The mattress dipped slightly when she crawled with him under the sheets. Sherry now lay in the middle.

Their gazes met.

In the darkness, Sherry’s eyes shone a mysterious gray.

Sherry’s closeness reminded Madison of her dream. It made her hot and uncomfortable at the same time. She turned away from her but still felt Sherry’s body heat on her back.

Most people probably would have felt all cozy in this situation, but Madison felt trapped although their bodies weren’t even touching. What had she expected? She had made the decision, and now she had to live with it.

She punched her pillow into an acceptable form, lay back down, and forced her eyes closed.

“Thank you,” Sherry whispered.

Unsure how to answer, Madison chose to keep silent.

“Good night, baby.”

“Good night, Mom. Good night, Madison.”

“Yeah, good night, Madison,” Sherry repeated.

“Night.”

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“And don’t forget that you’re head over heels in love with me,” Madison whispered while holding the door to the Archer open for Sherry.

“Of course not.” Sherry walked past her and looked around. The Archer was about three times the size of Hank’s Diner, but she could make out only two people serving the tables even though the place was packed. They really needed help, and fast.

An attractive woman with red, curly hair tumbling over her shoulders stepped behind the bar with an empty tray, smiled at them, and waved them over.

Sherry turned back to Madison. “Is that—?”

Madison beamed. “That’s Danielle. The co-owner.”

Never had Sherry seen Madison smile so brightly. She likes her. Hopefully, they weren’t involved somehow, or their charade would be in jeopardy.

At the bar, Madison wrapped an arm around Sherry’s hips.

Sherry tried not to flinch. If only Madison had told her more about how she wanted to play this instead of staring out of the windshield without saying a word on their way to the Archer.

Danielle placed three cups on her tray. “Hey, you two.” Smiling, she extended her hand. “You have to be Sherry. I’m Danielle. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

Sherry took her hand. “That’s me. Nice meeting you too.”

“Madison said you would help us today.”

Sherry peeled off her coat and shoved it at Madison. “How can I help?”

“Do you think you can handle the coffee machine?” Danielle nodded toward a place behind her.

“No problem. I’ve worked at a Starbucks once. They had a similar one.” She stepped behind the bar.

“Great. If you’d excuse me.” With her tray in hand, Danielle left.

The second person working here, a young man, smiled at Sherry in passing. “Hi, I’m Jack.”

“Nice name you have. I almost called my son that, but then it turned out to be Jake. I’m Sherry.”

He winked and then disappeared behind a double-swing door, probably one that led to the kitchen.