It was a chilly yet bright and sunny day in October, and Paige simply couldn’t be happier. It was true that Pierce had eventually come home shortly after midnight, but the good news was that he’d slept in the other guest bedroom, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t said a word to Camille. Not even this morning when he’d gotten dressed and spent a little time chatting with the children or right before he’d driven off to work. He was still outraged, and Paige couldn’t have felt more satisfied or tickled. Things were certainly going her way, and later today she would call her brother-in-law to see how he was doing. She’d make sure he knew she’d always be there for him, the same as he’d been there for her over the last two weeks.
Paige contacted a couple of her clients and then called her good friend Derrick at his office. Derrick owned a private insurance agency, and since he was his own boss, he could talk anytime he wanted.
“Nelson Insurance Agency,” the woman said.
“Hey, Ava. It’s Paige. How are you?”
“I’m well. And you?”
“I’m good. Is he in?”
“Sure. Hold on a minute.”
“Hey stranger,” he said after picking up the call.
“Hey yourself, and how are you?”
“With the exception of the few scratches you left on my chest—which thankfully Andrea can’t see because of all the hair I have—I’m fine. But it’s you I’ve been pretty worried about.”
“I’m doing wonderfully, my friend, and remember we agreed we wouldn’t contact each other for a while. You know, so things would have a chance to settle down.”
“Well, have they?”
“Pretty much. They found your DNA, but they have no idea who it belongs to. Oh, and for the record,” she said, chuckling, “had you not worn a V-neck, there wouldn’t have been any scratches at all. Especially since I was careful not to touch your face and neck.”
“You are one crazy lady. And I still can’t believe you wanted me to beat you with that gun the way I did. It just killed me to have to do that.”
“Well, you did a great job, and it was very necessary. I needed the incident to look convincing, and it did. The police bought it, and so did my sister and brother-in-law.”
“I guess. But it’s like I told you when you first thought up this far-fetched scheme of yours, you must really want Pierce pretty badly.”
“I do. I love him, Derrick, and I deserve him.”
“Well, I hope you know what you’re doing. And by the way,” he said, sounding slightly comical, “you do realize that the man you’re in love with is your sister’s husband, right?”
Paige raised her eyebrows and didn’t find his sarcasm very amusing. “Yeah. And?”
“And I think you’re playing in dangerous territory. Not to mention you’re staying at their house.”
“Everything’ll be fine. You’ll see. This was all meant to be, and it was only a matter of time before Pierce and I got together, anyway.”
“But what about your sister and how hurt she’ll be?”
“What about your wife and how hurt she would be if she knew about all those affairs you’ve had?”
“Touché,” he said, chuckling.
Paige laughed, too. “Touché indeed.”
“Well, all I know is that I hope you never ask me to do anything like this again.”
“I won’t. Because once Pierce and I are married, I won’t need favors from anyone.”
“Really now? Well, I sure hope you don’t think everything is going to be perfect and that you’ll never have any problems.”
“We won’t. Pierce is a good man, and I plan to do everything I can to keep him happy.”
“Well, I’m a good man, too, and though my wife has tried making me happy, it’s not working.”
“Then why won’t you just leave her?”
“Well, for one thing, I don’t love any of those other women. I love Andrea. Plus, you know what they say.”
“What’s that?”
“Married men who mess around rarely leave their wives.”
Paige knew it wasn’t worth responding to such nonsense, because even if that were true, she knew Pierce would be different.
Just then, she heard a knock on her door and wondered why Camille was back home.
“Hey, I’m going to have to go now, but call me later in the week.”
“Will do. And you take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
Paige hung up and hoped Camille hadn’t heard her conversation. “Come in.”
“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt.”
“No problem.”
“I just needed to talk to someone.”
“Of course.”
Camille sat down in the chair adjacent Paige. “I see you’re wearing one of your sweaters.”
Paige glanced down at herself. “Yeah, it’s finally cold enough, and you know I love hot pink. It really was kind of you to order those gifts for me.”
