Hours had passed, it was three in the morning, and Paige was a nervous wreck. After leaving Pierce’s suite and coming straight back to hers, she’d paced back and forth, cried her eyes out, paced the floor again, and then ordered up a bottle of Riesling wine, which was all gone. Now she tossed and turned in bed, trying to get some sleep, and it was all because she couldn’t stop thinking about Pierce and how she would make things right between them. She pondered, deliberated, and contemplated her next move, but just then it dawned on her what the real problem was—the reason Pierce was so confused about his feelings. It was Camille and the fact that she was still in the way of their happiness. If it wasn’t for her, Pierce wouldn’t feel so guilty, and he would be free to love Paige the way she needed him to. Of course, Paige didn’t like how he’d willingly slept with her and then suddenly rejected her, but she understood why he had. He didn’t want people to start talking, something that was bound to happen once a few gossipmongers learned he had left his wife for her sister.
Like with any other local scandal, yes, folks would whisper and criticize them, but it wouldn’t be long before all conversations ceased. People would speak less and less about it, and in a few months they’d forget what had actually happened and would find someone else’s business to stick their noses into.
Still, Paige knew none of that mattered to a man like Pierce, someone who would never want to bring even a few weeks of shame to his family and who would do whatever he had to in order to protect them. He would even sacrifice being with Paige, the new love of his life, just so he could do the right thing. What he thought was right, anyway.
Paige tossed and turned another three hours, but when she couldn’t take it anymore, she reached over, turned on the light, picked up the cordless phone, and dialed Pierce’s room. They would both be in Las Vegas another three days, so she had plenty of time to change his mind about them. She would get him to see that their being together was inevitable, and that there was no sense trying to fight it.
The phone rang until the hotel’s voicemail system picked up. Paige listened but then hung up, wondering where Pierce could be when it was barely after six o’clock. Maybe he was already in the shower or had gone down for an early breakfast. She wasn’t sure exactly, so she took a chance on dialing his cell phone. It rang three times before Pierce answered.
“What is it, Paige?” he said, sounding irritated.
“Um, I just wanted to talk to you for a few minutes if you don’t mind.”
“About what?”
“Last night.”
“And?”
“Well, for one thing, I’m sorry I made you so upset.”
“Look, I’m over all that, and I suggest you get over it, too,” he said matter-of-factly.
“It’s not that easy,” she said. “But maybe if we could have lunch or dinner and talk about this face-to-face, I could explain things better to you.”
“Nope. Not gonna happen.”
“But why?”
“For one thing, I don’t want to, and for another, I’m already pulling up to the airport,” he said and then told what must have been his driver, “Yes, I’m flying out on American, so right here is good.”
“You’re leaving?” she said, trying to calm herself.
“Yep. Called and changed my reservation as soon as you left last night.”
“But I thought your conference didn’t end until Friday.”
“Yeah, well, thanks to you, it ended a lot sooner. For me, anyway, but actually I’m glad, because I need to get home to Camille and my children. I need to spend every day I can making things up to them.”
Paige’s moment of sadness turned ugly. “So what you’re saying is that you got what you wanted from me and now you’re rushing home to your wife?”
“Thank you so much,” he told his driver.
“Did you hear me, Pierce?”
“Look,” he said. “Two nights ago was the biggest mistake of my life, but it’s over.”
“I can’t believe you.”
“Believe what? That I love my wife and not you?”
“But that’s just it, Pierce, you do love me. You love everything about me, and the only reason you’re acting like this is because you feel obligated to Camille.”
“Of course I feel obligated to her. She’s been my wife for fifteen years, and I’m still in love with her. But even if I wasn’t, I could never love you.”
“What?”
“It’s just a fact, Paige. You’re a nice enough woman…or at least I thought you were before this week, but I’m not attracted to you in that way.”
“Oh really? Then why did you tell me the other night that you’ve always thought I was beautiful?”
“Because you are. But that was just a compliment.”
Paige’s face softened, the rage in her dissipated, tears seeped from her eyes. “Gosh, Pierce, are you that naïve? Have you forgotten that Camille wants nothing to do with you?”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is.”
“No it’s not. After I hung up with the airline, she and I talked for more than three hours, and we’re going to be fine.”
Paige’s stomach churned. “So that’s it? You’re ending things with me because of her?”
“You and I had sex, Paige. One time, and that was it.”
“No, we had an affair, you fell in love with me, and now you’re trying to cut me off.”
Pierce laughed. “You must be out of your mind.”
“No, I’m the same person you manipulated, brought back to your hotel suite, and then took advantage of.”
“You know what? I’m done with this conversation,” he said.
“Pierce? Pierce? Hello?”
He hadn’t even allowed Paige to respond. Still, she sat there, holding the phone to her ear, barely able to move. He truly didn’t want her, and it was all because of Camille and a few lame words she’d obviously said to him during some three-hour chat Paige hadn’t counted on.
But Paige wasn’t worried about it, because once Pierce saw Camille face-to-face, he’d be reminded of her infidelity, and he would go back to hating her again. He would then call Paige, apologizing and telling her how much he loved her and missed her, and he would then be on his way over to her place. He would realize who loved him most and who he could ultimately be the happiest with, and all this madness about his getting back together with Camille would be over. He would end things with his wife for good this time, and Paige now felt a lot better. She could see things much more clearly and was comforted.
She was relieved and finally drifted off to sleep.