Gail returned with two glasses of red wine. “No. I got the impression on Saturday that you didn’t really want to talk much about Friday night.”
“Thank you for not pushing it at the weekend. I thought it would all be over by now, but it seems not.”
“Have you seen Eva again?”
Caroline cast her gaze to her glass of wine as Gail sat down. “No. But I’m beginning to wish I could.”
“You can. What’s stopping you?”
“Humiliation. The idea that Eva thinks I want to sleep with her. That’s not who I am, Gail. I don’t ask women how much a night with them costs. I was overwhelmed, and if nothing else, I’d like to check she’s okay.”
Gail smiled. “I’m sure she wasn’t offended. Eva likely has people asking the same question a lot of the time. While I’d like to think she doesn’t actually sleep with clients, I’m sure she’s okay. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have spoken to you at the cafe.”
“Still,” Caroline paused, lifting a shoulder. “I’d like to see her again.”
“Okay. Then book her. I’m not going to stop you.”
“I…don’t have her number. You took care of that, remember?”
Caroline had only seen a picture of Eva before their meeting last week. She hadn’t wanted the website details or anything else purely because she didn’t want to go looking. Caroline had no plans to become a woman who relied on an escort as time went by. No, she wanted something serious. At least, part of her did. If she was going to step out into the world and make someone happy, she needed the rest of her feelings to match up with that. But right now, they didn’t. Not how she wished they would.
“I have the website on my phone still.”
Caroline ran a finger around the rim of her wine glass. “Do you think I’m making a mistake?”
“I think you should tread carefully.”
Caroline nodded. She understood what Gail was saying, and she was inclined to agree. Caroline couldn’t get attached or tangled up with this woman. “I will.”
“So, am I giving you Eva’s number?”
“Yes.”
Gail took a pen from the coffee table, jotting down Eva’s number and handing it to Caroline. She stared down at it, chewing the inside of her cheek, her hand trembling ever so slightly. This number would lead her to the woman she’d spent the last four nights thinking about. Caroline wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Delighted…but terrified at the same time.
“Well, there it is. What you do next is your own business. But first, tell me more about this woman.”
There wasn’t much to tell. Not really. Other than the fact that Hannah had lit up Caroline’spainfullyboring world… “I think if I got to know her, she could be someone special.”
“Oh?” Gail quirked a brow.
“We got along very well. Perhaps she could be a friend.”
“A…friend you want to fuck? I have a feeling that’s not going to work out very well for you, Caz.”
“Look, I know that’s off the table. Eva is an escort, she’s paid to make people feel good, but I don’t know. I saw something more. I felt something more. She says she was genuine, and I believe her. I don’t know why, but I do. I believe that the connection I felt…she felt it too.”
“Then I think you should call her. Book her as your escort and see where things take you. So long as you’re aware of the consequences if you get too close, then I don’t see the problem with booking her again.”
Caroline glanced down at the number in her hand again. “I’ll think about it. See how I feel in the morning.”
“Good decision. Sleep on it.”
Caroline had been sleeping on this for days now. Nothing had changed, and she suspected it wouldn’t until she met with Eva—Hannah—once again. “Thank you for coming over.”
“I’ll always be here for you.” Gail lay a hand on Caroline’s knee. “That’s my job. And I’ll always stand by you no matter what decisions you make.”
* * *