Page 141 of Their Greatest Strength

A pause. “I was working the door at your wedding. Nothing about your marriage is new information to me.”

Maybe later, I’ll wish I’d have grilled this guy more. But for now, his answer is good enough. Plus, if he was at our wedding, Graham must trust him enough.

“I’m going to the bathroom. If Jamie shows up?—”

“I’ll let him know.”

“My brother can’t see that woman. If she comes back while I’m inside, I need her gone.”

“You’ve got my word.”

I stop walking long enough to look at him. He’s not smiling or frowning, but even with a straight face, there’s nothing scary about him. If I were to stick around forever, I think I could be friends with him.

Too bad my time here is approaching its end faster than I originally thought.

41

JAMIE

All it took wasone look at Blakely as she slid into the SUV outside the stadium to know something was wrong.

I’ve never seen her eyes so red and puffy, not once. She tries to hide her face behind a curtain of hair, and I think that worries me more than anything. Every day we spend together, we grow closer, and I happily fall more in love with her. We’ve made so much progress, and her not letting me see her upset has me thinking back over the last week to see if I fucked up somewhere.

“I’m sorry we were late,” I murmur, waiting for the neighbourhood gate to open.

Nate leans forward in his seat behind me. “Don’t be mad, please. It was my fault. The st?—”

“The stubborn game wouldn’t save, so we had to finish another round,” I finish for him before he blurts out our surprise.

Blakely keeps her head turned and eyes out the window. Her fingers fidget in her lap, alternating between plucking at the lint on her leggings and tapping her knee.

“It’s okay.”

I meet Nate’s stare in the rear-view mirror and frown when he appears just as worriedas I know I do.

The gate swings open, and I drive through while rubbing a hand down her thigh. “We put in an order for dinner before we left. Tacos with extra hot sauce and churros. I even convinced the cook to add extra spice into the meat for you.”

“Thank you.”

My worry shifts into alarm at her expressionless tone.

“We figured you deserved a break after prepping food all day.”

“It wasn’t that bad. I like prepping.”

“Jamie brought me to the thrift shop so I could donate my old gear too. And we ran a few drills at the field. I even caught a thirty-yard pass,” Nate boasts.

“It would have been longer than that, but my arm doesn’t compare to Jax’s,” I add.

Nate shrugs. “It’s pretty good for a receiver, I think.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

Blakely remains silent for a beat longer, and only when I pull into the driveway does she tuck her hair behind her ear and offer Nate a phony smile.

“I’m proud of you, Nate.”

Her brother’s smile is as real as ever. “Thanks, Lake.”

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