Page 24 of Perfectly Matched

“Yeah.” Hannah let out an annoyed sigh. Her body ached from falling asleep on the slot machine, and her heart ached from knowing Payson was probably in the arms of Madison. “Are you saying I’m still stuck here for a while longer?”

“Oriana gave me strict orders to—”

“Not bring me home until we have confirmation that the marks have kissed. Yeah, I know. Meanwhile, you’re not going home either. You’re too tipsy to navigate.”

Piper waved a hand in front of her face. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Remember the last time we were traveling around the world and had a bit too much to drink in that one pub in Ireland?”

“That place had the best music.” She smiled, then hiccupped.

“Yes, they did. But do you also remember that when it was time to go, you teleported us to three different locations around the world before you finally got us back home?”

“I did, didn’t I?” Piper chuckled.

“Yes, you did.” Hannah wrapped an arm around Piper as she led her toward the elevators. “That’s why I think it’s a good idea for us to go back up to the room and sleep for a few hours. You can sober up, and by then, we’ll surely have confirmation from the stars.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Piper saluted, then handed Hannah a wad of cash.

“Holy shit. Piper, you did great.”

“I’m going to keep some,” she said as she slid several bills into one boot. “For when I come back. There’re a few games here that I want to learn.”

Hannah nodded as she wrapped an arm around Piper, walked her back to the room, undressed her, and gently placed her under the covers. She opened the curtains enough to make sure the sun woke them when it rose and stripped off her own clothes, glad to be free of the clingy, stiff material, and settled on her back next to Piper.

“I like it here,” Piper said in a barely audible mumble.

“It has its moments, I’ll give it that.” Hannah clasped her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling.

“Make sure…” she said through heavy breaths. “You wake me at dawn.”

“I will,” Hannah said as she heard Piper’s breathing turn to a light snore. She closed her eyes and tried to settle her mind, but when thoughts of Payson and Madison together flashed in her head, a twinge of jealousy took hold.

She peeled the covers off, walked to the window and glanced out over the blinking neon lights. Somewhere out there in the vastness of the city, was Payson. She turned her gaze to the night sky and searched through the haze for a bright new shining star as she wondered if Payson and Madison really had kissed tonight.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to calm her anxiety and hope. She had never in her life both wanted and feared the same outcome. If they hadn’t kissed, she knew herself well enough to know she would probably try to intervene once again, and she also knew Oriana well enough to know what that meant for her cupid status. She sighed in frustration as she shook out a surge of adrenaline. She could probably lap this hotel five times over and not burn through it all. She twisted her upper body around and glanced again at Piper peacefully sleeping. Yeah, that was definitely not going to be her tonight.

* * *

The sun shining in Hannah’s face caused her to drape her arm over her eyes. She sleepily groaned as she rolled on her side. “Wait, what time is—” She sprang out of bed, rushed to the window, and peered through the opening in the drapes. From the position of the sun, she estimated that it was midmorning. “Shit.” She hurried back to the bed and shook Piper. “Piper, wake up.”

Piper waved her hand at Hannah. “Go away,” she grumbled.

“Piper, it’s midmorning.”

Piper’s eyes flew open, and she jumped out of bed. “What? Why didn’t you wake me at sunrise?”

“I only just woke up myself,” Hannah said as they danced around each other, grabbing clothes and getting dressed.

“Shit, Isabella’s going to have my head if I’m late for this class.”

“Did they kiss, Piper?” Hannah said as she shrugged on her clothes.

“What?”

“Your stone. I can’t tell if it’s glowing.”

Piper paused, glanced at her stone, then stared at Hannah. “They didn’t kiss.”

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