Remember Jamie Baker (Jamie Baker #3)(56)
Geez. I really had been an ice queen. “Sorry.”
“I’m not sorry. I needed to earn your trust. Missing the dance for you helped me do that. That night was the first time you let me see the real you.”
Ryan drifted off into a memory then and told me everything there was to tell about us. He explained how he discovered my powers and how after that he helped me learn to control them. He talked for hours, describing an entire year’s worth of my life.
He also told me all about my parents and my best friend, Becky. Then he explained all the Chelsea’s Angel stuff. I’d apparently gone superhero because I felt guilty for not saving a guy when I could have. Ryan told me that the guy was actually his best friend and that I would meet him when I was ready to visit home. I was nervous to meet the guy who was in a wheelchair because of me, but Ryan promised me Mike was all right and that he would be excited to see me again.
He also explained the Sunshine thing in more detail. He showed me the inscription on the engagement ring that I’d never noticed before, and said he had extra lightbulbs for my necklace because I blew them up on a regular basis. That, I could totally believe.
I couldn’t get over how much Ryan knew about me. I swear he told me enough information to fill an entire novel. Maybe even two. He also showed me tons of pictures in his phone so I could have some images to go with all the stories and people he mentioned. I sponged it all up like a nerd in a bookstore. I wished I could actually remember the stories, but even hearing them secondhand was so much more than I thought I’d ever get, so I was eternally grateful.
Of course, after he told me about our engagement—that, admittedly, sounded like the most romantic thing ever, and I was sad I couldn’t remember it—he went on to tell me about getting the call from Teddy and my leaving him to save Carter from Visticorp.
“I left you at the Grand Canyon? You could have died!”
“Luckily you told Carter I was out there, and Carter sent a search party out right away.”
I was still appalled.
Seeing the horror in my expression, Ryan shrugged. “Our one sunset at the Grand Canyon together was worth being left—possibility of death and all.”
I sat up out of his arms and blinked at him. “You’re crazy.”
He just grinned and said, “Crazy about you.”
“Cheese ball.”
Laughing, Ryan started to pull me back into his arms, but decided against it when I yawned. Despite having slept until lunch, I was exhausted. It had been another emotionally taxing day, and I was still recovering from my attack the day before.
Ryan pushed to his feet with a sigh and stretched his long body. “I suppose we should get to Boston. It’s three hours later over there, and Major Wilks will kill me if I keep you out too long.”
As Ryan doused the fire and locked up the cabin, nerves shot through me at the thought of everything that lay ahead of me tomorrow. I’d been so relaxed for so long now that I’d forgotten all about my meeting with a bunch of doctors, my interview with Carter, and meeting my parents. The night had been a wonderful dream, but it was time to get back to reality. And the reality was that tomorrow was destined to be another long day.
Major Wilks was waiting in the lobby with a card key when we got to the hotel in Boston where the ACEs had supposedly “secured” a room for me. How they could secure anything from superpowered maniacs, I had no idea. And yet knowing that Ryan and his team were all there with me still made me feel safer. “Miss Baker,” he greeted me, “you’re looking much better.”
The comment surprised me. “I am? How?”
Major Wilks’s mouth quirked on one side. “You don’t look like you want to kill half the world.”
Ryan laughed and squeezed me to his side. “A little time with me has always done her good in the past.” I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t argue. I did feel much better. “Thanks again for letting us go, Major.”
Major Wilks nodded and led us into an elevator. Pressing the button for the top floor, he said, “Everything is secured. Geek is monitoring all entrances and public areas of the hotel from HQ. The ACEs will be positioned outside your door in shifts all night. We may not have superpowers, but we should be able to provide you with enough of a heads up should anything come your way, and we’ll make great backup if you can stall them long enough to let us help you.”
He was right. Any help was better than no help, even if they weren’t as strong or fast. I nodded my thanks and accepted the key he handed me as the elevator opened. He led me down the hall to a room where Smut and Johnny G were standing sentry on either side of the door. “Evening, Miss Baker,” Smut said with a wink and a smile.
The name threw me. “Miss Baker?”
“Just testing it out,” Smut said. “Trying to get used to it.”
Johnny G leaned forward and whispered, “We can’t very well call you Angel in public.”
“I guess not.” I sighed, not looking forward to tomorrow. “How bad do you think it’s going to be?”
Everyone looked to Major Wilks to explain. The man didn’t flinch as he gave me what he knew I would consider terrible news. “Congratulations. You two have succeeded in becoming national celebrities. The media is already having a field day with your story. They’ve been hounding your parents at home, and Ryan’s parents. They even ambushed your old college roommate and have been interviewing some of your old classmates—anyone who is willing to talk about you.”