Page 52 of Secrets in the Deep

Her beauty almost knocked him to his knees. All he’d seen these last few weeks was dirt and danger and the ugliest fucking crevasses that existed in the world.

She was everything that world wasn’t.

“Hey.”

Her soft voice usually smoothed the rough edges of his nerves. Today, it didn’t.

And when she crossed the room and threw her arms around him, all he could think was—no.

He wasn’t worth the risk.

He wasn’t worth her losing everything she’d worked so damn hard for.

She was too pure for a world like his. Too real. Too alive.

She pulled back and studied his face. “Are you okay?”

Could she see the exhaustion that made every inch of him ache? That clouded his mind and made thinking impossible?

She stepped back. “Did something happen on the mission? Are the guys okay? Oh God, is it Nora?”

“Nora’s fine. So are the guys.”

“What is it?”

He paused. “You got the part.”

Her back straightened, shock slipping over her features. “I did.”

“You turned it down.”

She paused. “Yeah.”

“Why?”

She swallowed, glancing around the kitchen like she was searching for the right words.

He didn’t want the right words. He wanted the truth.

Sudden anger cut through his chest like a knife. “You wanted this. It’s the biggest role you’ve ever been offered and it could ignite your career.”

“Ryan, you have to know why I turned it down. I’d never see you. I’d be away for nine months for filming. We barely see each other as it is! Our schedules would never align.”

“You’re doing this for me?”

“For us.”

“No.” Fuck no. “You’re not throwing away your future for me, Emily.” Screw that. He couldn’t, no, hewouldn’tallow it.

“I’m not throwing it away. I’m prioritizing our relationship. I love you. I want to be with you as much as I can, and if that means staying here in California and taking smaller roles so that I can be home between your ops, then that’s what I want to do.”

“No.” He stormed around her, not really knowing where the hell he was going.

“What do you mean, no? It’s not your choice.”

“You’re taking that role.”

“I’m not.”