Page 17

"I am," Ashley said. "And having Madison fall for you is the only good outcome here."

Payton knew that Ashley was right.Obviously, she would love for something to happen, but the chances were so slim. Madison had said it herself. That she wouldn’t cross that line with an employee. So, even if she ended up feeling something at some point, Payton believed that Madison had a lot more self-control than she did.

Payton would say screw their working relationship if it meant that Madison looked at her differently. She’d go hand in her notice right now.

But Madison wasn’t like that. She was a rule follower. Which made this whole pretend girlfriend thing even more intriguing. From what little Payton knew about her boss, it seemed so out of character for her.

Payton would have assumed that Madison would have gone to that wedding alone with zero issues. She had that kind of confidence, and as far as Payton could tell, Madison didn’t normally care what other people thought of her.

So, what was this really about?

Did things end badly with Jennifer?

Payton had spent the last few weeks trying to calm her racing thoughts and keep her mind from going to places that she knew it shouldn’t. She’d only been thinking about herself and how she was going to get through the week in London while also trying not to enjoy herself too much.

But what about Madison?

Was she going to struggle seeing her ex get remarried? Who was she most concerned with impressing? Jennifer or some of their friends?

And what kind of pretending were they really going to be doing? They’d never ironed out the details. The best they’d managed to do was spend some time together last night, and while they made progress, learning a bit more about one another and piecing together their story, Payton still felt those butterflies in her stomach when she thought about dancing with Madison or…

She swallowed.

Payton could so easily see Madison leaning in for a kiss.

But how the hell was she going to restrain herself? Because if there was anyone around, and there would be since it was for their benefit, it was going to be a chaste kiss.

Except Payton wanted so much more than that.

“Payton!”

She blinked. The two women behind the counter and Ashley were staring at her. How long had they been waiting for her?

“Sorry,” Payton said, her cheeks hot.

“I know what you were thinking about,” Ashley muttered beside her, and Payton could hear the smile in her voice.

One week.

In one week, she’d be packing her bag and heading off to London for a week that she couldn’t wait for and equally dreaded at the same time.

14

Madison took her earbuds out and glanced over at Payton who was reading, the warm glow of her e-reader illuminating her face, the steady hum of the plane’s engines drowning out the few conversations going on around the cabin. Payton’s blond hair was put up in a messy bun, and she wore a black hoody that looked soft and cozy.

They were somewhere over the Atlantic and about four hours into their flight. It was coming up to midnight, and Madison was finally tired enough to think about falling asleep. If she didn’t, she knew she’d waste tomorrow being jetlagged.

“Hey,” Madison said when Payton turned her way to open her bottle of water and take a drink. “You should probably think about trying to sleep.”

“I know. I want to. I just never seem to be able to sleep on planes though.”

“Have you ever flown first class?”

“No.” Payton took another drink and rested the bottle of water on the table between them.

“That might make the difference. No one’s going to bother you and ask to get out to go to the bathroom.”

“True.”