Page 104 of Their Greatest Strength

I do, and twenty minutes later, Jamie’s clutching onto the door for dear life while shouting for me to slow down.

“This isn’t Formula One! You don’t have to go so fast!”

“But it’s so fun to see you scared,” I poke, stomping the gas so we lurch forward again.

“Blakely, I swear to Go?—”

The tires squeal when I give a hard turn to the steering wheel and send us careening to the left. “What was that?”

“It’s like you want me to sit you in my lap and guide you.”

With my heart soaring with freedom, I can’t help but tease him. “Are you offering?”

“I’m warning you, baby. If I get you in my lap, the main driving lessons are over. And there’s nowhere for you to run this time.”

His stare is intense, demanding, and I meet it with one of surrender. It feels so fucking good to give in to him.

My belly tightens. “Teach me some more first.”

31

JAMIE

Blakely wringsthe steering wheel in her hands for the millionth time and makes another right turn in the parking lot. It’s tight, the wheels nearly scraping on the curb, but I don’t give a shit.

She can give all four of my tires curb rash as long as I get her in my lap afterward. If it meant she could hop up sooner, I’d instruct her to do it.

The SUV lurches when she presses too hard on the brake while pulling crooked into a parking stall. She puffs out a breath and jerks us to a stop before shifting into Park. The steady hum of the engine fills the cab, neither of us making a move to speak.

If I do, I’ll be making demands that I’m not in any place to make. My mind may be made up when it comes to my wife, but she’s not there yet. That much is obvious.

“I’m terrible at this,” she admits, releasing the steering wheel.

“Terrible at what? Driving?”

Her glare is white-hot. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“No, I don’t. So either you tell me now, or I’ll be spending the rest of the time we have before Nate’s out of school guessing what you did mean.”

She doesn’t soften her glare. If anything, I think it gets moreintense as the seconds pass. The only change is that now, I’m not the only one she’s mad at.

“You’re infuriating, Jamieson Bateman.”

I blink, leaning back in my seat to gawk at her. “Me? I’m the infuriating one?”

“Yes! God, I’m losing my mind around you.”

“I would feel sorry for you, but I’ve already lost mine.”

“Don’t start with your teasing. I can’t take it right now,” she snaps.

“It’s not teasing. I’m being honest with you, Blakely. This is me being open.”

“You’re being confusing, not open.”

I swipe a hand down my face and unbuckle my seat belt, not needing the restriction right now. “Confusing is the last thing I’m trying to be. If you want me to clarify something, just tell me. I’ve always been an open book with you.”

“And what if I don’t want clarity? It will only complicate things,” she argues, stubborn as all hell.

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