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Then it clicks.

“You’re a therapist.”

Her eyebrows shoot up.

“How did you get that?”

I shrug.

For a second she doesn’t say anything. Then the smile that spreads across her face is different than the ones before. Like being understood mattered more than getting the answer right.

“So what made you want to become one?”

She looks down at her coffee.

“That’s...” Her fingers tighten around the cup. “Actually a harder question than you probably meant it to be.”

Chapter 6

Olivia

I stare down at my coffee.

There are a dozen ways I could answer that question.

The simple version.

The one I give during interviews.

The short version.

The safe version.

Or…the real one.

Most people don’t want the real one. Not because they don’t care, but because it’s a lot for a first conversation.

And Luke, I’ve known him for exactly four days.

Four days of text messages.

Common sense says to keep this simple. Then again, common sense also said not to hug a stranger the second I met him.

That didn’t stop me either.

I glance back up.

Luke hasn’t said a word. He isn’t trying to rescue the silence or rephrase the question. He’s just waiting.

Not impatiently.

But patiently.

Like he’s already decided my answer is worth hearing, however long it takes.

“There’s the short version...” I give her a careful smile. “And then there’s the real one.”

“Well...of course I want the real one.”