“Oh, how fun! My best friend, Annie, and I used to dream of having our own bed and breakfast.”
Malcolm’s head snapped over to look at me. “Really? No shit.”
“Really! We talked about moving to Selado and opening one after we went to a bachelorette party there one weekend. The bride’s sister rented out the entire bed and breakfast for us. It was amazing.” I smiled at the memory.
“That’s insane. Adaline wants to open a B and B.”
That piqued my interest. “She does? Here in Texas?”
Malcolm nodded and I couldn’t hide the jealousy that raced through my body. Closing my eyes, I quickly asked for forgiveness in thinking that way. I really liked Adaline and would never want to think ill of her.
When the truck stopped at the stone cottage, my body tingled as the memory of Malcolm and I making love there swept over me.
“Come on, I need to check on something in the cottage.”
Pushing the door open, I jumped out of the truck as Malcolm quickly made his way to my side with his hand in mine.
Are his hands shaking?
“Are you sure you’re okay? Everything is all right?”
He kept his eyes forward as we walked up to the door. “I sure as hell hope it is.”
Frowning, I went to ask him what he meant by that when he opened the door and led me in.
My breath hitched as my eyes bounced around the cottage. Pink peonies filled the room. Everywhere I looked there were bouquets of my favorite flower. The smell in the room was amazing as I took a few steps in. In the middle of the room was the same quilt we sat on during our first date. Next to it, lying down, was Deuce. My hands came up to my mouth to keep from laughing. I was so overcome with happiness I could barely think straight.
“Malcolm, this is amazing! What is all this for?”
Spinning around, I gasped when I saw him down on one knee holding a ring box in his hand.
“Oh, Malcolm,” I whispered.
“Paislie, from that very first moment I met you, I knew you were different. It may have taken us a few tries to get it right, but I knew in my heart you were always the one I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?”
My body trembled as I looked at the love of my life as he opened up the box and a beautiful princess-cut diamond sparkled against the fire burning in the fireplace.
Tears fell freely as I reached up to pinch myself. Is this really happening? I’d finally found what I had been searching for since my mother died.
Love.
A beautiful timeless love.
Nodding my head, I tried to force the words to come between my sobs of happiness. “Y-yes! Yes! A million times yes!”
Malcolm laughed as he took the ring out and slipped it on my finger. Standing, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me passionately. I was completely lost in the kiss. Nothing else in the world mattered more to me than this moment. Everything about it was perfect.
Deuce barked, causing us both to laugh. “I’m glad to see you included my boy.”
The crooked smile that spread over Malcolm’s face had my lower stomach tightening. “I promised him your first date.” He turned and looked at the boxer as he sat there patiently waiting. “As you can see, he’s ready to start your date.”
Placing my finger on his chin, I brought his eyes back to me. “First things first, Mr. Wallace.”
Malcolm raised his eyes in question. “And what would that be?”
“I believe you still have a few orgasms to catch up on.”
His eyes turned dark as he quickly picked me up and carried me to the sofa. “I’m on it, baby.” Setting me down, I watched as my future husband stripped out of his clothes.
“And, Malcolm,” I said as I pulled my dress over my head, “please go slow.”
His hands cupped my breasts as I dropped my head and let out a moan. “Oh, baby, I can do slow.”
And boy did he ever do slow. His hands and mouth explored every inch of my body before he slowly made love to me.
The smell of the flowers, the light from the fire, and the smell of chicken salad filled my senses as we whispered one another’s names. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine I could be so happy.
Nothing would ever be the same again. I’d finally found love and nothing or no one would ever take it away from me.
Ever.
I LAY ON THE COUCH with Paislie wrapped in my arms as Deuce snored on the quilt in front of the fire.
With a giggle, she turned in my arms and looked up at me. “I should probably get over there to my date. It appears he fell asleep waiting on me.”
I frowned and said, “Poor bastard.”
Paislie gently kissed my chest before getting up and slipping her clothes back on. She made her way over to Deuce and plopped down next to him as I got dressed.
“I knew I smelled chicken salad!” she exclaimed as Deuce wagged his tail in anticipation.
“Oh look, boy! Janet made you a sandwich too and it’s shaped like a bone.”
She set the sandwich down onto a plastic plate and put it in front of the dog. He quickly ate it as Paislie took a bite of her sandwich.
Sitting across from her, I let out a chuckle. “You couldn’t wait for me?”
With a shrug, she winked. “What can I say, multiple orgasms make me hungry. Then add an engagement on top of that and I could eat a dog!”
Deuce whimpered as Paislie laughed and said, “Not you, baby boy. You’re too special to me.”
Feeling satisfied with her answer, Deuce laid his head on Paislie’s lap.
I slowly drew in a deep breath before letting it out. “So, I have some more news for you.”
She took a drink of water from the water bottles that Janet had packed. “Is it bigger than this?” she asked as she held up her diamond.
I was suddenly overcome with nerves and scared as hell I might have jumped the gun. Shit. I thought this was going to be easier than asking her to marry me.
