Page 8 of Better Than Expected

Well, she tried to remind herself of the many hours she’d spent at Jimmy’s Diner with her mother. She’d loved it there, for the most part. When she’d been younger, for sure.

“About that,” Robyn’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “I don’t mean to burst any of your bubbles, but… how do you really know you can trust that woman?”

“She’s my only option.” The truth came out quickly, even with Robyn’s doubtful look.

“Look, I am not trying to be a downer, because you know I’m so glad you are getting things rolling with the divorce, legally. But this Caroline woman, she knows Michael. You said they worked together, right? I just… I’m a little wary is all. The guy my sister worked with when she got divorced was really good, I could get you the number–”

“No. It has to be Caroline.” Hannah was resolute as she interrupted Robyn.

She didn’t mean to be rude; Robyn had made the offer for her sister’s lawyer a few times in the last year and was just trying to help.

But what Hannah had come to learn after tossing and turning over this for months, was that it had to be Caroline Parker.

Caroline was the only lawyer that got under Michael’s skin, she was the only one that had ever made Michael question himself. The only one he’d ever ranted about losing cases to. The one person he fixated on at work. Which made Hannah know that Caroline was damn good at her job.

And for the many things Michael was terrible at – being a father and a husband top of the list – being a lawyer was unfortunately not one of them.

She needed someone great.

And she needed someone who was not friendly with Michael and would be willing to go against him, despite his connections and power and money.

The truth was that the list of people she trusted was very, very short.

Robyn… well, that might really be it. She didn’t have any family, and it made her feel that ugly kind of embarrassed and ashamed that she hated looking at in the mirror when she thought about the friendships she’d given up or let fade over the years out of Michael’s insistence.

So, did she know that she could really trust Caroline? Did she really trust her? She barely knew the woman.

Both she and Robyn looked down in surprise when her phone buzzed on the counter between them.

“Did she plant a bug on you?” Robyn asked, and Hannah could tell she was only half joking.

Caroline Parker - 6:17PM

Aside from death of a loved one, divorce is the

biggest stressor in an adult’s life. Now that you

are officially my client, I just want to check in

with you and tell you that I’m here. It’s my job

to make it less stressful.

So take a deep breath, welcome to the Caroline

Parker Team, and remind yourself: You got this.

Hannah blinked down at the message, a confused swirling of feelings running through her stomach.

She knew Caroline seemed genuine. She always had.

But Hannah had been duped before by someone that she’d thought was genuine. She’d misjudged character so much that she’d married the worst person she’d ever met.

So, the truth was? The person she trusted the least in her life in a lot of ways, was herself.

Still. Caroline didn’t have to send this message in what appeared to be a sweet gesture to a new client experiencing a tough time. She didn’t have to agree to work with Hannah pro bono. She didn’t have to bring Hannah her jacket or tissues that night Michael had been caught cheating.

It had been the tissues that did it for her.