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Madison didn’t want to assume that Payton had never flown first class, but it was plain to see when Payton realized how much space she’d have, that she could actually lie down if she wanted to. Payton had been almost wide-eyed, taking it all in while trying to play it cool.
“I’m going to try and sleep,” Madison said, checking her watch. “It’s almost midnight, and it’ll be seven-thirty in the morning their time when we land.”
“Okay. I’ll see if I can.” Payton slid her e-reader into her handbag. “Is it okay if I wake you if you’re snoring?”
Madison whipped her head around to look at her fully, sitting forward with her hands on her knees. “What makes you think I snore?”
“I don’t know,” Payton said with a shrug. “A lot of people do. And I’m just wondering if it’s okay if I wake you. You know, so you’re not bothering anyone.”
“I don’t snore.”
Payton pressed her lips together and didn’t say anything else.
Madison ran through their last year together. Was there ever a time that Payton had been around her when she’d been sleeping? As far as she knew she didn’t snore. But now Payton had her paranoid.
“I’m joking with you,” Payton said a few seconds later. “And I’m trying to lighten things up a bit. Since you’re not my boss anymore. Not for the next week.”
Madison stared at Payton. “You have a strange sense of humor.”
“Well, at least you know that now.”
Madison rolled her eyes as she got comfortable, sinking back into the chair and reclining it a few more inches. She didn’t have a sleep mask with her, but she should be tired enough to sleep for even just a few hours.
She took a deep breath as she tried to drift off to sleep, but thoughts of how the wedding would go started running through her head. She could see Jen’s eyes narrowing, judging her for dating someone younger than her, even when Hazel had only just turned thirty.
Madison had resisted the urge to look up Jen or Hazel for the last year, but for some reason, she’d stayed up late Friday night scrolling through all of their social media feeds.
She’d been slightly buzzed after the three glasses of wine she’d shared with Payton, and it oddly didn’t feel like stalking. It felt like research, like how she would deal with clients, needing to have the full picture before she could even think about trying to make their problems disappear and save their reputations.
Madison had poured herself another glass of wine that night, and stretched out on the couch, she’d spent at least an hour looking through their last few years together.
Madison hadn’t even realized that Hazel was that much younger than her. She’d done the quick math. Sixteen years.
So, Jen couldn’t say anything when Madison introduced Payton as her girlfriend, because they had the very same age gap funnily enough.
And before Madison had gone to sleep last night, she found the picture of the two of them on Payton’s profile. She’d studied it, allowing herself to think about what it would take to put herself out there again, about how, since the divorce, she hadn’t felt like she’d ever want to be in a serious relationship again.
She wasn’t heartbroken. Far from it. But relationships were a lot of work, and Madison had always been more committed to her business and her clients than anyone she’d ever dated, even her wife.
And until she was willing to change that, Madison knew that she’d be happy staying single. She’d always hated that guilt, that juggling of commitments, of always feeling like she wasn’t putting enough time and energy into either her business or her relationship.
It wasn’t worth it.
At forty-four years old, Madison could safely say that her priority was her company, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
15
Payton wheeled her suitcase into the suite, a garment bag thrown over her shoulder as she followed Madison inside. Once again, she was trying to dampen her reaction as she took in the luxurious king-sized bed, the white sheets covered with at least ten navy and mustard yellow pillows of all sizes.
She glanced into the massive bathroom on the left, the chrome rainfall shower head catching her eye against the gray tiled wall before she spotted the jacuzzi bath opposite the double sinks. The bathroom was nearly as big as the living room in her apartment.
And as Payton moved further into the suite, she realized that while the living area was off to the right, it wasn’t a completely separate room. There was no door between the bedroom and the living area, just a large archway. In fact, the cream couch was in the middle of the space, directly opposite the bed, because this was one of those hotels that were too fancy to have a tv.
Payton sucked in a breath. She’d already been nervous about spending so much time with Madison, about sharing a suite, but now there wouldn’t even be a door between them for the next week.
Madison was standing in front of the windows, the morning sunshine pouring in, and not for the first time since they’d made this agreement, Payton had to remind herself that this was just an extension of her job, that she shouldn’t be looking at Madison the way she was right now. That Payton shouldn’t notice the way Madison’s gray slacks fit her so well or the way her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders in that messy, slightly disheveled kind of way after a night spent on a plane.
It was almost ten o’clock now, and Payton’s stomach rumbled, cutting through the silence, although Payton had started wheeling her suitcase across the carpet as soon as she felt that tug in her stomach, hoping to cover up the sound with her movements.