“I’m selling my house. I want to start our new life in a new home that we make together.”
Paislie’s sandwich stopped short of her mouth as she stared at me. “You’re selling your house? What about Autumn and Sophie?”
“I’ve actually got a place lined up for her. Although I’m not sure how she would feel if she knew we had made love on the couch twice now.”
Her eyebrows pinched together in confusion. “What are you . . . oh my gosh! Autumn and Sophie will be living here in the cottage?”
With a smile, I said, “If she wants. For all I know, she might want to move into an apartment in Waco. She really loves her job at the university.”
“Oh wow. Does she know, I mean have you told her about wanting to sell your house?”
I felt guilty that I had kept Paislie in the dark, but I really wanted to surprise her with this new adventure we were about to take.
“I have. I was just waiting to make sure the sale of the new house went through.”
Her hands came up to her face as she said, “Okay wait. Malcolm you have my head spinning. You’ve already purchased a house? Don’t you think I might have wanted to have some sort of say in that? I mean, if we’re getting married, I’d kind of like to be a part of the big decisions.”
My heart was pounding in my chest as I nodded my head. “You’re right and I normally wouldn’t have kept you in the dark like this. But I knew you’d love the house. Everyone knew you would.”
“Wait. How many people know about you selling your house?”
Oh. Shit.
“Um . . . just a few people.”
I jumped up and reached for Paislie’s hands, pulling her to me. Deuce stretched and went to the door and waited for someone to open it. “Come on. I’ll show you the new house.”
“What?” Paislie said as she glanced around the room at everything. “What about all of this? The fire?”
Walking up to the fire, I hit a switch and it went out.
“Holy cr
ap! That was gas? I’d have never have guessed,” she mindlessly said.
“Come on!” I was sure she could hear the excitement in my voice as I dragged her to the front door while Deuce barked.
“The food!” she called out as I laughed.
“That’s what I pay Janet for.”
Paislie rolled her eyes and pulled me to a stop. “Malcolm Wallace. We can clean up our own mess. Let’s go back in there and take care of it so Janet doesn’t have to deal with it.”
My smile faded. “You’re serious?”
Folding her arms over her chest, she nodded. “I most certainly am.”
“But, Paislie—”
Holding up her hand to quiet me, she replied, “Malcolm, just because you’re used to being waited on, I’m not. I don’t want Janet to think I’m going to take advantage of her, especially now that we’re engaged. Now come on, let’s go back in and pack up the food.”
I could see the spit and fire in her coming out and I loved it. It would be hard for me not relying on Janet to take care of almost everything in my life, but I knew Paislie was right. It was time I stopped relying on everyone else.
Fifteen minutes later, I placed the basket and quilt in the back of the truck. “What about the flowers?” she asked.
“I’ve already made arrangements to have them delivered to a local nursing home.”
I could see something move over her face as she gave me that goofy smile. Biting her lip, she asked, “Are you sure we have to go see the house? I’m thinking maybe we should keep celebrating our engagement.”
With a laugh, I took her hand in mine as we walked down the path and toward the large castle looking house. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to get a better peek at the house! I hope the next time the Russell’s are in town maybe they’ll invite us over for a dinner party!”
“Oh, I think you might be getting a better look sooner than you think,” I said as I tried not to smile from ear to ear.
I continued to walk to the house as Paislie said, “Malcolm, I thought you were taking me to the house you bought?”
We stopped at the front door and stood there.
“So, are you going to tell me why we’re just standing here?”
My heart was racing. “We’re waiting.”
Her eyes darted back and forth from the front door to me. “O-okay. Waiting for what?”
The door flew open and Sophie ran out. “Uncle Malcolm! Paislie!”
Sophie ran right into my arms as I hugged her and kissed her. “Can I tell her?”
We both looked at Paislie as she stood there stunned and confused as hell. “Sure you can, princess,” I replied as I kissed her cheek.
“Paislie! This is your new house!”
The color drained from Paislie’s face. “Come again?” she asked as Sophie looked at me with a confused face.
“What does that mean?” she asked as I threw my head back and laughed my ass off.
When I finally stopped laughing, I looked at the love of my life and said, “Welcome home, Paislie. The first two floors belong to us and the top two belong to Emmit, Adaline, and Landon.”
“And the new baby!” Sophie cried out.
I kissed Sophie on the cheek and put her down. “Yes, and the new baby.”
Paislie closed her eyes and shook her head as if clearing her thoughts. “Wait. Hold on, you bought this house?” She pointed back to the house and asked again, “This house? As in . . . the house that belongs to the Russell’s?”
“Yes, but the house belongs to us. Emmit and I bought it, along with the vineyards.”
She sucked in a surprised breath. “The vineyards?”
“Yep,” I said with a nod of my head. “Emmit and I formed a corporation together.” Wiggling my eyebrows, I said, “We’re in the business of wine grapes now. And hopefully, olive oil.”
Paislie looked more than stunned. “What about . . . I mean. Neither one of y’all want to do anything with racing?”
