The plastic covered the window and provided a tiny bit of insulation, but it was still freaking freezing in the room and they all disbanded as quickly as they could. Luke asked Olivia if he could drive her to her apartment and then back to his house so she didn’t have to take her car—since they knew the stalker knew what her car looked like. To his relief, she said yes and even seemed a little pleased with him. He hadn’t been sure if he might be over stepping his bounds.

Olivia promised to text Patrick and Lexie when they were on their way to Luke’s.

He truly didn’t mind having an impromptu gathering of her friends, especially since it did seem like she wanted them there.

Granted, it would have been nice to be able to go back to cuddling and having her all to himself... but they’d all want to see for themselves she was okay. Which he completely understood. Plus, Lexie had been right. The more eyes and bodies present, the less likely it was Olivia would be targeted right now. So far the shit-gibbon had been very wary about doing anything too publicly.

They wouldn’t be able to keep a constant presence on her forever, but for tonight at least she’d be able to get peace of mind.

It didn’t take her long to pick out what she wanted to bring and then they were back in his car and headed to his place.

“I’m sorry our date kind of got co-opted,” she said with a rueful smile.

Luke blinked and then glanced at her sheepishly. “Actually, with everything going on I kind of even forgot we had one.”

She laughed. “Well then I don’t feel quite as bad,” she teased. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”

“I would have remembered eventually,” he argued playfully, reaching out with his right hand to take hers. She immediately wound her fingers through his, her thumb rubbing gently against the outside of his hand. “And it’s okay. There was no way to anticipate this happening, and I think it’ll be good for everyone to get together. Otherwise they’d just be texting you constantly anyway.”

He chuckled as she winced. After sending out a mass text, she’d turned her phone off because it had been buzzing almost nonstop. Having a lot of friends was great. Having a lot of friends who were all freaking out and trying to contact you at the exact same time was a little overwhelming.

By the time they arrived, Patrick and Lexie were already there, courteously parked on Luke’s street rather than in his driveway so they weren’t blocking it. Which he appreciated.