“Hello?”
“Malcolm? Hi, it’s um . . . it’s Paislie. Paislie Pruitt.”
“Paislie, how are you?”
I could hear the smile in his voice as I grinned from ear to ear. I felt like a teenage girl talking to her crush.
“Well, I’m a bit surprised by a package I received today. How in the world did you know where I worked?”
Malcolm let out a soft, yet deep laugh. “Let’s just say I had to do my homework. And when I talked to Trey Rogers he happened to mention he was no longer seeing you and might have let it slip where you worked.”
Rolling my eyes, I mumbled, “Figures.”
“Sorry, what was that?”
I waved my hand as if he could see me. “Nothing, sorry.”
“So?”
Chewing nervously on my lip, I replied back with my own, “So?”
He let out a small chuckle as he said, “Will you be able to make it at least for dinner?”
My finger moved over the handwritten note. “With Deuce? Your boxer, right?”
“That’s right.”
I wanted to giggle, but I stayed strong. “Is he looking for a casual evening or would I have to dress up? I’m not much of a formal kind of girl.”
“Totally casual. He’s super easy to please.”
A thought occurred to me as my smile faded. “Um . . . will Trey be there as well?”
There was silence followed by, “Fuck no, that asshole isn’t going to be there.”
Oh God . . . why did that turn me on.
“Then count me in.”
“Perfect! How about seven?”
I chewed on my thumbnail as I quickly thought this through. Hadn’t I just given up on men again, and now I’m planning on meeting one for dinner? Of course, I’m really having dinner with his dog.
Frowning, I hit my palm on my forehead. Get it together, Paislie.
“Go to Gate One you said?”
“Yes. Show the security guard your pass and I’ll be sure to let him know where to bring you.”
Covering my mouth to hold my silly excitement in, I tried to respond like this was just another night and nothing special about it. “Sounds good. I’ll see ya Thursday.”
“Perfect! See ya then, Paislie.”
My stomach jumped as I placed my hand on it. “Okay, see ya then.”
Once I hit End, I dragged in a few deep breaths as I placed my hands on my desk.
“Holy hells bells,” I said as I started laughing. I’d only talked to this man twice and yet each time he brought out emotions I’d never before experienced in my life. I wasn’t sure if I should be thrilled beyond belief, or scared shitless.
Either way, I was counting down the hours until I got to see him again.
WITH A TOWEL WRAPPED AROUND my waist, I walked out of the bathroom only to find Ashley standing in my kitchen.
Fuck.
“Ash?”
She spun around and raked her eyes over my body before looking back up at me. “Hey. I see you’re still looking fine as ever.”
“Um . . . what are you doing here?”
She leaned back against the counter and looked at me with a serious look as she leaned in closer and stared hard. Her mouth dropped open as she gasped. “Oh my God. You met someone!”
My head pulled back in shock. “What?”
Pointing her finger at me, a huge smile moved over her face. “You. Met. Someone.”
Right about that time, the door to the bus opened and Autumn came bouncing in. “Hey, big brother! Did we surprise you?”
I looked between Autumn and Ashley. “How . . . how did y’all meet up? I’m so damn confused.”
Ashley laughed and said, “I left my little black dress at your ranch a few months back. Remember after that night of fun in Dallas and we went back to the ranch?”
I nodded my head. “Well, I needed it and I called the main number thinking Clarisse would answer, but Autumn did instead. We got to talking and found out we had a lot in common.”
I wrinkled my forehead as I looked between them. “Okay, so you both decided to come to the race together?”
Autumn chuckled. “I’ve never missed one of your Texas races, and I don’t plan on it now. I asked Ashley if I could stay at her place this weekend. Sophie is staying with Mom and Pop.”
Ashely wiggled her eyebrows. “We’re having a girls’ weekend.”
I raked my hand through my wet hair. “This is . . . weird.”
“Why? Because we used to be fuck buddies and now I’m friends with your sister?”
Autumn set her bag on the counter and mumbled, “Gross, visual not needed.”
“Wait!! Back to what we were talking about. You met someone didn’t you?”
Autumn sucked in a breath. “W-what! You’re dating someone?”
“No!” I said as I shook my head. “And no I haven’t met anyone, Ash.”
She walked closer to me and I wondered where that familiar pull was that I used to get around her. Any time I ever saw her I only had one thing on my mind. Sex. The only thing on my mind now was how to get her and my sister off of my bus.
Ashley smiled and slowly shook her head. “I see it in your eyes, Wallace. You met someone.”
“Who is she?” Autumn said as she did a little hop and grabbed onto my arm.