“Oh, hell yeah. We’re going to build a team most likely and be co-owners. I’m thinking that will be a few years down the road; once we get the hang of all of this, we can concentrate on that.” Flashing her a smile, I said, “You can take the boys out of racing, but you’ll never take the racing out of the boys.”
She stumbled back a few steps.
“Uncle Malcolm, Paislie looks sick.”
Reaching out for her, I asked, “Paislie. Are you okay?”
“I . . . I . . . I need to sit down.”
DID HE SAY OLIVE OIL? No. Did he? Holy shit, what is happening right now?
“Sophie, run and let your momma know we need some water for Paislie.”
My hand flew up as I called out, “Harder! I need something harder than water.”
Malcolm laughed as Sophie gave me a puzzled look before turning and running into the house.
Glancing back to Malcolm, he flashed me a smile that made my stomach flutter. Damn him.
“Information overload?” he casually asked.
My mouth opened as I tried to speak. Is he for real? Any other woman would be running for her life right now.
Inhaling a calming breath, I slowly blew it out as I tried to clear my head. I’d give anything to talk to Elizabeth right now.
“So . . . let me get this all straight.”
He took my hand and kissed the back of it as I continued to talk. “You bought this house with Emmit, along with the land.”
“Yep.”
“Autumn and Sophie most likely will live in the stone cottage.”
He chuckled and then gave me a wink as he replied, “Unless Autumn finds out what we did in there, but most likely yes, at least for a little bit.”
I let out a frustrated breath as I covered my face before dropping my hands to my sides. “Wait. You said Emmit and Adaline are going to live in this house too?”
His smile faded. “Um . . . well yeah. They were going to live on the top two floors and we’ll take the first two floors. Keep it all just like the original owners had it. The only thing that was part of the contract is that we didn’t turn the original house into a tasting room or anything. There are two private entrances and both houses each have three-car garages.”
So I’m getting married and moving into a four-story house that we’re sharing with another couple. Am I okay with this? He sure seems to be.
“Did you mention olive oil? Are there olive trees here also?”
With a smile, he shook his head. “No, that’s where buying the ranch that backs up to this place comes into play. Since Adaline loves to cook and the idea of making the bed and breakfast on that land was hers, she mentioned growing olive trees and making our own olive oil.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him. “So, you all have your futures planned out and what am I supposed to do?”
Malcolm looked at me with a stunned expression. “I . . . well I thought . . . um . . . I thought you would love the idea of living here. You’ve mentioned how much you loved the house. And the bed and breakfast. You mentioned it just a little bit ago. It’s perfect.”
I stood up and let out a dry laugh. “Malcolm, that’s Adaline’s idea. I can’t just walk in and make myself a part of it.”
“No, Adaline will be thrilled you’re interested as well. She knew there was an old historical home on it. She simply mentioned the B & B idea. Her goal is to get the olive orchard going.”
I turned away from him as I tried to calm my racing heart. Slowly turning back around, I looked directly in his eyes. “I have a job. I have a career I actually like, and you want me to just walk away from it and help Adaline start her own business?”
Swallowing hard, Malcolm pushed his hand through his hair and cursed. “Shit. Paislie I’m not asking you to walk away from anything. I thought this might be something that you would be excited about and want to be a part of.”
I didn’t know how I should be feeling. The excitement from the engagement had worn off and now I was being faced with a future I wasn’t the
least bit prepared for.
“I’d like to go home, please.” I quickly turned and headed back toward the cottage and Malcolm’s truck. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop.
“Are you mad?”
Giving him a blank stare, I tried to figure out what to say. “I’m not mad . . . well hell I don’t know, maybe I am. How did you know I would be okay with this?” Glancing back to the house, I looked at it. It was huge and we would probably go for days without even seeing Emmit and Adaline.
“The house is big, but did you even stop to consider that maybe Adaline and I wouldn’t care for each other? That maybe I didn’t want to go into a business with her? I originally wanted to do this with my best friend and to have something else forced down my throat doesn’t sit well with me. You didn’t even talk to me about any of this, Malcolm!”
“I’m not forcing anything down your throat.”
My hands went to my hips. “Really? Oh hey, Paislie, I bought a house with someone else and we’re going to all own it even though you’re just now getting to know the couple. By the way, they will live upstairs from us and we’ll share everything, the pool, the hot tub, the tennis courts. Oh yeah and we are now going to be in the wine grape business.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you even know anything about wine grapes, Malcolm?”
He went to talk, but I kept going.
“Let’s not forget to mention that you’re also going to own racecars with the same man you couldn’t even stand a few years ago. What if you disagree on something and none of this works out? You bought a damn house with him! You’ll be traveling to races, and what about North Carolina? You sold your house there, but now you’re talking about owning a team. Call me stupid, but aren’t all the teams located there?”
Again he opened his mouth to talk, but I stopped him. “I think it’s wonderful Adaline found something she’s passionate about, but to expect me to just jump right on into someone else’s dreams seems rather selfish on your part.”