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“Yes, ma’am.” Nicola curtsied slightly, the black miniskirt she was wearing sliding up her thighs as she moved. She practically skipped out of the den and toward the kitchen.

Abigail scratched the back of her head as she finally moved to sit down in a wingback chair and tried to relax. Had she really just invited another problem into her life? One that she didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with?

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at the text message she’d received earlier that day from Elia, her best friend. They’d had such a falling out that winter, and it was all Abagail’s fault. Ever since then, Abagail had been clawing at everything she could for control. She clenched her jaw and continued to stare at the screen.

Elia: We should find some time to meet up so we can talk this out. I don’t want to lose our friendship.

Abagail hadn’t meant for that to happen, but it had. She felt ridiculous for even having done what she’d done, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit that she’d been wrong either. At least not to Elia’s face. She could to herself, and that just made her feel even worse than before. Abagail pursed her lips and then bit her lower one.

Abagail: Yes. Let’s find some time.

“Who are you texting?” Nicola sat on the arm of the chair and handed the drink over to Abagail.

She instantly turned her phone off and turned the screen upside down so Nicola couldn’t see what she’d just been doing.The last thing she needed was for Nicola to pry into her personal life and add her two cents into the overflowing bucket of guilt that Abagail already dragged around with her.

“My best friend,” Abagail replied. But did she even have the right to call Elia that anymore? She’d been such an idiot, and she had crossed far more boundary lines than she ever should have. They’d kissed. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Abagail had kissed Elia, confessing her feelings and expecting Elia to reciprocate them.

But she hadn’t.

Abagail had known she didn’t.

So why had she tried to force her hand?

“Best friends don’t usually leave sourpuss faces.” Nicola pressed her finger onto Abagail’s lips and looked at her directly.

“Neither do exes unless it wasn’t a mutual break up.” Abagail looked directly at Nicola, trying to prove her point. There were things that both of them didn’t want to talk about, and these were those things. “You don’t bring up Elia, and I won’t bring up why you and Warren broke up.”

“I’m not allowed to talk about your best friend?” Nicola furrowed her brow at that. “Am I that much of a secret that you don’t even want her knowing about me?”

“No. Not at all.” Abagail took the glass from Nicola’s fingers and sipped it. “Elia is well aware that I have short term relationships and that sometimes I pay for the company I keep.”

“Sometimes?” Nicola pulled back at that. “Are you saying that you’ve paid women before me?”

Abagail hummed. She’d never outright paid for a woman to sleep with her before. She’d never had to. Not that she had to pay Nicola to do that either. But she was paying Nicola far more than she typically did to be in her presence. She was accustomed to the fact that often the women she spent time with needed a financial boost, and Abagail didn’t mind playing that role intheir lives for a short period of time. In fact, it made her feel good. At least her money was going to someone who needed it instead of her spoiled nephew who was an entitled little prick.

“Abagail….” Nicola trailed off, the question still in her voice.

“No. I haven’t paid anyone to have sex with me before. You’d be the first.” Abagail took a sip of her drink and settled herself. “But I don’t do long term relationships. I thought I made that clear before. These few weeks that we’ll spend together are the only weeks that we’ll spend together.”

“I understand that.” Nicola slid her fingers along Abagail’s jaw, pulling her chin up so that they were facing each other. “So don’t you want to make use of the time that we have?”

Abagail shook her head again. “No. Not tonight. I’m not in the right head space for that.”

“What if I can tempt you into the right head space?” Nicola pressed her thumb to Abagail’s lips, pushing her thumb into Abagail’s mouth gently.

Abagail sighed, closing her eyes and tasting Nicola’s skin. She flicked her tongue against Nicola’s thumb, and then she sucked on it. She would love to have their bodies pressed together, to use sex to forget about her day, about the text that Elia had sent her, but it wouldn’t be right. And even though she was technically paying Nicola for all of this, she wasn’t about to put either one of them in a situation that wasn’t befitting the arrangement they’d already made.

“No,” Abagail said simply. “Not tonight.”

“Tommie won’t hire me back,” Nicola whispered, her lips pressed against Abagail’s ear.

When had that happened? Abagail hummed, turning her chin to capture Nicola’s lips. Abagail enticed Nicola into another, deeper kiss. Abagail wasn’t sure that she wanted to hear another excuse that day, and one more from Nicola about why she didn’thave a job anymore might just set her over the edge into anger again.

Nicola pulled back, pecking Abagail’s lips gingerly before she grinned and slid onto Abagail’s lap, straddling her in the chair. She kissed her again hard, stealing Abagail’s breath as she ground down against Abagail’s thighs.

“I broke Warren’s nose,” Nicola whispered.

Abagail froze. “You what?”