Depths of Salvation (Love on the Edge) (30 page)

“I can get you a diamond, if you’d rather . . . I just thought this would mean more. I’m sorry, we’ll pick one out when we’re topside.”

“Shut up!” she said, but she still held a stiff position. “Connell, if you drop that my heart will break.”

“I’m not letting go.”

“I love it. Please, put it back in the bag.” She eyed it like it might slip from my grasp at any moment. I guess she had a point. If I dropped it, we would absolutely never find it.

I very carefully replaced it in the bag and zipped it up.

“Happy?”

“Blissful,” she said, her eyes glistening inside her mask. “Connell?”

“Yes?” I pulled her to me.

“Say it.”

“Will you marry me?”

“No, the other.”

I scrunched my forehead for only a moment before recognition dawned on me. I smirked, sliding my hand over her ass. “You’re mine.”

She sighed, her legs slowly moving back and forth in the water. “And?”

“I’m yours.” I smiled. “Now, are you going to leave me hanging or give me an answer?”

“Yes.” She gripped the back of my neck. “Without a doubt, yes!”

I tried to hug her to me, the swelling of my heart so much I thought I might burst if I didn’t kiss her, but our gear was all kinds of in the way. “Topside?”

“Race you?” she asked before taking off out of the cave.

I quickly followed after her, watching her as she darted toward the surface. “You know I’ll always let you win,” I said, chasing her with all I had.

“I’ll keep letting you tell yourself that.”

She made it to the surface long before me, and as I came up under her, knowing that once I breathed fresh air again she’d officially be mine forever, I knew it was like a rebirth. The life of guilt, pain, and shutting everyone out had died, and now, this life would be full of love, and hope, and possibilities.

Wish you were here, brother.
I spoke to Conner, wishing he could be the best man at our wedding but knowing he’d never really left me.

Sadie had taught me that. She’d taught me a lot of things. Like how to love again, and how to see beauty in the broken.

I made the surface, ripping off my mask as quickly as possible. Sadie already had tossed hers in our boat. I barely took a breath before claiming her mouth for my own. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I held her to me, the waves lapping at our bodies as greedily as we kissed.

“Can I have it now?” she asked, her smile stretching across her face.

I pulled out the ring and slipped it on the proper finger. “What’s mine is yours.”

“Good,” she said. “I’ve had my eye on your favorite diving knife since we met.”

I chuckled, kissing her again. She could have anything she wanted. She already owned every piece of my soul, something I never thought anything more than the ocean was capable of capturing.

“Let’s go home, Connell.”

“And where exactly is that, Sadie?” I asked, holding her to me, wondering where we would land.

“Where ever the waves take us.” She winked and hefted herself into the boat.

I stayed in the water, allowing myself the moment of pure happiness. Sadie not only had saved me, her answer to my proposal ensured that my heart—which I thought could never be salvaged—would be preserved.

I ALWAYS START
with you, awesome reader, because without you my characters could not
live
. Thanks for letting them grow in your minds and for turning the pages!

Daren there aren’t enough ways to tell you how much I love you. How much your support has always and will always mean to me. How much I adore our life and how I know it’s only this sweet because of you and the children you’ve given me. Every piece of my happiness can be connected back to you. Thank you for that, and for helping me through each stage of this process—from plotting to reading to advertising—you are the best in every sense of the word.

To my family:

Mom, I dedicated this book to you for many reasons—one obvious reason being your gracious idea for a hero and how one suggestion from you brought Connell to life in my mind. Growing up you never ceased to demonstrate how strong a woman could be and I strive to instill those same qualities in every heroine I write. Thanks for encouraging me to go after my dream and to never stop trying, no matter what.

Dad, thanks for talking me through an insane amount of details about the natural gas business, for the countless phone calls, emails, and shows of support. I wouldn’t be able to put a word of this down without your unflinching faith in me, so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Amy, thanks for being here for me at the drop of a text, despite living a great distance away. When I was eight, you held my hand through the entirety of
Jurassic Park
—that support is something that has never stopped, and I’ll never forget.

To Rebecca the Golden Goddess, there isn’t enough room in all the books to tell you how grateful I am to have you in my life. You never cease to amaze me with your writing, your approach to life, and your awesome mom skills. Thanks for all the advice, support, and those sexy book boyfriends you give me—okay and your readers too—to drool over.

Sam, thank you for always being there to read new—and very rough—books at the drop of a hat. You catch
all
the things and I seriously can’t thank you enough!

Mindy, you make me a better writer with your every glance at my manuscripts and you build me up in the best possible way. You see what I can’t and your opinion is priceless. Thank you. A thousand times, thank you.

Esther, hot-mama extraordinaire, you . . . I can’t even with how much I love you. Your strength and determination to go after what you want is an absolute inspiration to me on a daily basis. You are, and will
always
be my first choice in partners for Cranium.

To Cora Carmack, you rock so hard with your constant stream of support, advice, and inspiration! Thank you!

Molly McAdams, you are seriously the coolest Molly on the planet and I can’t thank you enough for taking a chance on my books. Your support means the world to me!

For all the authors that continue to put out amazing books on the regular that push me to be a better writer: Kimberly Derting, J.K. Rowling, Cora, Jay, Molly, Micalea, Sam, Mindy, Rebecca, Lizzy, Cindi, Rachel, Megan, Katrina . . . the list could go on and on!

To my marvelous Mayhem Members and every single one of the amazing bloggers out there, thank you for being incredibly awesome! The amount of work you do to support the authors you love never stops amazing me! Trust me when I say that all of your efforts are seen and appreciated and I wish I could hug each and every one of you!

Vilma, I’m beyond honored you loved this book. Thank you for blurbing it and for all the amazing work you do for the book world. You are simply incredible!

To my awesome and genuinely badass PR team, Sassy, Savvy, & Fabulous: Linda, the work you do behind the scenes makes me exhausted just thinking about it and I’d bring you coffee every single day if I could. Thanks for everything!

To Karen Grove, thank you so much for your expert eye, for your ability to understand what I’m trying to convey even when I don’t, and for the all around epic advice. You rock so hard.

To Regina Wamba and Yuli over at MaeIDesign, you never back down from the crazy settings I constantly throw at you and I can’t thank you enough for it. You always exceed every expectation I have and your covers are nothing short of stunning. I love you both, truly. And thank you to Ty and Lindsey for playing the roles of Connell and Sadie so beautifully!

And once more, to
you
! Thank you for choosing this book and for allowing my characters to live through your eyes. You all rock.

MOLLY E. LEE
is an author best known for her debut novel EDGE OF CHAOS. She writes New Adult Contemporary featuring strong female heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. In addition to being a military spouse and mother of two + one stubborn English Bulldog, Molly loves watching storms from her back porch at her Midwest home, and digging for treasures in antique stores.

Read the first book in the Love on the Edge series
here
.

For exclusive scenes and sneak peeks at the upcoming books in the Love on the Edge series join Molly's
mailing list.

Or visit her website
www.mollyelee.com