Shame on Me

Matt glances over at Ted in surprise.

“It’s true. Paige’s mom and her friends snuck in the back and took care of business, angry-old-lady style: with a couple of handbags and a revolver,” Ted tells him.

“Wow. Now I’m kind of regretting not bringing my dad with me. He’s got a cane that he’s not afraid to use,” Matt adds.

“Paige, I’ll give you guys a few minutes. Meet me down at the station as soon as you can.”

Ted pats me on the back and then walks out of the church.

As soon as he’s gone, Matt pulls me back up against him and runs the palm of his hand down the back of my head.

“I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you today. I know we haven’t known each other very long and you’re probably going to think I’m saying this because of the fear of losing you, but I swear I’m not. I wanted to tell you a few days ago but I chickened out.”

My heart thumps wildly in my chest. I pull back and stare up into Matt’s face, bringing my hand up to cover his mouth.

“Not yet. I want to say it too, but not while I’m a complete mess with Vinnie DeMarco’s blood on my pants,” I tell him with a smile.

Matt brings his hand up and brushes my hair off of my cheek. “Paige McCarty, you would still be beautiful to me even if you had blood on my favorite pair of black Guccis.”

Standing up on my tiptoes with a smile on my face, I wrap my arms around Matt’s neck and bring his head down to mine.

“Shame on me for ever thinking you were anything like my ex.”

Right before our lips touch, Matt suddenly pulls back and stares down at me. “Speaking of Andy. Where the hell is he?”

Just then, we hear a door slam open behind us. We turn to see Andy, tied to a chair, hopping and sliding his way across the floor toward us.

“Hello?! A little help here!” Andy shouts as he looks back and forth between us.

Matt tightens his hold on me and shakes his head while we stare at him struggling.

“You were supposed to help me, Paige! I’ve been tied to a chair fearing for my life and you’re out here snuggling. I had to kick that door open all by myself and I’m pretty sure I just broke my toe. You don’t even care that I almost died!” Andy complains as he continues to jump the chair closer to us, inch by inch.

Matt leans down and kisses me on the top of my head. He grabs my hand and we walk toward Andy.

“Would it be wrong for me to kick his ass when he’s tied to a chair?” Matt whispers.

Andy continues to struggle, trying to get out of the bindings, and shoots us another dirty look when we finally get to him.

“Oh, my God, I can’t feel my hands! You guys, I CAN’T FEEL MY HANDS! I can’t live without my hands!” Andy whines.

“If you don’t kick his ass, I will,” I mutter to Matt as we begin untying Andy.





CHAPTER 22




All right, Paige, I think we’ve got everything we need. Thanks for coming down to the station. I’m sure you’re ready to get home and relax,” Ted tells me as he turns off the recorder in the conference room. We stand up from the table and head toward the door.

It’s definitely been a long day. I’m exhausted and dirty and I just want to take a hot shower, preferably with Matt.

“Thanks for trusting me to do this today. Even if I screwed everything up,” I say to Ted as he holds open the door to the interview room so I can go out in front of him.

“Paige, you didn’t screw anything up,” Ted reassures me as we walk down the hall. “Taking off that wire was genius. From what I’ve been told by Melanie in her interview, you never once lost your calm. You did good, kid.”

Ted pats me on the back, and when we walk into the waiting area, Kennedy, Griffin, Lorelei, Dallas, Matt, his father, and my mother all stop talking when they see us and jump up from their seats.

“She’s not going to jail, is she? I’ll vouch for her,” my mother says, breaking the silence.

Ted laughs and shakes his head at her. “No, Mrs.—I mean, Miss McCarty. Paige is most definitely not going to jail. She did a great job today.”

My mother walks over to stand right in front of me. “I guess this job is better than you taking your clothes off all the time. So I approve.”

Rolling my eyes at her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug. “Thanks, Mom.”

She pulls back after a few seconds and sighs. “Now I don’t have any excuse to buy that Maximus magazine anymore if you aren’t in it. Where am I going to get my information on s-e-x and relationships?”

Matt’s father walks up and holds his elbow out for her to take. “How about you and I take a seat, Miss McCarty? I can tell you about the things I learned at Paige’s photo shoot the other day. Did you know men wear skirts now?”