“There…was no payment.”
“But—” Joy’s forehead creased, that smirk she was once sporting turning to a look of concern. “Oh, no. You didn’t fall for her, did you? Come on, Caz. People pay her for a shag!”
“Will you keep your voice down!”
Joy held up a hand, scoffing. “I know Naomi ruined your life, and I know you want to get the old you back, but this isnotthe way to go about it.”
“Her name is Hannah. She’s thirty-four and has a fourteen-year-old daughter. She’s honest, she’s intelligent, and she’s only escorting because she was made redundant from her old job.”
“Oh, well, that makes this all okay then.”
“She asked me out on a date, and I turned her down. Then last night happened with Naomi, and I just let things get carried away.”
“Your escort asked you out on a date?” Joy looked as dumbfounded as Caroline had initially felt about it all. But if an escort wanted to date her, someone who came across all kinds of different people, that had to be an ego boost, didn’t it?
“She did.” Caroline swallowed down the emotion rising in her throat. “Last night was everything, Joy. She didn’t come home with me as an escort. She was there, fully, as Hannah. Every minute we spent together was more mind-blowing than the last, and I don’t know how to get her out of my head. And shereallyknows how to kiss.”
“If she’s so perfect, asyouclaim, why are you trying to get her out of your head?”
“Because the fact that she’s an escort still remains. I can’t date someone like that, Joy. As much as I wanted to arrange to see her again as she left this morning, I can’t put myself through it. Because it would all turn to shit one day, you and I both know that.”
“I see your issue. You certainly do pick them, Caz.”
Caroline bit back a sob, the thought of Hannah with another woman kicking her in the stomach whenever it floated through her mind. “She left this morning because she had a client. I should have known it would happen, it was inevitable, but I let myself get carried away last night and chose not to think about the following day. I just…defence mode kicked in.”
“Oh, dear.”
“But that’s my own fault for taking her home. And I think I upset her with some of the things I said.”
“Well, it makes a change from other people upsetting you, sis.” Joy got to her feet, pulling Caroline up with her. “Come here.” With their arms wrapped around one another, Caroline felt the weight of this morning crash down on her entirely. She sobbed into Joy’s shoulder, tightening her arms around her sister’s waist. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Caroline whispered. “I desperately want to see her, but I know it’s a bad idea. I can’t change what she does, but I also can’t let it go and be with her.”
“I know.” Joy pulled back, running her thumbs under Caroline’s eyes. “Come on. Let’s go outside and have some lunch. We’ll figure this all out.”
Caroline blew out a breath, squeezing her eyes shut and willing her tears to subside. She’d spent far too long crying during lunch with Joy in the past. It was time to put herself first and get on with her life.
* * *
“You’re not hungry?”Juliet looked up from her plate of food, frowning in Hannah’s direction. “Is there something wrong with it?”
“N-no. I’m just not feeling great today. I’m sorry.”
From leaving Caroline’s this morning, Hannah’s day hadn’t improved. She’d contemplated cancelling with Juliet, she needed to get her head straight, but it all still came down to the fact that Hannah needed the money. She’d spent an hour before she left home looking through websites with advertising jobs, but still, nothing worth applying for came calling. Maybe Hannah needed to bite the bullet and just apply for anything at all, but she didn’t want to work a job that she hated. Okay, she didn’t enjoy escorting, not really, but did she hate it? Not quite. It was hard to hate something that sometimes brought in two to three thousand a month.
Still, that money wasn’t going to keep her warm at night. Hannah knew that. And if she had any hopes of being in a committed and loving relationship, she had to find something else. She could have all the money in the world, but without someone to share her life with, she’d be miserable.
“And on the one day when I had plans for you and I…”
“Plans?” Hannah frowned.
“I thought maybe we could finish up here and then go back to my apartment,” Juliet said, smiling so fully that it almost blinded Hannah. “I know it’s not what we usually do, but who says we can’t have a little fun every now and then, Eva?”
Hannah’s heart sunk. Juliet was a wonderful client, but part of the reason for that was the idea of not having sex with her. “You’ve only booked me for two hours.” She turned her watch towards her. “And we’re already almost an hour in.”
“I know, but I’m sure you can fit me in for a while longer.” Juliet winked, her eyes cast back to her food.
As Hannah opened her mouth to respond, she looked towards the bar, surprised to find Caroline coming from a door to the left. She walked out with a woman who looked a lot like her, her eyes red and swollen. Caroline dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue, her shoulders slumped, and her legs seemingly struggling to move of their own accord.