Depths of Salvation (Love on the Edge) by Molly E. Lee Page A

own.
    “Don’t worry about him,” Ryan said, waving his hand in front of my eyes. I hadn’t taken them off the doors Connell had just walked out of. “He’s not big on socializing. I’m shocked he’s come inland this much at all.”
    I nodded. Was that because of me? No, he’d made it clear he had no interest in me that way, which was for the best. Still, it didn’t stop my curiosity over what exactly it was about Connell that tickled underneath my skin. A constant urge to know him had taken up residence in my heart since I met him and the past week and a half had been pleasant—dinner every night, short conversations between bites that filled me more than some relationships that had lasted years in the past.
    “Do you know the reasoning behind that?” I asked, finally focusing on Ryan.
    “Not really. We’ve been friends since he started Slade’s gig, but we don’t exactly have long conversations.”
    “No surprise there,” I said and sighed.
    “He’s a solid guy, though. He doesn’t have to tell you his whole life story for you to learn that either. I’d trust him with my life any day, and I wouldn’t say that about most people. And then look at you today, being a lifesaver of your own.”
    I pressed my lips together. I’d gotten that trustworthy sense about Connell too, even when he’d deliberately tried to push me away. Glad I wasn’t the only one, but I highly doubted Ryan was having secret fantasies about the man like I was. Heat flushed my cheeks again, and I stood up, headed toward wherever he’d disappeared to.
    Ryan stopped me before I’d made it to the door. “If you push him, he’ll just dig in deeper.”
    “I’d like some air, too.”
    Ryan chuckled, his smile genuine and inviting. He was tall, muscular, and polite. Why couldn’t I have all the tingling, sparking sensations toward him? Why was the heat between my thighs and the ache in my chest zeroed in on the man who barely spoke to me? Was I broken?
    “I’ve only known you a little while, Sadie, but from what you’ve shown and what I’ve heard?” He shook his head, stepping out of my way to the door. “You’re just like him.”
    I didn’t know if that was supposed to be a compliment or if he pitied me, but I didn’t wait around to puzzle it out. Not only did I not want to talk about the incident with the sharks anymore with my team or the bargoers who were eager to hear the tale, but I couldn’t stand Connell’s silence a second longer.
    Pushing through the doors I was instantly hit with the cool night air which carried the scent of the sea on its breeze. The sky was black, the stars and moon so crisp and sharp they painted the ocean beneath it in silver. The path to the beach was clear, so I turned my head to the left, my heart beating twice as hard when I spotted Connell leaning up against the bar’s wooden exterior.
    I walked to him slowly, and with each step, my stomach flipped. I felt like I was in trouble like I was heading to a scolding of epic proportions, but I had no idea why. I hadn’t done anything wrong, though I could tell he was angry with me. The way his eyes had locked onto mine when we’d boarded the boat, the fire that roared there before the cold had iced them over.
    “Something wrong, Connell?” The darkness made it hard to see him, his face only partially lit up by the glow from a burning torch at the other end of the building, where the patio seating started and wove around the back.
    He pushed off the wall, walking past me to stare out at the ocean.
    My muscles twisted themselves into knots. This was so different than the comfortable—totally mysterious but comfortable—silence I’d grown used to from him.
    “Did I do something to offend you?” I pressed when he clearly wasn’t going to answer me. I tried to tell myself this was all because he held the power over my site, that his opinions only mattered because of business, but it was a lie. Something stirred deep down inside me,