Luke rises from his seat to face me as Dr. Griffith leaves the room. He looks different today. His sky blue dress shirt has been ironed, and he’s wearing a brown tie, although the knot could be a little tighter. And he’s shaved this morning. Usually, he smells like soap, which is not at all unpleasant, but today I detect a different musky scent. Cologne or aftershave.
“What’s up?” he asks.
I wring my hands together. “I need your help with something.”
His lips curl. “Fair warning—if you need me to teach you the difference between double-clicking and single-clicking, I’m going to lose it.”
My laugh sounds forced to my own ears. I tried my best to look put together this morning even though it was difficult because my sleep has been terrible ever since that video appeared on my phone. It took three layers of makeup to cover the purple circles under my eyes. “No, it’s something else. I… I was hoping you could help me install a home security system.”
He blinks his brown eyes behind his glasses. “What?”
“You mentioned you did it for your mother.” I clear my throat. “So I thought you could help me out.”
He rubs his thumb along his clean-shaven jaw. “Right, but—”
“I’d pay you, of course.”
That’s the wrong thing to say. His face drops. “It’s not that. I don’t need you to pay me. I just think… You’ve got that big house and you’re probably better off hiring a company to do it for you. I mean, I put something together for my mother but she’s just got a tiny little cottage.”
I cringe at the idea of a bunch of strangers on my property, installing cameras and equipment so that they can spy on me. I don’t want this equipment so that they can watch me. I want to be the one watching.
“I’ve already bought the equipment,” I say. “I just need somebody to help me install it. I don’t know how to do it myself.”
“It’s just that whatever you bought will never be as good as what a professional would install.”
“I don’t want a professional.” I dig my nails into the palm of my hand. “I want you to do it for me. Please.”
“Adrienne—”
“I’ll treat you to dinner. Anywhere you want.”
“But—”
“Please, Luke.”
His shoulders sag. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it.”
It feels like a weight has been lifted. Having a security system won’t protect me from EJ, but I feel better about it. I don’t like the idea of him lurking outside my property and following me. I want to know what’s going on. I’m not used to this feeling of a lack of control, and I don’t like it.
“Thank you, Luke.” Before I can stop myself, I reach out and touch his arm. I’m not a touchy-feely sort of person, but I feel a rush of gratitude towards this man. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He smiles at me. He looks different with the ironed shirt and tie, and with his face clean-shaven. He’s unexpectedly handsome. “And you don’t have to treat me to dinner.”
“I want to.”
“Well, why don’t you think about it?”
I consider protesting again, but there’s something firm in Luke’s voice. I appreciate that he doesn’t want to go out to dinner with me unless I want to do it. He’s not going to bulldoze me into anything. “Fine then.”
“So…” He rubs his hands together. “When do you want to do this?”
“As soon as possible.”
He arches an eyebrow. “I’m free tonight…”
Somehow I knew he would be.
_____
Luke parks his blue Toyota right behind my Lexus, in front of the house. He had my address plugged into his GPS, but I told him that the signal would likely give out after we turned off the main road, so he was better off following me. I usually give my patients specific directions on getting to my house.
“Jesus, Adrienne.” Luke is tugging on his tie to loosen it as he gets out of the Toyota. “You’re really isolated out here. This is the only house for miles.”
It’s actually 1.9 miles from the last house we passed. But I decide not to point that out. “Yes.”
He glances around at the trees surrounding the narrow, unpaved road to my house. “What do you do when it snows hard? You must get trapped here.”
“I have an arrangement with a plowing company. They plow the entire road for me.”