Emmit headed over to the stove and wrapped Adaline up in his arms as I glanced back over to Paislie. I made my way over to her and leaned down to look into Landon’s eyes.
“Hey, Landon. That’s my girl whose heart you’re trying to steal.”
He laughed and looked back at Paislie. My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears. “How was your meeting?” Paislie asked, pulling me out of my daydream of her holding our own child.
“It went perfectly,” I replied as I took a few steps back and looked over to Emmit. Adaline knew that we were buying the vineyard, but Paislie had no idea. My biggest fear was of her and Adaline not getting along. “How was your day with Adaline and Landon?”
Paislie’s face lit up. “Adaline taught me how to make the perfect hard-boiled egg.”
My mouth fell as my gaze bounced between Adaline and Paislie. “Okay, I hadn’t realized you couldn’t boil an egg.”
Emmit let out a roar of laughter. “Damn dude, that’s one of the first things you find out . . . can they cook?”
Adaline lightly punched Emmit in the stomach as Landon struggled to get down from Paislie’s arms.
“That’s not all we did. We actually had a wonderful time hitting all the little stores in Waco.” Paislie spoke as she put Landon down.
Adaline turned and placed her hands on her stomach that was showing the signs of her pregnancy. “I can’t believe how much we have in common.”
Paislie nodded her head. “We really do!”
With a quick peek at Adaline, she gave me a wink. She knew I was worried and this was her way of letting me know all would be okay.
“Hey, Paislie, you up for running an errand with me?”
I could practically feel Adaline about to go crazy as she attempted to hold her excitement in.
Paislie smiled and gave me a shrug. “Sure. Adaline, did you need me to help with anything?”
“Nope. Emmit’s here, so he can entertain the little monster while Clarisse and I cook up a feast for dinner. I think we’ll even break out some bubbly!”
Pinching her eyebrows together, Paislie was about to say something when I took her hand in mine and pulled her out of the kitchen.
I concentrated on my breathing as we walked out to my truck. The last thing I wanted was for Paislie to figure out what was going on. Even with her leaving Dallas, changing jobs, and living with me, I wasn’t sure if she might think I was moving too fast.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as I opened the truck door for her. “Did you and Emmit get into a tiff?”
With a dry laugh, I kissed the tip of her nose and winked. “Far from it.”
As I walked around the truck, I rehearsed what I wanted to say one more time.
Blowing out a breath, I whispered, “God, please let me get this right for her.”
MALCOLM WASN’T ACTING RIGHT, AND I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong. He seemed nervous. His left leg had been bouncing since he got in the truck. I wanted desperately to ask him if his leg was bothering him or was something else wrong.
I hadn’t asked what his meeting with Emmit was about. Just because we were living together, I still didn’t feel it was my right to be sticking my nose in his business. When Adaline told me they were moving to Texas, I about started jumping like a little girl. I loved spending time with her and Landon. The first time we met was a whirlwind of a weekend.
“What do you mean we’re flying to North Carolina?”
Malcolm handed me a bag and said, “Just pack for a couple of days. I need to meet with the realtor up there so I can put my house on the market. Emmit and Adaline also invited us for dinner tonight.”
>
My eyes widened in surprise. “So, we’re just flying up there like that’s it?”
He looked back at me like I had two heads. “Yeah. We’ll get there around noon, meet with the realtor and then head on over to Emmit’s place. I think you and Adaline will really hit it off.”
The room felt like it was spinning. Even though Malcolm had left NASCAR, he still lived his life in the fast lane . . . all the time. The fact that he begged me to go rock climbing and I gave in only to find myself half way up a rock clinging for my life, should have been my first warning sign life was going to be very different with this man.