175 HIDDEN EYES

Chapter 7

Evan sat in the client chair like he owned the space. Black sweater, dark pants, hair pulled back in the same neat low bun. He watched Winifred with that calm, steady look that always made her feel slightly off-balance.

“You’re holding back today,” he said.

“I’m waiting for you to talk about something real,” she answered, pen resting against her notebook.

“I talk about real things every time. You just don’t like the answers.”

She opened her mouth to reply when a knock came at the door.

“Come in,” she called.

Theo stepped inside holding a thin folder. He looked mildly apologetic.

“Sorry to interrupt your session,” he said. “The clinic emailed the updated risk notes on the Miller case an hour ago. I thought it would be better if we went over them together before tomorrow’s consult. Are you free around lunch?”

Winifred’s expression softened into the polite, familiar smile she used with people she actually liked. “Lunch works. Send me the time and I’ll make sure I’m free.”

Theo’s shoulders eased. “Good. Also—are we still on for Saturday? That place near the park you mentioned?”

“We are,” she said without hesitation. “Seven o’clock. I’ll meet you there.”

From the side of the room Evan’s gaze stayed fixed on her. His eyes darkened a little as he watched the easy way she spoke to Theo, the small smile she gave when Theo looked slightly flustered, and the way she answered each question like it mattered. He didn’t speak. He only watched.

Theo finally noticed the other man and offered a short, polite nod. Evan returned it with almost no movement of his head. His eyes never left Winifred’s face.

When the door closed again, the room felt quieter than before.

Evan’s voice came low and even. “You seem oddly familiar with that man.”

“I am,” she said. “He’s courting me.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Courting you?”

“Yes. And that’s a different conversation. We should stay focused on the session.”

He didn’t press the point. He simply leaned back and continued asking questions as if the interruption had never happened. The rest of the hour passed with the same sharp back-and-forth they always had, but something in the air had shifted, even if neither of them named it.

Later that evening Winifred picked up takeout from a small restaurant three blocks from her building. The containers were warm against her arm as she started the walk home. Her street was always dark and mostly empty at that hour. The streetlamps were spaced far apart, leaving long stretches of shadow between them. She walked quickly, keys already in her hand, bag held close to her side.

The feeling arrived the way it always did—quiet, steady, impossible to ignore. Someone was behind her. She turned once and saw nothing but empty sidewalk. She turned a second time. Still nothing. A third time. Only the usual parked cars and the low glow of distant windows. On the fourth turn she stopped completely.

A tall, lean shadow stood a few feet away, just outside the reach of the nearest light.

Her hand went straight into her bag. Fingers closed around the pepper spray. “Who’s there?”

The figure stepped forward into the dim light. Evan lifted his eyes. His gaze settled on her face and stayed there, steady and intense.

She let out a long breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Jesus, Evan. You scared me to death.”

She put the spray back into her bag and exhaled again. “I thought I was being followed by a stalker or something.”

He walked closer and, without asking, took the takeout bags from her hands. One eyebrow rose.

“Stalker?”

“Yeah.” She gave a short, tired laugh. “Maybe it’s all in my head. But I keep getting the feeling that someone is following me. Seeing that it’s just you tonight, I guess I should be relieved… or at least bothered about why you’re following me this late in the evening.”

Evan kept his eyes on her. “I was in the area. Saw you walking alone and thought I should walk with you.”

She shook her head, still half-smiling. “If you wanted to talk, you could have just walked up to me like a normal person instead of trailing behind me like a stalker.”

His mouth pressed into a thin line. For a moment he looked almost like a scolded puppy.

She sighed and nodded toward the street ahead. “Come on. My place isn’t far.”

They walked side by side in silence for a while. The only sounds were their footsteps and the occasional distant car. Then he spoke again.

“How long have you been seeing him?”

“A few weeks.”

“How did you meet?”

"who?"

"That man from your office today, how did you meet?."

“Through work.”

“Is it serious?”

"probably. "

A pause. Then he asked again. "Do you like him?."

She glanced at him. “I don’t see how any of this has to do with our sessions, Mr. Gray.”

“Our sessions only count inside your office,” he said. “We’re outside right now. I can ask you personal questions.”

“And I can choose not to answer them.”

He went quiet after that.

When they reached her building she climbed the few steps to the front door and fitted the key into the lock. His voice stopped her before she could push it open.

“Winifred.”

She looked back over her shoulder.

“Is Theo more handsome than me?”

She turned fully, confused. “Excuse me?”

“Is he better than me?” he asked again, voice quieter. “If you had to choose between us, who would you pick?”

She stared at him for a long moment. Then a soft laugh escaped her—light, clear, and unexpectedly sweet. The sound seemed to catch him off guard. A blush rose across his cheeks and spread all the way to his ears. He pressed his lips together and looked at her like a wounded puppy who hadn’t expected to be laughed at.

She smiled, still amused. “You’re just a child. You shouldn’t compare yourself to a man much older than you.”

“I may be younger,” he said, “but I know what I want.”

She held his gaze for another second, then shook her head. “Go home, Evan.”

She opened the door and spoke over her shoulder as she stepped inside. “Good night, Mr. Gray.”

The door closed with a solid click.

Evan stayed on the steps for a long time. The street remained empty and quiet. The small light above her door threw a soft circle onto the pavement. Slowly, a faint smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. He looked at the closed door and spoke her name under his breath, quiet and certain.

“Finally got you where I wanted you.”