She should never have answered the phone. She knew that. Really she knew that as soon as Austin's name had flashed across her screen. She had known that the smart move would be to walk away, let his call go to voicemail.

And yet…

It had been nearly two months since they had talked. Random text messages just weren't enough to really stay in touch with one of her closest friends. Sasha had been the genius behind the plan to turn her into the artistic gymnast that had won the gold medals in London, but Austin had been the encouraging spirit when she had felt unable to transform into a graceful swan. In a little bit of an ironic twist, Mr. Kobalt had been the one to keep Payson grounded in the months following the Olympics when sponsors swarmed the golden girl. She had always had a strong sense of who she was but at the same time she was still just a teenager and the fame and attention could be overwhelming at times. Austin had been there to intervene safely at the one—and only—sponsorship gala where Payson had finally let all the ego-inflating finally get to her. She had indulged herself in several drinks too many, but Austin had swept her into a LA taxi before she could do anything embarrassing or even career-damaging.

Of course a paparazzo had snapped a photo of her leaning completely into Austin, his arms snugly around her body. The next set of tabloids had blazed speculation of how many weeks to their engagement announcement. Payson had cringed, knowing that this was most likely not going to go over well with her former teammate; Kaylie and Austin had just recently gotten back to a good place. She had tried to plan out what to say, but the phone ringing had cut that idea short.

Her friend's laughter on the other end had been a complete surprise. "Payson, thank you! This is perfect!"

"Wait, what, aren't you mad? The tabloids-" Payson had sputtered.

"Are lying," Kaylie interrupted. "I trust both you and Austin. He already had filled me in last night anyway on how the gala went. I was planning on calling you to see how bad of a hangover you had, but now it's a huge thank you!"

"A thank you?" Payson was having trouble following the bubbly brunette.

"I love Austin, Payson, I do, but I'm not ready for all the pressure that goes with being Mrs. Kobalt. Being in the public eye for the Olympics took so much out of me, and after being sick, I know that I need time for me, time to be private. If the tabloids want to put the two of you together, I'm totally fine with that!"

It had turned out that Austin felt the same way, not caring what the tabloids thought, and with neither Payson nor himself issuing a statement on the status of their "relationship," it was five months before a photog got lucky and captured the true couple kissing.

Five months in which Payson had spent enough time with Kaylie and Austin that those friendships had become two of her strongest. Especially after Lauren-

Payson shook her head. She had just started a conversation with Austin. It was not time to think about old pain; it was time to focus on her current friends.

The current friend that had just said, "Payson, I need a favor. A huge one."