Page 120 of Stealth Mission

I’m quiet for a beat, and the darkness seems to pulse around us.

I exhale and when I speak my voice is rough with my own emotion. Not pain, guilt. “I need to tell you something, too. I didn’t ask because I didn’t care. If we get pregnant, I’d be happy.”

Her breathing hitches in the darkness. She pulls away, sits up, and quickly scoots to the edge of the bed.

I’ve got long legs, so she doesn’t make it far. Looping my arm around her waist, I stop her. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Evan, I need a minute.” Long strands of hair dance over my arm as she shakes her head.

“You’re right. We need a minute together.”

She grumbles but softens in my arms as I sweep her up and carry her to the bathroom.

The tile floor is cool. A gentle breeze stirs the curtain. Using only the natural light coming in through the open window, I turn on the shower.

When the water’s warm, I step in, hauling her with me.

It takes a while before she talks. I’ve already washed her hair and massaged sweet-smelling conditioner through the long strands.

When I wrap my arms around her, a broken sigh shakes her shoulders.

“I can’t get pregnant.”

“Okay.”

She pulls out of my arms and turns to face me. “Okay? That’s all you have to say.”

“Yeah.”

Her bottom lip pinches between her teeth. It’s not so dark in the shower that I can’t see the sheen on her lashes. And it’s not the water from the spigot.

“I don’t care that you won’t carry a child,” I say hoarsely and kiss her temple, wrapping my arm around her low back.

“Just like that? How can you not care?”

“I want you, Marianna. Just like you are.”

“Do you want to know why I can’t?”

“Only if you want to tell me.”

Her chin quivers. “They found a small area of cancer in my uterus when I was in college.”

This rocks me. Cancer. Fuck. How scared she must have been. “Thank god your doctors found that and took care of it.”

She looks at the floor of the shower. “I don’t know why I even brought it up. You’re not even sticking around. So, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

What?

“Fuck, hold on now.” I drag her to me, melding our slick skin together. “Are you asking me to leave?”

She frowns quickly and cants her face up toward mine. “No.”

I wrap her face with my hands as water pours over us. “I’m not the kind of man that runs when things get complicated. So, I’m in this with you. If we want to make it work, we will.”

She searches my face, and the pain in her expression physically hurts me. “Evan, you live in another country.”

“I live where I want. We can overcome any obstacle. Money. Time. Distance. None of it matters.”

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