I looked down at my protruding belly and gingerly rubbed it with my fingers. “Bean is giving me abilities?”

Bex shrugged. “Bean’s full-on angel, Nina. You’ve got more power than we do, I bet. That’s why you could hover during your dreams and climb the walls and stuff. You were pregnant then, weren’t you?”

Ryan laughed once. “What? She’s Spider-Man, now?”

“That’s what I said!” Bex beamed. “Love Spider-Man.”

Jared frowned. “You should have said something.”

Bex laughed once without humor. “She’s your Taleh…not to mention your wife. I thought you knew!”

“You didn’t think I’d mention it if I had?”

“No! That doesn’t sound like you at all!” Bex snapped.

“He’s right,” Claire said. “Being forthcoming isn’t your strong suit.”

Jared turned on his heels, crossing his arms. His biceps bulged over his hands. “I guess you knew, too?”

“Obviously not!” Claire said. “It was my idea to punch her!”

“Well, let’s brag about it,” I said flatly.

Silence overcame the room while the new knowledge set in. Jared’s eyes bounced around different points on the floor while his brain processed a million thoughts a second.

A loud bang sounded from across the room, followed by a vibration in the floor. Claire was lying on her back, looking up at Ryan with a shocked expression.

He smiled. “I told you I wouldn’t give up.”

Her face flashed red, and I waited for her to send Ryan flying across the room again. But the flush of her cheeks returned to a warm tone, and her eyes softened. A slow, small smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Ryan, without caution, kneeled beside her. His eyes left hers, and then transfixed onto her lips. He leaned in closer. I waited for Claire to grab him by the throat, or kick him in his nether region, but she slowly closed her eyes.

“What in the hell happened in here?” Cynthia shrieked, slamming the door behind her.

My mother’s surprise entrance took my attention away for only a moment, and when I looked back, I could see a familiar frustration in Ryan’s eyes.

I smiled.

“Someone had better answer me,” Cynthia said.

Realization fluttered in Claire’s eyes, and she glanced in my direction.

“Karma,” I said with a knowing grin. She had made a hobby of interrupting Jared and I when we were falling in love. It was refreshing to see her reaction when the same happened to her.

“Oh, shut up,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. She grabbed Ryan’s hand and helped him to stand. “I apologize, Mrs. Grey.”

“You did this,” Cynthia said. Her words were more an accusation than a question. “I expect everything to be in order by tomorrow morning.” With that, she left for her bedroom.

Claire surveyed the destruction. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“I’ll help you,” Ryan said.