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“Hey,” Jen said with a smile as they entered the restaurant, and they dropped hands so that they could both hug Jen and Hazel.
“Hope this is okay,” Jen said once their waiter led them to their table. “Hazel got me hooked on this place, and now every time I’m in London, I have to fit in a trip here.”
Hazel pulled out the chair opposite Payton, and Jen took the one across from Madison.
Payton picked up her menu, her stomach rumbling despite her nerves. “Where are you two living now?”
Hazel took a sip of water. “We don’t actually have a permanent home right now. My season finished up in May, and we’ve spent some time in California, but we flew in last week from Miami.”
“Oh wow.” Payton was impressed.
“Yeah. It’s not ideal,” Hazel said, “But I don’t know where I’m playing next year, so… But Jen can work from anywhere, and sometimes we end up spending a few weeks in a particular country following a tournament or whatever she’s covering.”
Their waiter returned, and they ordered a bottle of wine to share along with some appetizers.
“Well,” Jen said once they all had their wine. “I have to say, I’m so thrilled for you, Madison.” She lifted her glass as she spoke. “I know this should be awkward, but I’m so glad that you decided to come to London and celebrate with us. And I’m even more happy to see you with someone as lovely as Payton. Cheers. To both of you.”
“Cheers,” Payton said, leaning in to gently knock her glass against theirs before taking a sip.
The waiter came back to take their orders, and Payton felt herself relaxing as she took another drink. This was fine. Dinner wouldn't offer too many chances to really play up their supposed relationship, and that was probably for the best.
22
“Any advice for me, Madison?” Hazel asked during dinner, a smile on her lips.
Madison exhaled as she sat back, bringing her napkin to her lips. “Well,” she started off dramatically, but she returned Hazel’s smile. “No. You don’t need my advice. Jen’s wonderful, and I was not a good partner.” She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling Payton’s eyes on her. “I barely know you Hazel, but I can already see how happy you make her, so… No advice from me.”
Jen lifted an eyebrow. “I have to say, I like this side of you.”
“What side is that?” Madison asked as she picked up her wine glass, lightly drumming her fingers against the glass before she took a drink.
“Content. Settled? I don’t know.”Jen studied her. “And I obviously mean settled in a good way. I honestly didn’t think you’d commit to anyone again. Just because of where your priorities lie.”
“Fair enough,” Madison said, finishing her wine.
Tonight had gone surprisingly well, but this conversation was making her nervous, and she tried to think of something to say to steer it well away from her.
“What about me?” Payton asked. “Do you have any advice for me, Jen?”
Madison refrained from throwing Payton daggers, instead letting her eyes fall on Jen, her heart thumping in her chest. They were on good terms it seemed, but she could still throw Madison under the bus. Highlight all her shortcomings.
Jen glanced at her before giving Payton her attention. “When you want to talk about something, and she doesn’t? Don’t let her get away with it. Because she’s an expert at deflecting, at running away from a conversation, and she always seemed to have a good excuse too. It was only looking back that I realized that she had no idea how I was feeling. I wanted to tell her. I kind of felt like I was, because I thought about it a lot, and I tried to have the conversation with her a dozen times, but they never actually happened.”
Madison sucked in a breath, wishing she still had some wine left in her glass. She knew she’d been a shit wife, but once she knew it was over, she never really thought about all the ways that it had gone wrong. And this was clearly one of them. A lack of communication.
Payton cleared her throat. “I will take that onboard.” Payton turned to look at her, and Madison forced herself to hold her gaze. “But so far, I feel like we’ve had a really good habit of checking in with one another, especially when our schedules get busy.”
“How long have you two been living together?” Jen asked, glancing between them.
Payton’s eyes grew wide as they held her gaze.
Madison really should have thought more about the details of this fake relationship. “How long has it been?” she asked Payton, giving them time to come up with an answer, although she’d just confirmed that they were indeed living together.
“Must be six months.”
Madison nodded. “Yeah, next week, I think. Six months,” she said, giving Jen her attention.
“Again, I’m shocked,” Jen said with a crooked smile as she brought her glass to her lips. “In the best possible way.” She looked at Payton now. “It took me nearly two years to convince Madison that moving in together was a good idea. So, we were nearly three years together before we finally moved in.”
