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“Wow.” Payton reached for her drink, and Madison needed to get the conversation off them.
“So,” Madison said. “Where’s the honeymoon?”
Madison nodded and smiled in all the right places as Hazel explained the three-week trip that would take them from Portugal to Spain. Madison was tipsy, and she could feel herself struggling to focus on the details, her mind trying to file away the details of their relationship that they’d just invented in case they came up again at the wedding.
She inhaled a sharp breath when Payton came back from the restrooms, her seat a little closer to Madison now and she draped her arm along the back of Madison’s chair, her fingers briefly brushing along her neck where she’d gently eased Madison’s hair out of the way.
Madison covered it well enough, grabbing her wine again and downing what was left in it. With Payton this close, her thigh was pressed along Madison’s, the heat radiating through their pants, and Madison had to suppress a shiver.
She had not accounted for this. For these internal reactions that she couldn’t seem to stop. At least that would be the end of them until the actual wedding, because Madison couldn’t do this all week.
It was exhausting trying to keep her body in check, and at this point, she was wondering what the point even was, because clearly, she had no control over it.
Madison turned to look at Payton as the waiter returned with the bill. Thankfully, this dinner was wrapping up, but of course, Payton didn’t seem to be struggling one bit. In fact, she was more than likely enjoying this. And that was exactly why Madison had picked her.
Payton’s eyes met hers, a hint of amusement in them as her gaze flickered down to her lips, and Madison’s heart jolted, her pulse tripping as it raced ahead.
There was no way Payton would kiss her. Not when Madison had said that it wasn’t something that would be expected tonight.
But the moment was gone just as soon as it had started, Payton talking to Hazel as Madison snapped out of her daze and insisted on paying.
Hazel asked Payton if they’d be interested in going to a bar just a few minutes’ walk from here, and thankfully, Payton didn’t agree without asking her, although with three sets of eyes on Madison, she could hardly decline.
“Sure,” Madison said, and they followed Jen and Hazel out, who were walking hand in hand ahead of them, and Madison reached for Payton’s, mirroring them, deciding that at this point, another glass of wine would make this night a little easier.
23
Payton was sitting across from Hazel while Jen and Madison were at the bar. They’d found a booth at the back of a cozy pub, an old wooden table between them.
“This should be weird, shouldn’t it?” Hazel asked. “I mean, if someone told me last week that I’d be spending the evening with my fiancé’s ex-wife and her girlfriend, I think I would have run. But I’ve had a lovely time. Genuinely.”
“Me too,” Payton agreed. “And it really should have been awkward at the very least, right? But honestly, I’ve had a nice time too, although I imagine that this is strange for them,” Payton said, glancing towards the bar where Madison and Jen were deep in conversation while they waited for their drinks.
“Yeah. It’s been a bit surreal. Getting to see Jen’s former life in a way. I forget sometimes that she’s been married. That she’s done all this before. And willing to do it again. Must be the same for you too, right? Not the marriage part. But the rest.”
“Yes,” Payton said, resting her arms on the table. “It’s kind of made me wonder what Madison sees in me.”
“Are you kidding?”
Payton shrugged. “No.”
“Well, I’ll admit that when I met Madison earlier, I had a similar thought. Jen hadn’t kept her past a secret or anything, but I hadn’t seen any photos of Madison, and I guess I was shocked that she was so… Not like me,” Hazel finished with a sigh.
“And that’s exactly how I felt. But I guess, they weren’t right for one another, and we must be doing something right,” Payton said with a smile to cover up her own insecurities.
If meeting Jen earlier had thrown her, Payton had spent the evening doubling down, beating herself up for ever thinking that she might have a chance with someone like Madison, because while Jen was completely in love with Hazel, Payton knew that Madison had zero feelings for her.
Payton had noticed that anytime she’d gotten close to her that Madison almost flinched, or her body stiffened. It was subtle. But it was definitely there. And Payton hated that she thought she could use this trip to give her a chance, to get Madison to see her in a different light, but she was failing miserably.
Payton thanked Madison when she returned with a glass of wine for each of them, sliding into the booth alongside her.
Payton’s breath hitched when Madison’s warm hand landed on her thigh, her fingers giving her leg a gentle squeeze, and she dared herself to look at Madison.
And that little bit of hope faded when Payton realized that Madison was tipsy. That’s all it was. Madison was finally ready to play the part. Now that she’d had a few drinks.
Payton pressed her lips together, doing her best to not let it get to her that Madison needed to be intoxicated to start acting like her girlfriend. That stiffness was gone, and Madison sat close to her now, their sides flush.
“Okay,” Jen said, her eyes moving between them. “I have to know. Who made the move here? I’m nearly certain it was you, Payton, but Madison’s been throwing every assumption I’ve made about her out the window. How did this start?”
