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This compassionate side was what she sought to portray in her characters. She wanted viewers to connect with the men as more than battle-hardened, alpha warriors who lived for the fight and viewed others as enemies. Sure, there was that component. However, she loved how Graham wanted to make this world a better place for others.
In that moment, her world pivoted. Loving someone often required sacrifice. It’s why she’d entered a dependable career and stuck with teaching while the girls and Phil depended on her. She’d done it out of love.
Shewasfree to pursue her dreams now. Graham had been right there cheering her on. Willing to sacrifice his dream of staying here at Fort Liberty with his children and the teams of men he commanded. Not because she’d asked, but because he loved her. Even when she wouldn’t commit to him.
“Are you still there?” he asked.
“Yeah. Sorry, um . . .” She brushed away the tear rolling down her cheek and fought to control her voice. “What if you could stay in command of 3rdGroup?”
“That’s not one of my options.”
“What if it were?” She sank into a kitchen chair. “I ran into Sally McKittrick while leaving your house the other day. She brought up how Sean wants you to stay and mentioned another option.”
“I’m listening.”
“If we weren’t together anymore . . .”
“Stop right there. While he mentioned that, I didn’t relay it to you because it’snotan option.”
“She thinks it is, and that we aren’t together.”
“What?”
“She misinterpreted what I said. I didn’t correct her.”
“It doesn’t matter what Sally thinks.”
“Maybe we should go with it.” Erin couldn’t believe she was about to suggest this, but in her heart, she knew it was the right thing. “Neither of us was looking for a relationship, but circumstances brought us together. And it worked out for both of us—for a while. But you owe it to Megan, Jace, and all the men under your command to do whatever you can to stay with 3rdGroup, especially since Sean told you I couldn’t work onBravo Unit.”
“There are—wait. The show has an official name now?”
“It does. Not only will I be leaving for the beach in a few days, I will be spending a lot of time in California in the coming months.”
“Erin, that’s wonderful. Congratulations. But that doesn’t change how I feel.”
“Me either.” If anything, she loved him even more right now. “But you’re where you need to be. Your focus needs to be your men and your mission—not distracted worrying about your next assignment and leaving your kids. With Reece and Jace under McKittrick’s command, your family could end up on three different continents if he reassigned them.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
She wished she could be sure of that, but McKittrick had proven he’d go to great lengths to protect his career. “And I need to concentrate on my work. We need to take a step back.”
“Are you saying now that the series is a go, you want to end things?”
The hurt in his voice was killing her, but she had to put it out there. “No, I don’t want to end things. At least not permanently. But we need to see if this is what we both want or if the relationship has served its purpose.”
“This has become something bigger and better than its original purpose. Besides, there’s no guarantee McKittrick would keep me there even if we broke up.”
“If he doesn’t, then we admit we made a mistake. Couples break up then get back together all the time.” If not for the static on the line, she would have thought the call had dropped.
“What would this break entail?”
She hadn’t planned this. At all. She stared at the ceiling and forced her lungs to work. “We already won’t see each other for at least a few weeks,” she eased into it—for his sake and hers. “We can’t communicate after this. They monitor—”
“There are ways that don’t leave a trail.”
Erin wiped away another tear. She knew going down without a fight wasn’t in his DNA. She tried to think how to convince him. “It’s too risky. If we want a shot at winning this war, we have to concede this battle. Pull back and let him think he’s won. Wait it out.” And pray Graham would still want to be with her if he got extended at Liberty and they had to be apart for months—or longer.
“Are you saying ‘all’s fair in love and war?’”
