Hannah flashes a sheepish smile. “You did. Thanks, by the way. This place looks nice…” She trails off, before taking a moment to stare at Caroline, tilting her head slightly. “I’m sorry. I’m nervous. I haven’t really, you know, done this before. Obviously.”

Caroline’s eyebrows fly up on her forehead, her heart tripping in her chest. Is it a date? She hasn’t let herself really, truly believe that. And previously straight, fresh from divorce women with children aren’t typically her chosen dates, either. too much room for potential complication.

And yet, here she is, her hands buried in the pockets of her jacket as excitement zips through her, tingling from her ears to her fingertips. Don’t make any dumb decisions, she thinks to herself.

“Nothing to be nervous about.” She assures Hannah. “We’re just having lunch.”

They, in fact, are not just having lunch, she realizes as soon as they sit down.

Because as soon as they sit, Hannah places her hands in her lap and looks the epitome of nervous before she blurts out, “I’d like you to be my lawyer.”

Caroline doesn’t know why she’s surprised. In what other capacity does Hannah even know her? Or expressed interest in getting to know her? They’ve barely ever talked.

But still, she is. And a laugh bubbles out of her throat even as she tries to tightly press her lips together to attempt to stifle it. What an idiot. That tug-of-war she’s wrestled with for days about whether or not to get involved in this, and this was actually no more than… her job.

It’s the explanation that makes the most sense, and yet it is the one thing she hadn’t thought of.

“I’m sorry.” She manages to get out, even though it’s not really funny. It’s just also actually hilarious, because – well, she guesses her moratorium on dating is still a go. As it clearly should be.

Kris is going to be so smug.

Hannah’s gaze shutters, though, her shoulders drawing up tight as she defensively wraps her arms around her purse. “I realize we’ve never really spoken and I’m sure my request is ridiculous, given that we’ve only met because of Michael, but I don’t appreciate being mocked.”

She stands, nearly knocking the waiter who is coming to pour their water off of his feet. And Caroline’s laughter falls away abruptly as she leans forward, shaking her head. “No! Wait, no, Hannah, I wasn’t mocking you. At all. I promise. Please. Sit?”

She can see Hannah’s jaw clenching and releasing before she stiffly sits in the chair, back ramrod straight.

Caroline waits a few seconds, giving the waiter a grateful smile as he pours their water and walks away. Before she turns to look at Hannah, who still looks like she’s debating walking right out of here.