We drive quietly, the silence broken only when I tell him to turn one way or another. About halfway home, we stop at an intersection. His fingers drum against the steering wheel, then abruptly stop.
“The nurses said Lucas brought you to the hospital.”
“That’s what I heard.”
He looks at me. “You don’t remember letting him in?”
“I don’t really recall much after I phoned you.”
The light changes, and we start moving again.
“I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you?
?” He clears his throat. “But I should’ve acted on instinct rather than waiting for you to say something.”
“What do you mean?”
“Lucas’s been driving you way too hard, and you’ve been working yourself to death without a peep. Does he know how you feel about him?”
The question is so unexpected, I almost splutter. “I’m sorry, what?”
A rueful smile ghosts on his lips. “I saw the way you looked at him…and reacted when you overheard people talking about his affair with his new lady friend.”
My belly clenches at the mention of Faye—and what she means to Lucas now. “We…knew each other before, but we aren’t… I have no feelings one way or the other now.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I think he has feelings for you too. Just an observation.”
My mouth dries.
I am in love with you.
“You’re mistaken,” I say stubbornly.
There’s a short stretch of silence. “You know what my therapist told me once?” Robbie looks over at me. “He said people don’t always hear what’s being said because their mind filters everything through their past experience and bias.”
“Oh. Well…I guess that’s true.”
“Yeah, me too. But I think my therapist missed something. It’s not just words that we don’t hear. We also don’t see what’s real because we’re too busy filtering that through our experience and bias, too. It’s like we’re staring at the world through red lenses and wondering why everything is scarlet.”
I have nothing to say to that.
“If there’s an issue with working with Lucas, I can get Amanda to assist him instead. It’s no problem, and I won’t hold it against you.” He gives me a warm, reassuring smile.
I smile back. “Thanks, but I’m a pro. I can handle it.”
“Easy to say, harder to follow through with. Not saying you aren’t being truthful, but there’s no reason to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. Feelings drive everything we do.”
I tell him to stop the car as we reach my apartment. “Can you get in?” he asks.
“I have the passcode for the lobby door, and if not, I have the super’s number.”
“Okay. Well, get better and don’t come back until you’re a hundred percent. I mean it.”
He waits until I’m inside the building before driving off. I smile at his thoughtfulness then go up to my apartment, which—thankfully—is both unlocked and un-burgled.
Kicking off the slippers, I flop down on the couch and stare at nothing. The apartment is dead silent, providing a perfect environment for me to sit and let my mind process everything.
Lucas is going to marry Faye. The idea is as painful as an amputation.