“Of course you can. You don’t need to ask.”
Edie sloped off through the other tables, and Hannah watched her go. Caroline placed a hand on Hannah’s thigh, lowering her menu. “Is everything okay with Edie?”
“Yes. She’s worried about the price of the food.” Hannah cleared her throat. She understood that Edie was anxious, but tonight she could have anything she liked. Even if Caroline hadn’t offered to pay, Hannah was bringing in a great wage now.
“Oh. No need to be. My treat, I told you that.”
Hannah smiled as she took Caroline’s hand. This woman wanted to see both Hannah and Edie smiling. Hannah couldn’t ask for anything more. “I know that. We just didn’t really eat out very much in the past. Had to tighten my belt, you know.”
“I get that. But I wanted to spend the evening with you both, and this is where I want to do that. Edie can have whatever she wants on the menu. Please make sure she knows that, Hannah.”
“I will, babe. Don’t worry.” Hannah lifted Caroline’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you. This is really lovely.”
Caroline nudged Hannah with her shoulder. “Anything for you two.”
Edie came back to the table, sitting down as inconspicuously as she could, but Hannah felt that nervousness across the table.
And then Caroline took charge.
“So, what’s your favourite steak, Edie?”
“Um, what was that one I had last time when Nanna Ivy took us for food?” Edie turned her attention to Hannah. “The small one with the really nice sauce on the side.”
“The fillet, love.”
Edie lowered her eyes to the menu. When they widened, she looked back up at Hannah. “I don’t think I feel like that one today.” Hannah caught the worried look in Edie’s eyes, breaking her heart as she did so.
“You don’t feel like the fillet?” Caroline asked, feigning shock. “Oh, I’m not sure we can be friends if you don’t feel like the fillet, Edie. That’s my favourite!”
Edie’s eyes brightened. “It is?”
“Oh, yeah.Alwaysthe fillet. But only if you have the chunky chips on the side. And onion rings too.” Caroline leaned in towards Edie. “The onion rings in here aresogood. Should I order some for us to share?”
Hannah squeezed Caroline’s hand, emotion lodged in her throat. Seeing Caroline reassure Edie had her bursting with love. That seemed to be the norm these days.
“And vegetables. You know what, let’s just order all kinds of different things. Maybe you’ll find some new food that you like too then.”
“O-okay.” Edie nodded, her grin not fading. “Yeah. Can we, Mum?”
Hannah held up a hand. “Hey, I’m just going to eat whatever you two are eating. Caz knows this place well, so I think we should trust her.”
“We should. We definitely trust you, Caz.”
Caroline exhaled a deep breath, calling for the server. “Well, thank goodness for that!”
* * *
“Dinner was lovely,”Hannah said as she leaned in and kissed Caroline below the ear.
Caroline closed her eyes, enjoying Hannah’s lips on her skin. It was becoming far more common than Caroline expected it would. Mostly because she couldn’t believe she’d made it to this point in her life.
“I think Edie is tired.” With her head resting on Caroline’s shoulder as they strolled through the city, Hannah yawned. “She gets quiet when she’s tired.”
“I don’t think she’s the only tired one.” Caroline pressed her lips to Hannah’s hairline, an arm wrapped around her waist. “Looks like a quiet night for us all.”
“I love that. A quiet night. Especially with you.”
“Me, too.” Caroline enjoyed the silence, watching Edie as she walked ahead a few steps, her shoulders hunched. “Is she okay?”