Page 22 of Their Greatest Strength

Surprisingly, she does. With her eyelids blinking heavily, she stares up at me in waiting. I can still feel the burn of the hand that finds her curved, jutted hip.

The neighbourhood behind her is in terrible shape. Buildings with graffiti and peeling siding, gaping cracks in the sidewalk, and overgrown lawns are everywhere. The abundance of chain-linked front yards fit with weeds crawling up through the metal and the beaten-down vehicles lining the curbs spark alarm in my mind.

Blakely doesn’t seem bothered by our surroundings, and that may be even more concerning.

“Are we almost at your place?” I ask before she can speak.

She tongues her cheek. “Yeah, but this is as far as I want you to come.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not stupid enough to bring a guy I barely know to my house.”

“You shouldn’t be walking by yourself in this neighbourhood.”

She leans back on her heel, eyes flashing. “Don’t. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, pretty boy.”

“You think I’m pretty?”

“I’m going to leave,” she threatens, voice tight.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Don’t go.”

Her scowl smooths out. “Give me answers, Jamieson.”

“Jamie. Call me Jamie.”

“Fine. Give me answers,Jamie.”

I shift my weight to my other leg and keep her in my gaze. “We would get married in three weeks, once my brother’s wedding has passed. There are some people I have to introduce you to first, and you could get more answers from them. We’d have the best lawyers out there to make sure there would be no problems when the time comes for a divorce. There would be PR responsibilities and things we’d have to do to please management.”

“I still don’t understand why this is necessary in the first place. Is the public going to believe that you’ve suddenly gotten married? Have you dated that much?”

“It’s necessary because the team is struggling. At least half of our stands are empty when we play, and we’ve become the team that no reporter wants to take the trip to interview. I’m not a huge fan of this either, but if it means that I can keep playing the sport that I love, then I’m prepared to do it. I know you don’t share that loyalty, but I’m asking you to please consider what it would mean if you agreed to help.

“Wearestrangers, and I know all of this sounds weird as hell. Yes, I’ve dated my fair share of women, but that doesn’t mean I can find just anyone and convince the country that we’re in love. But I think I could do that with you.”

She flicks her eyes between mine, rolling her lips. “What’s so special about me? I’m just some girl who you found snooping in your living room. I don’t think that would be a very convincing leading line to the public.”

I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck while opting out of telling her that from what I’ve gathered already, she’s not just some girl.

“Yeah, maybe not. But I still want it to be you. You’d keep me on my toes, and when I think of finding someone to marry, that’s a quality I’d like them to have. I think we could pull it off, Blakely.”

“I don’t want to sound like a total bitch, but what would I get from this arrangement? Other than my privacy being taken away to be made into a pretty little wife for a player on the BC Pythons.”

“What do you want from it? I have several things I could give you in return for your help. Money isn’t an issue for me, and you’ve seen my place, so you know space isn’t either.”

Her eyes grow wide, worry deepening the green. “You’d want me to live with you?”

“Yes. My wife would live with me, wouldn’t she?”

“I mean, I guess. I wouldn’t be your real wife, though.”

I move closer to her, testing if she’ll leap back like she did in my house. Other than the brief stiffening of her shoulders, she doesn’t retreat.

“That’s the thing, Blakely. On paper, youwouldbe my real wife. If we didn’t live together, it wouldn’t be too hard for someone to discredit us.”

Her throat strains with a swallow. “I need to think about it.”

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