Page 78 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
RYAN
Iheld her close. I could feel her sobs subsiding. It was terrible, but I was so glad she was crying. She did care. “I’m sorry,” she murmured and stepped back. She was looking down at her feet.
I gently nudged her chin and forced her to look at me. It was there. I could see it in her eyes despite the dim room. She cared.
“Don’t be sorry,” I said.
“I was so scared I wouldn’t see you again,” she said. “I know that’s silly, but I just, well, I hated the idea of not seeing you.”
I grinned and used my thumb to wipe away her tears. “I’m glad the idea of not seeing me again was distressing. I have to admit I was a little worried about you not seeing me again as well.”
“You can’t do that again,” she said.
“Which part?” I asked.
“The part where you put your life in jeopardy,” she said.
“You know when I was up there, I kept thinking about you,” I said. “I thought about all the things I wanted to say to you.”
“I get it,” she said. “I felt the same way.”
“I’m sorry I made you worry,” I said. “It was reckless. I should have stayed in New York. When I registered my flight plan, the guys told me there was a storm out at sea. It was projected to hit tomorrow—I guess that would be this morning. It wasn’t supposed to hit the island. When I was in New York, the weather still had the projected path south of the island. I know better. I know weather like that can change on a dime. Instead of being smart and rational, I hopped in my plane and did what I do.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I acted like I was invincible. I was reckless.”
“Ryan, we both know you are not reckless,” she said.
“Normally, no, I’m not, but when I get up in the air, it’s a different story,” I told her. “I turn into someone I’m not.”
“That’s not a terrible thing,” she said. “But I forbid you from being reckless in the air again. At least until you sprout those wings we talked about.”
“I swear, if there is ever a shot to make that happen, I will be the first in line.”
She reached up and touched my cheek. “I should clean that. You don’t know where that branch was before it jumped up and attacked you.”
“Technically, I think it flew into me.”
“You need to sit your cute little ass in that chair,” she said. “I am going to get a first-aid kit.”
“You don’t need to do that,” I said.
“I’m going to do exactly that,” she said. She slipped her shoes on and then looked at me. “I need to do this. While you were out there, I just kept running scenarios through my mind. None of them were good. I have to feel like I’m doing something. I’ve never felt more helpless than I have the last few hours.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll wait.”
“Thank you.”
She walked out of the room. The silence was overwhelming. It sounded like the rain had stopped completely. The storm was over. All the adrenaline I’d been running on was gone. I sat back down in the chair. She was worried. It was terrible, but it made me happy. She cared about me. I snatched the other candy bar from the minibar and started to chew. Tonight might not be the right time to tell her the way I felt, but I was going to talk to her tomorrow.
I heard a knock on the door. When I pulled it open, she held up a little box with a red cross on it. “The doctor is in,” she said.
“Please come in Doctor Sullivan,” I said. “I’ll play doctor with you any day of the week.”
“Sit down, mister. Let’s see how much damage I can do.”
I sat down and waited. She opened the kit and pulled out a little square cotton pad. “This might sting,” she warned a second before she put it against my face. I flinched under the antiseptic pad.
