“Basically you start up front.”
I nodded my head. “Oh, I see. So um, does this little nifty pass I have get me into the race Sunday?” I asked as I tucked a quilt under my arm and picked up a basket.
We made our way toward the elevator as Malcolm said with a hint of naughty in his voice, “That pass gets you everywhere, including on my bus.”
I wiggled my eyebrows and stepped into the elevator. “Yes!” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could. “I’ll finally get my date with Deuce. I think we’ll make popcorn and watch HGTV while you drive around the track.”
For as long as I live, I will never forget the look on Malcolm Wallace’s face as I declared I would watch HGTV on his bus . . . with his dog.
“It’s called racing, Paislie. It’s full of strategy and talent.”
I nodded as I said, “Uh-huh. Oh, I’m sure it is.” I shrugged and said, “I think Deuce and I would prefer something more entertaining and exciting like Flip or Flop.”
As I headed down the bleachers with a huge grin on my face, little did I know Malcolm Wallace and this track would change my life forever.
OPENING THE DOOR TO THE bus, I couldn’t help but feel my heart do another fucking skip. The last few days I’d called myself pansy-ass I don’t know how many times and it was because of the girl standing in front of me. The sound of her voice, her name across my phone; each and every time my heart jumped or my stomach dropped. What in the fuck was happening to me? And I didn’t have the urge to fuck her. Well, that’s not true . . . I did want to fuck her, but I wanted to get to know her first. Kiss her while I held her firmly in my arms. Slowly make love to her while I whispered her name against her soft skin.
I closed my eyes and pushed my wayward thoughts away.
“I believe Deuce and I have a date with Fixer Upper.”
With a dry laugh, I motioned for her to come in. “You found the bus okay I see.”
Paislie rolled her eyes. “After I got hit on by at least ten guys all promising to rock my world in some way or another. A couple of them were kind of tempting.”
Pulling her to me, I quickly kissed her lips. I wanted to move slow with Paislie. It meant a lot to me that she knew I wanted to get to know her before we jumped into bed. Although seeing her again had me fighting the urge.
“I’m glad you weren’t too tempted.”
She grinned and replied, “Me too.”
“I missed your smile,” I whispered.
She took in a breath as her eyes lit up. “This from the man who claims he doesn’t do romance.”
“I don’t.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck while her eyes landed on my lips. “What a shame. I’d be tempted by a romantic, handsome guy who doesn’t get his kicks from driving around a track at a gazillion miles an hour.”
“Shit! I forgot I need to make the reservations for the jump.”
Paislie dropped her hands and tilted her head. “The jump?”
“Yeah, I won Daytona so Dalton has to jump with me.”
“Jump what?”
Damn, I love how clueless she is. “Dalton, my crew chief, said he would jump out of a plane with me if I won. I won. So we’re going sky diving.”
Jerking her head back, she gave me a dazed look. Stammering over her words, she asked, “Wait . . . what? You’re jumping . . . out of . . . a plane? W-why?”
I quickly kissed her lips as I hit Tom’s number. He owned a sky diving operation back in Charlotte.
“It’s amazing. Bigger adrenaline rush than driving a gazillion miles an hour around a track.”
Something passed over Paislie’s face quickly before I could fully read it. Turning, she dropped to the floor and Deuce was all over her. “You’re the only sane one of the bunch, buddy.”
Deuce barked and licked Paislie across the face as she let out the cutest giggle I’d ever heard.
I shook my head and turned away from her. I needed to keep my head in the game, and being around Paislie only made me want to devote all my attention to her.
The knock on the bus door had me walking over and pushing it open. Tom wasn’t answering, so I sent him a quick text asking to call me back.
Dalton walked in and came to an abrupt stop when he saw Paislie. He looked between us and narrowed his eyes at me.
Paislie stood up and flashed that beautiful smile. “Hey, I’m Paislie.”
Dalton eyed her up and down like she was a bug that needed to be stomped on. “What are you doing here?” he asked as I punched him on the arm.
“What the fuck, Dalton.”
He turned and looked at me. “I need to talk to you now. Outside.”
Paislie made a face like I was in deep trouble as she took a few steps away and sat on the sofa. Deuce jumped up and sat next to her as she reached for the remote.
“Let’s find HGTV, shall we, buddy?”