Page 18 of Their Greatest Strength

The cashier’s gasp doesn’t faze me. I curl my fingers in my shirt and swallow, hoping the other customer has decided to find another register instead of watching me right now.

“I’ll pass on these?—”

“There you are, babe. I was starting to think you got lost. Had me looking all over the place for you,” a familiar voice drawls.

There’s no way he’s here right now. Not while I’m about to embarrass myself.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but his presence lingers, pressing into my side. The smooth scent of expensive cologne floatstoward me, and then a very large, very warm hand is touching my spine.

Hot air curls around my ear, forcing another shiver down my body. “It’s a goddamn pleasure to see you again, Bandit. Now, play along for me, yeah?”

Pulling my stare from the shoebox, I swing it past the shocked cashier and to those same lightning-blue eyes I was thinking about minutes ago. The calmness in them is like a balm to the madness in my brain, and like a fool, I let it relax me for just a second.

Jamie looks from me to the box of shoes at the register and does a piss-poor job of hiding a smirk. With a flick of his tongue over his bottom lip, he slides his hand up to my shoulder blade and flashes the cashier his bank card.

“I don’t know why you insist on buying these when I have a million pairs at home, but if it makes you happy, we’ll add another one to the collection,” he says, his voice a low rumble.

“You have them at home?” I whisper, trying to piece together what’s happening right now.

“Of course I do. They’re mine. How did you forget?”

My thoughts lag. “Yours?”

Jamie chuckles as he twists his body until he’s nearly wrapped around my side. My arm hangs limp at my side, knuckles grazing the thick muscle in his thigh.

“Mmhmm, just like you, baby,” he murmurs lovingly while tapping his card to the debit machine.

I don’t have the confidence to look at where I can feel the cashier gawking at me. There’s no part of me that wants to know what she’s thinking. If I did, I’d feel even shittier about myself, no doubt about it.

This man, thisstranger,has just swooped in and not only saved me from the embarrassment of being the person who has to admit they can’t afford something that so many others can but has also played it off like we’re together. Romantically.

The transaction goes through with a loud beep, and then thecashier is handing him a receipt that he tucks into his front pocket alongside his card. He spreads his fingers over my shoulder and runs his nails over the thin material of my shirt.

“You didn’t mention that you were dating Jamieson Bateman while I was gushing about him! That’s so seriously cool,” the cashier says, sounding a bit winded as she glances between the two of us, then focuses on him. “Can you sign my jersey? If you have the time, of course. I’m a huge fan.”

Without stepping away from me, Jamie—Jamieson—flashes a dimpled grin at her. “Do you have a pen?”

She whips one out from the waistband of her leggings and all but shoves it into his hand before turning to show us the name and number on the back of her jersey. The same number that’s on the shoebox that I snatch from the register.

Jamie is quick with his signature, and a beat later, the cashier is spinning back around, her grin wide enough it must hurt.

“Thank you!” she squeals.

“No worries.”

“Could you sign something for me too?” another customer asks.

A third joins the mix, and I realize quickly that the crowd is starting to grow. “Me too!”

This time, they’re too far away for Jamie to stay close. His eyes focus on me for a few seconds before he almost reluctantly pulls away to face the fan.

With his attention spread between everyone around us, I escape. The shoebox feels heavier than it did before as I hug it against my chest and rush out of the store. It’s all very thiefy, but despite my antics last night, that’s not who I am.

The sun is hot when I step outside, but it’s better than burning alive in Jamie’s vicinity. Every step I take away from the store loosens the chains wrapped around my throat until, finally, I can get a full breath in.

He didn’t have to buy these shoes for me. I almost wish hehadn’t. If I didn’t know that this was the only way for Nate to have them, I would have left them there.

“Bandit!”

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