Her eyes flutter closed as all she can do is experience this: the warmth from their closeness, the smell of Hannah engulfing her, the strength of her fingers buried in Caroline’s hair. It all combines together, settling low in her stomach in such a wanting feeling, coupled with a sweet warmth from the moment.

Hannah is so tactile, she’s discovered in the last few months, but never anything like this. And Caroline clenches her hands tightly against her own thighs to stop from touching anywhere on Hannah like she’s itching to do.

God.

Hannah’s laughing when she pulls back and Caroline can only stare as her heart pounds and she hopes everything that is pulsing through her body isn’t written on her face.

***

The three of them plus Robyn go out to dinner to celebrate.

Robyn’s nice – in her mid-fifties and carefully watches Caroline, as she’s done the last handful of times they’ve met in passing in the last six months. But she takes it as a measure that Robyn cares about Hannah and Abbie, and Caroline is more than fine with that.

Robyn and Hannah are chatting across the table as she looks at Abbie, who’s dragging her spoon through her ice cream sundae dessert instead of eating it. “You better be careful because no ice cream goes wasted at a table I’m sitting at.”

She warns with a wink, and dips her spoon into the ice cream for good measure. It’s kind of a lie – ice cream is certainly not her sweets weakness and she’s stuffed from dinner. Mostly, she just wants to get Abbie’s attention, because she’s fallen unusually quiet in the last few minutes and she never hesitates when it comes to ice cream.

It works, and Abbie turns to look up at her. After a few seconds, she eventually says, “Even if you’re not our, um, lawyer anymore…” She trails off, her face scrunching up in thought and worry, as she slides the ice cream slowly across the bowl. “Are we still gonna see you?”

Her bottom lip sticks out in a thoughtful pout as she turns back to the ice cream she’s toying with rather than look at Caroline. Who leans back in surprise – honestly, at what point did everything between Hannah and Abbie become so much more about them than the divorce?

She has no idea. But somewhere along the line – maybe everywhere along the line – it happened. And it’s been one of the best things that has ever happened to her, period.