She stopped just short of me and stared up at me with huge, bright blue eyes. She resembled Malcolm so much, it made my chest feel tight.
“Hello there, Sophie!” I said as I bent down to get at her level. I’d worked with enough little ones at the orphanage to know how to talk and interact with kids.
“You look like a princess! I hope I’m as pretty as you when I grow up.”
Either she was the sweetest child on earth . . . or Malcolm bribed her to say that.
“That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Sophie. But I think you’re very pretty and surely you must be a princess for you live in this grand castle!”
She smiled and looked down as she kicked at the ground nervously. With a giggle she shook her head. “Uncle Malcolm says I am. He said I was the prettiest girl in the whole world.”
My heart melted. “He’s right.”
Her little smile caused an ache in my chest. I’d never before in my life longed for a child, until that very moment.
“Well guess what, Sophie, I brought along a real princess!”
She gasped. “You did?”
I scrunched up my noise and said, “Well, her name is Princess, but she thinks she is a queen.”
Standing, I opened the back door and pulled the cat carrier out as Princess started making it very clear how pissed off she really was.
Sophie let out a scream that had my toes curling and Princess freezing in place.
“A kitty!”
I had to admit, the torment that Princess was fixin’ to go through made me smile internally a bit.
“Can I help you with your bags, Ms. Pruitt?”
I glanced up to see an older gentleman standing before me along with an older woman. Reaching my hand out, I introduced myself.
“Hello, Paislie Pruitt.”
His smile was so kind as he shook my hand. “Mr. Moss and this is my wife, Janet.”
Janet shook my hand and said, “I’m Malcolm’s assistant.”
With a smile, I nodded. “Oh, yes. Malcolm has spoken very highly of you, Mrs. Moss.”
“Janet, please call me Janet. And he better have.” Her wink caused me to chuckle.
Before I knew it two younger guys had my two suitcases and Princess and headed toward the house. When I finally looked back toward the front door, my breath caught in my throat. Malcolm was standing there on crutches.
O sweet Mary mother of Jesus. He looked so good. He clearly hadn’t shaved in a few days and the scruff on his face suited him. He wore lightweight sweatpants and a blue T-shirt that I was positive would make his eyes pop the closer you got to him. The thing that got me though was his smile. I didn’t want to like seeing it . . . but I did.
Pulling my eyes from him, I glanced back down to Sophie. At some point in time, she had taken my hand in hers. “I want to show you my room Uncle Malcolm made for me.”
Turning to Janet, she nodded. “Malcolm would like to have lunch with you and talk about everything, if you’re not too tired of course.”
Did this woman know I was the girl Malcolm took up to the rooftop? Surely she didn’t. She did know we knew each other though. I wondered if she knew he practically bribed my boss and me to be here?
“No, of course, that’s fine,” I said as my voice cracked. The thought of being alone with Malcolm scared the hell out of me.
“Come on, Paislie! I’ll show you all around.”
And just like that, a sweet little girl who clearly was excited about the prospect of having a new friend here was dragging me up the steps.
She stopped and looked up at Malcolm. “Uncle Malcolm! She’s here! Paislie’s here!”
The way he smiled down at her with such love in his eyes had my lower stomach pooling with heat. It had to have been the sexiest damn thing I’d ever seen.
“I know she is, princess. Are you going to show her all around for me since I can’t?”
She nodded her head and looked back at me. “Uncle Malcolm hurt himself really bad. But you’re going to fix him so he can drive his fast cars again!” she shouted as she jumped. My heart slammed against my chest while my head snapped up to look at Malcolm. The sadness in his eyes gutted me as I quickly got lost in the sea of blue.
“I hope so, Sophie,” I said softly. I sure as hell hope so.
HER GREEN EYES WERE HOLDING me captive as she stared at me. My heart had been pounding so hard in my chest as I watched her with Sophie. I wasn’t sure what these feelings were I was feeling, but I knew I needed more of it. These last two months had been fucking hell. There were so many times I longed to see her. Craved to see her. To taste her lips.
Paislie was unlike anything I had ever experienced. For the little amount of time I had spent with her, I had become addicted. It was as if she was a drug, and I needed a fix every single day.
Seeing her here now was almost too much.
“You look good, Paislie.”
My voice seemed to pull her out of her trance. Her eyes were soft but quickly turned dark as she opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it.
Sophie tugged on Paislie’s arm. “Come on! We’re wastin’ time!”