier, but if he’s planning to drive his teammates once he’s old enough, the extra room is a bonus.”

He walks us over to the line of X5s, and while it’s more than I was planning to spend, he’s got a point. This looks like the type of car the captain of the high school hockey team would drive, and it’s a good thing it looks good, because in a few years, that thing is going to stink from all the trips he makes with his teammates.

But the next question: do I choose the showy, metallic green that I would have killed to have as a kid or stick to black?

I can still feel Gigi giving me the stink eye. “What if I let you pick the color?”

She thinks about it for a second. “Fine. The black.”

Of course she went the boring color. “You don’t think he’d like the green?”

“I don’t know him well enough to make that call. Neither do you. You can’t go wrong with black.”

I guess she has a point. I reluctantly let the idea of the green one go and turn to the salesman.