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“I meant to tell you this earlier. You look nice,” Madison said.
Nicewas not quite as complimentary as when Hannah had said she looked stunning, but she’d take it. “Thank you.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she felt a slight heat flush her face. She still didn’t understand what had sparked the sudden attention from Madison, but she had to admit, it was quite flattering.
“Are you hungry?” Madison asked through her signature smile.
“Are you kidding? I’m starving. I purposely didn’t eat this afternoon so I could savor every bite from this place.” She had been on the restaurant’s website a half dozen times today, drooling over photographs of the award-winning dishes the Michelin chef created. If the food tasted half as good as the pictures looked, Payson was in for one hell of a treat.
As they approached the hostess, Madison dropped her name, and they were escorted to the lower section of the restaurant where the tables had a perfect view of the strip. Payson could feel the eyes of some of the patrons watch them walk by, and although she was feeling sexy this evening, she knew the eyes weren’t on her. Madison could command the attention of any room she walked in, and Payson could tell by the shift in her strut that she was well-aware of her captive audience. This was her stage as much as the studio was, and Payson understood that. But she wondered, if she and Madison did hook up, would living in that shadow ever be enough to satisfy her?
They settled into their seats, and Payson glanced out the window. The view of the strip was spectacular. No matter how tired she’d grown of Vegas, she couldn’t help but get caught up in its energy as the town came alive at night. People packed the streets, water danced to music in lagoons, and every color imaginable flashed and flickered in a neon display. This was the artificial dance of the city, and she had to admit, it was mesmerizing.
A man in a chef’s outfit appeared. “Madison, you look magnificent as ever.”
“Antoine, darling, how are you?” Madison stood, gave him a hug, then turned. “Antoine, Payson. Payson, Antoine.”
He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. The view from here is incredible, no?”
“Magical. Simply magical,” Payson said as she glanced again at the strip.
“I owe you one, buddy,” Madison said.
He waved her off. “You owe me nothing. But…if you want to MC a charity event my wife is hosting next month, I would be forever grateful.”
Madison threw her head back in animated laughter. “Leave the information, and I’ll think about it. Now, what’s good?”
“The truffle ravioli with deep fried pureed artichoke and the seared scallops in green curry with young leeks are exquisite tonight.”
“Perfect, we’ll have the scallops. And two glasses of Chenin Blanc.”
Payson pursed her lips tightly together and cocked her head as she thought about all the times her ex had ordered for her when they went out to eat and how much that annoyed her. It wasn’t that the scallops wouldn’t be exceptional, but of the two choices, she would rather have had the ravioli. And as for the wine, she was definitely not a connoisseur or well-versed in pairings, but she knew what she liked, and she liked a good pinot noir. And the fact that Madison didn’t bother to even ask soured her stomach. But instead of speaking up, she remained silent and nodded her approval. Hmm, maybe she hadn’t made as many post-breakup gains as she’d thought, since she so quickly fell back into old submissive habits.
“Excellent, now, I shall leave you two beautiful ladies alone to enjoy your evening while I go prepare your food. I’ll let your server know your order. Bon Appetit.”
“How do you two know each other?” Payson asked after he walked away.
“Antoine? We go way back. He used to own a small restaurant in Chicago where my sister worked as a server. I ate there a lot, and we became fast friends.”
“I never knew you had a sister.”
Madison nodded. “And a brother, but we’re not a very close family. When I was a kid, we all used to…”
And just like Sam, Madison whisked Payson down memory lane. And by the time she drank her wine and finished her meal, she was still listening to Madison talk about her career, her aspirations, and her accomplishments. When dessert arrived, the story of her life had only advanced to her mid-twenties.
Although the conversation was completely one-sided, she gave Madison credit. The woman was gifted in making every story completely compelling, and it was nice to finally have a broader, more intimate picture of her, and it explained a bit more why she was who she was. And as the night lingered and Madison showed a more vulnerable side, Payson’s opinion of her softened. Still, there were moments when her mind floated to Hannah, and she wondered what she was doing. If she had gone out for drinks with everyone or if she was settled in for the evening in her hotel room.
As Payson finished the last bite of dessert, her mind started to drift to whether she and Madison were really meant for each other, as Hannah had said. She focused on Madison’s fingers wrapping around the wineglass, and wondered what those fingers would feel like as they explored her inside and out. But as her body began reacting to that thought, and she felt a heat emerge between her legs, that strong gut feeling reemerged, and Madison morphed once again into Hannah. And it was Hannah’s fingers scratching the itch that had been building in her all day. She glanced out the window and again wondered what Hannah was doing tonight.
