Holly shook her head slowly. “I’m staying with Paul.”
Sabrina’s forehead furrowed. “Paul? Paul who?”
“Daniel’s friend Paul.”
Her chin dropped. “Paul Gilbert?”
“Yeah.”
Sabrina bounced on the couch. “You’re going out with Paul? Oh my God, that’s so exciting! When did that happen? Why didn’t you tell me? Come on, spill!”
Holly rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that.” She fidgeted, not knowing how to start and how much to tell her friend. “It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated about you going out with Paul? Well, apart from the fact that he lives in New York and you’re in San Francisco. But even long-distance relationships can work out.”
“I’m not going out with Paul.”
“But you just said you’re staying with him.”
“Yes, but not as his girlfriend. Well, actually, I’m supposed to be playing his girlfriend, but I’m not really his girlfriend.”
Sabrina reached for her hand. “Holly, start from the beginning, because what you’re saying makes no sense.”
“Fine.” Holly sighed. “Paul hired me to be his pretend girlfriend to get his parents off his back and make them stop trying to set him up with women he has no interest in.”
“Hired? Are you trying to tell me he hired you as an escort?”
“Yes.”
“But you quit! Don’t tell me you went back to it.”
Holly shook her head vehemently. “No, I didn’t. I quit for good!”
“But he hired you. What’s going on? How does he even know? And why didn’t you tell him you quit?”
Holly raised her hands. “One question at a time, remember? He found out at the wedding. You know, when I was still working as an escort.”
“How did he find out? Did Tim get drunk and let it slip?”
Their mutual friend from San Francisco, who had been Daniel’s best man at the wedding, was a chatterbox, but he wasn’t to blame for this particular disaster. “Tim didn’t do anything. It was just a dumb coincidence. No big deal. He’s not going to tell anybody here. Trust me.” Because then Paul would have to admit that he’d slept with an escort, and she knew firsthand that he wasn’t going to expose himself like that.
“But you quit. Letting him hire you means you’re back in the business.”
“I’m not. We agreed that there would be no sex. It’ll all be above board. All I need to do is pretend to his parents and their friends that we’re dating.”
Sabrina shook her head, disbelief etched on her face. “That’s irrelevant. Whether you’re having sex with him or not still means you’re his escort. Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted to start fresh and start your own business. Or have you given up already?”
Holly rose abruptly. “No! I haven’t! But do you have any idea how hard this is? The bank refused my loan.” She didn’t want to go into the details, because they were irrelevant to her plight. “I had it all lined up to buy this great matchmaking business from a woman who wanted to retire. And then, bam! Another roadblock. I needed the money, okay?”
“Holly, calm down! I’m not trying to beat you up. I’m just trying to support you. When you told me two months ago that you quit, you also said that I should keep reminding you to stay on that path. That’s all I’m doing.”
Holly sighed and dropped back onto the couch.
“There’ll be other businesses to buy. In the meantime, you’ll find a job and save some money, gain more experience. It’ll all work out for—”
“I can’t do that, Sabrina.”
“Of course you can.”
Holly couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I’m pregnant, Sabrina. Nobody will hire me once I start to show.”
Sabrina’s gasp was louder than the ocean waves breaking on the beach. “Pregnant?”
Holly bowed her head. “That’s why I need the money. With it I’ll be able to buy the business and be independent. I’ll be able to take care of my baby.”
“Oh, Holly!” Sabrina shifted on the couch, and a moment later, her arms came around Holly. “Who’s the father?”
Holly shrugged. This was one secret she couldn’t share with her friend. “Some guy. It’s not important. I don’t even know his last name. He was from out of town.”
She felt bad lying to her best friend, but it was better this way. If Sabrina knew it was Paul’s baby, she would concoct some scheme to make Paul aware of it and force him to do the right thing.