Page 47 of Perfectly Matched

Payson leaned in and kissed her, long and slow. A part of her didn’t care that Hannah thought she was Cupid, Wonder Woman or whoever. This was Vegas; a lot of people made a living performing as a fairy-tale character.

“I’ve missed you,” she said as she cupped Hannah’s face.

“You have no idea,” Hannah breathed in a low soft voice.

“Hannah, I don’t care what you do for a living. Just don’t ever lie to me.”

“Payson, I—”

“Shh.” Payson ran her finger gently over Hannah’s lips as she searched her eyes. “I don’t have a good understanding of who you are, but there’s something about you that pulls at me like a magnet. It’s like my heart searches for you when you’re not around.”

“If I told you we were destined to be together and that somewhere in the night sky, our own star is waiting to be lit, would you believe me?”

Payson chuckled. “I believe we need to take things slow and get to know each other. So why don’t we just take a big step back and start over with a dinner or coffee date and see where that goes, okay?”

“Okay,” Hannah said as she tucked a strand of hair behind Payson’s ear.

“I need to know more about you, to see where you live, where you work, and stuff like that. And if that goes well, then we can talk about the other stuff.”

Hannah nodded.

“No more lies, Hannah, or else I’m gone. I’m serious.”

“But…I…” Hannah paused, then nodded. “No more lies, I get it.”

“Okay, then how about we start with dinner tonight? Are you free?”

“I am.” Hannah smiled. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot after the show and take you out for a late-night dinner.”

Payson nodded. “I’d like that.” There was an innocence about Hannah that seemed undeniably real. If she was being set up, nothing in her gut was pinging right now. In fact, just the opposite. “Okay, then, I um,” Payson glanced at her watch. “I need to get going, so I guess I’ll just see you tonight.”

Hannah smiled and took a step back. “See you tonight. And Payson, I hope there’s a part of you that at least believes some of what you’ve been told. Magic really is all around you. It always has been.” She placed her fingers on her one bracer, and in a blink, she was gone.

Payson spun in a circle. “Hannah? Hannah?” She reached out and checked for any lingering devices or wires that might have caused the vanishing illusion. “Hannah?” She glanced around a second time and noticed a teenage boy pointing his cell phone at her.

“Are you videotaping me?” Payson approached him.

The teen chuckled. “Are you kidding? You’re talking to yourself and doing some weird ass shit with your mouth and tongue. So of course, I’m going to get a video of that.”

“What do you mean talking to myself? I was with another woman. Didn’t you see her?”

“There’s no one else but you,” the teen said as he turned his phone around and played the video. Payson’s brows shot up, and her face scrunched as she witnessed herself kissing and tonguing the air in a rather ridiculous manner. That was impossible. Hannah was just here. She could still smell the woody scent of her skin, see the sun glisten off her eyes, and feel her muscles flex when Payson touched her.

I hope there’s a part of you that believes.Hannah’s words echoed in her head as she backed away. “Impossible,” she mumbled as she pinched her wrist again. “Ouch.” Yep, still not sleepwalking. In the time it took her to run back to her house, she knew that video would be posted, laughed at, liked, and shared. It would make her look as crazy as she felt, which was the only other explanation for all of this. As much as the realization of having a mental break scared the shit out of her, it actually seemed more plausible than the alternative.

Believe.The word whispered in her mind as she entered her house. What did she believe in anymore? “Nothing,” she mumbled as she took her earbuds out and tossed them on her coffee table. She had all but lost faith that there was such a thing as a true relationship, the world seemed like it was falling apart, and magic was nothing more than an illusion. “Believe,” she muttered. Oh, how she wished she could.

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