“It was nothing.”
“So, what did you wanna talk about?”
“Well, right after I dropped the kids off at school, I drove by Pierce’s bank and decided to call him. But his executive assistant told me he wasn’t available. Then I tried his cell, but, of course, it went to voicemail. I waited an hour and tried again, but he still wouldn’t answer. So, can you call him for me?”
Paige wasn’t sure what to say, but then she said, “I guess I could. But if he’s not answering your call, he probably won’t answer mine either.”
“Maybe not. But can you at least try?”
She sounded desperate and pathetic, so Paige picked up her phone and searched through her contact list, acting as though she didn’t know Pierce’s number by heart. When she scrolled down to it, however, she pressed send. Paige hoped he wouldn’t answer, but after the third ring, he did.
“Pierce Montgomery.”
“Hey Pierce, this is Paige.”
“I know who it is.”
His tone was curt, and Paige hated this. “The reason I’m calling is because Camille really needs to talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t wanna talk to her.”
Paige looked at Camille, not knowing what to tell her, but to Paige’s surprise, Camille took the phone and said, “Baby, please just listen to me. This is all a huge…Hello? Hello? Pierce? Hello?”
Tears fell down Camille’s face, and Paige knew Pierce had hung up.
“Sis, I’m so sorry he won’t talk to you.”
“This is insane!” she said, standing up.
“Honey, I know, but why don’t you give him some time? Let him have a day or two to calm down.”
“No, we need to talk now before this gets too far out of hand. I need Pierce to know that I’ve never, ever been unfaithful to him.”
Paige sat quietly, listening to Camille ranting and raving, and finally Camille left the room.
Paige couldn’t stop smiling. Her mission was being accomplished, and all she had to do now was bide her time. When she heard a door slam, though, she got up and looked out of the window. Camille backed out of the driveway and sped off. Chances were, she was headed to the bank so she could try to force Pierce to see her.
But not before Paige spoke to him first, so she pressed redial and waited.
“Look, Paige,” he said as soon as he answered. “I already told you, I don’t want to talk to your sister.”
“I know. And I’m not calling you for that. Camille isn’t even here. She just left.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Well, first of all, I just want to say how sorry I am that Camille has done this to you. I’m sorry for everything.”
“Not sorrier than I am.”
“You know I love my sister, but I could never support any woman who sleeps around on her husband. You’re one of the best men I know, Pierce, and you don’t deserve this.”
“Tell me about it. But evidently I just wasn’t good enough for Camille anymore.”
“That’s not true. If anything, you’re too good for her.”
Pierce didn’t say anything.
Paige hoped she hadn’t gone too far. “Why are you so quiet?”
“I guess I’m just a little surprised to hear you speaking so harshly against your own sister.”
“I don’t want to. But I’m also not going to stand up for anyone who’s done something this awful.”
“Well, you know what they say. It is what it is.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet. Right now, I’m too hurt and too numb to do anything.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Well, hey,” he said. “I appreciate your calling me back and for understanding, but I need to get going, okay?”
“No problem. Also, there is one other thing I wanted to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve decided to move back to my condo.”
“Why? Did they find the guy who broke in on you?”
“No, but I really feel like you and Camille need your privacy.”
“Regardless, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave until they’ve arrested someone. It’s just not safe.”
“I’ve burdened you and Camille long enough, and my mind is made up.”
“I really wish you’d reconsider.”
“I appreciate everything you and Camille have done for me, but it really is time I get back to my own place and try to find some sense of normalcy again.”
“Well, you know I’m only a phone call or a car ride away.”
“I do.”
“You take care of yourself, Paige.”
“You, too, Pierce. And thanks again.”
Paige pressed the end button and started gathering her things together. If she was going to lure Pierce from her sister the rest of the way, she needed to act quickly. She needed to do it from the comfort of her own home and be out of the Montgomery household by sundown.