“You…wouldn’t be interested, would you?” Juliet narrowed her eyes, and then she cocked her head when Hannah stared at her, open-mouthed. “Eva?”
“W-why would you offer the job to me?”
Juliet shrugged. As she did so, Hannah looked over her shoulder to see Caroline staring back at her. “Because I get the impression that you’re desperate to move onto something else, career-wise. If it’s not something you’re interested in, that’s absolutely fine.”
Hannah glanced in Caroline’s direction again, swallowing. If she took on the position Juliet was offering, perhaps things would work out with Caroline. Surely it had to be worth a shot. “I-I’d love to take the position.”
“It’ll be on a trial basis, of course. But I’m not concerned or worried that you won’t be up to the job. How long did you work at Jenkins?”
“Ten years.”
“Then George Jenkins must have known you were good.” Juliet smiled. “Look, give me a couple of weeks to get a contract together, and my life, and then I’ll be in touch. How does that sound?”
Hannah felt a sudden weight slip from her entire body, an excitement building in the pit of her stomach as she spied Caroline once more. But Caroline turned away, leaning forward towards the woman she was with. And then the other woman turned around, looking Hannah up and down. Well, this was going to be fun.
“It sounds perfect.”
Juliet beamed a smile, holding out her hand. Hannah took it and shook. “Welcome to my team…”
“Oh. Hannah.”
Juliet cocked her head, her smile softening. “I didn’t pin you for a Hannah.”
“No?”
“No. But I like it. It suits you. Much better than Eva does.”
Hannah barked a laugh. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be an Eva. But then again, I neverwantedto be an Eva.”
“What will you do until I contact you? Keep escorting?”
Hannah recounted what she had in her bank account at the moment. She had enough to see her over for the next two months’ worth of mortgage payments. “You know what? I don’t think I will.”
“Well, the job is definitely yours, okay? Trial basis, like I said.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything more at the minute. But Juliet, thank you. It really means the world to me.”
“Small glass of champagne to celebrate?” Juliet quirked an eyebrow.
“Absolutely.”
* * *
Caroline droppedher handbag beside the coat stand, kicking off her shoes and pressing her back to the wall in the hallway. Today had only gone from bad to worse for her, and seeing Hannah with another woman…drinking champagne, had well and truly thrown her. Her head tossed back as she laughed, the other woman with her hand on Hannah’s, the sheer joy as her client had Hannah’s undivided attention. In all honesty, Caroline wanted to run from the cafe before she threw up in public.
Joy had offered to come home with her, suggesting they call Gail on the way, but Caroline needed to be alone. So she could fester in this house that had brought her nothing but bad luck…and bad memories. She didn’t want to group Hannah in with the bad memories, but just the reminder of last night—Hannah’s hands almost touching her in places she’d forgotten existed—Caroline regretted the time they’d spent with one another. It didn’t matter how much she’d enjoyed last night; Hannah was with another woman. Client or not.
God, the thought of it made Caroline’s stomach turn for the millionth time today. What the hell had she been thinking, getting involved with this woman? Someone who was too young, too free, and honestly…too good for Caroline. Someone who, when all was said and done, had no qualms with being withher…and then another the following day. Because even though Hannah had told her she didn’t sleep with her clients, Caroline knew it happened from time to time.Everyoneknew it happened. And judging by the way Hannah was with the brunette at the cafe today, Caroline found it highly unlikely that they would be sitting somewhere discussing the weather. She saw exactly how Hannah’s client was looking at her. Hunger,desire. She probably felt the exact same way Caroline had when Hannah lured her in.
But then Caroline realised she was being unfair to Hannah. She had willingly gone to that first meeting with her—thrown herself at Hannah—then booked her again. As much as it pained Caroline to say it…Hannah was only doing what she was paid to do. To make Caroline feel good, to give her an experience to remember, to help her forget. Hadn’t that been the whole point of Gail booking Eva that night? To remind Caroline what it was like to have attention from another woman? Hannah, or Eva, had done exactly that. She wasn’t in the wrong. No, this was all on Caroline.
The doorbell rang, dragging Caroline from all thoughts of Hannah. She steeled herself as she moved towards the front door, tugging it open to be met with two smiling faces. Joy and Gail always had her back.
Still, she wanted to be alone.
She glared at Joy. “I thought I told you I didn’t want you to come over?”
“And I thought when we were kids that we always promised to stick by one another.”