Page 37 of Their Greatest Strength

The man behind the desk clears his throat and fixes his gaze on me while moving his hand around the room. “I’m Graham Warren, the owner of the Pythons. In front of me is Coach Riley Tanner and, obviously, the team’s lawyer, Briggs Porter.”

“Briggs has been in contact with the best family lawyer in the province to organize all the paperwork for today and has also put together an NDA and contract with the information that we’ll be discussing in this meeting,” Sadie says, patting the empty couch cushion beside her.

Jamie inches away as if to encourage me to go. I jump at the chance to be closer to the only other woman in the room and sit beside her. In my old jeans and last unstained shirt, I try not to pay too much attention to how incredible she looks and the way it must make me look even sloppier.

When I risk a look up in Jamie’s direction, he’s smiling confidently at me. Aware of everyone watching us, I lift the corner of my mouth slightly and look to the last spot left on the couch. It’s a signal to take it, but he hesitates. I realize a second later that he’s become fixated on my mouth.

“The plan for today is to go over all of the contracts and upcoming obligations for the both of you, and we’ll run abackground check before sending final copies of everything for signature,” Briggs explains.

A background check seems reasonable, but still. It’s freaky knowing these strangers are going to be combing through my history, even if I know there isn’t anything there for them to find unless they dive deeper than basic knowledge.

“How in-depth will this check be?” I ask, feigning ease.

Jamie sits beside me, his previous daze broken and focus back on the situation at hand. I don’t think about it again as Graham leans forward in his chair and taps the bottoms of his clasped hands on the desk.

“It will be intensive. We won’t take any chances with anything coming out in the press once the marriage is official. So, if you have anything you’d like to disclose before that happens, now would be a good time.”

From the corner of my eye, I catch the tightening of Jamie’s jaw before he speaks. “Is my trust in her not enough? She’s my choice. Do you really need to go digging into her past? I’m not going to make her tell all of you anything that isn’t your business.”

My heart swells, forcing my chest to expand around it. Appreciation blows on the ember of friendship that’s already begun to grow, expanding its flame until I’m left with no choice but to consider this man an ally. A friend.

I shove any tingle of anxiousness to the back of my hand and drop my hand to his knee. To everyone else, it probably looks romantic. But it’s a sign of appreciation. A thank you that I hope he understands.

The loose shorts he’s wearing only reach the middle of his thighs, leaving the rest of his legs bare. I seemed to have forgotten that fact when I reached for his knee. It’s warm and speckled with coarse hair that scrapes at my palm. Still, I don’t pull back.

I’m glad for that when a beat later, Jamie’s hand engulfsmine, squeezing gently while his thumb glides over my knuckles.

Curious, I stare down at the hold. I expected his palm to be sweaty, but it’s only warmth and a grounding steadiness that I feel. Unlike the last few times I’ve let a man hold my hand, there isn’t a nipping at my gut telling me that something’s off.

My intuition is one of my strongest attributes. It’s kept me from my fair share of bad situations, especially with men. I’m picky with the company I keep for good reason. If something doesn’t feel right, I’m always out of there sooner rather than later.

With Jamie, I’ve yet to feel the need to run.

Sadie speaks up from my side, her voice understanding yet still strong. “I understand how invasive it can feel. We appreciate you agreeing to help the team with this, and you have my word that everything we learn will be kept quiet. It’s for security purposes only.”

“Run one on me too,” Jamie says, the demand obvious.

Graham shakes his head. “We already have one.”

“It wouldn’t be for you. Run a new one and give it to Blakely.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “I don’t need your background on a piece of paper.”

“It’s only fair.” His grip on my hand grows firmer as he narrows his stare on Briggs. “Can you just do it, please? I think it’s the least demanding thing in this entire agreement.”

“It’ll be done. We’ll get it added to the final contract come signing time,” Graham says, his gaze curious and heavy as it hangs over me.

It would be so easy to defend myself and tell them all that I had nothing to do with Jamie’s call. Maybe when I was younger, I’d have bowed under the pressure to find any opportunity to make these people like me.Maybe.

The person I am now and have been for the last five years doesn’t give a shit what these people think of me.

“Should we start looking through the fine print, then?” Sadie asks.

It’s the break in conversation that we need. Everyone is quick to agree, and a few minutes later, I have a thick stack of papers in my hands and a highlighter I’m meant to use on anything I don’t like.

We’ve only made it to the third page when Jamie clears his throat and highlights the line about the proposed wedding and announcement dates.

“You want to leak the wedding to the media the day of? When are we announcing the engagement?”

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