Adrenaline (Speed Series Book 2)(14)

With a smile on my face, I turned and followed my boss. I froze in place when we walked up to a small group of VIP’s. Those beautiful emerald eyes were all I could see.

“Paislie,” I said a little too enthusiastically.

Her eyes lit up as she flashed me a huge grin. “Congratulations, Malcolm.”

“Do you two know each other?” the oversized guy standing there asked. Not wanting to pull my eyes off Paislie, I smiled and said, “We’re acquaintances.”

Mr. Elliot cleared his throat and said, “Malcolm, this is Trey Rogers.”

Moving my focus onto Trey, I reached my hand out and shook it.

“Running back for the Cowboys?”

His chest practically puffed out as he said, “That’s right.”

“Man, I like the Cowboys, but I’m more of Texans fan, though,” I said with a laugh and slap on his arm.

The guy looked tense and a little pissed off. I couldn’t decide if it was because my immediate attention was on Paislie, or the fact that I basically just told him his football team sucked.

“Great race, dude. My girl here had her money on you.”

Snapping my eyes back over to Paislie, I couldn’t help but notice the look she gave Trey. Either they weren’t serious enough for him to be claiming her, or she was pissed about something else. I couldn’t help the damn smile that spread over my face.

I bet this girl was pure spit and fire.

“You rooted for me, huh?”

Her gaze turned to me. “I did. It was fun watching you fight for first place.”

With a quick scan of her body, I smirked. “I usually get what I want. One way or another.”

Her lips parted as her eyes drifted to mine. I wondered if her attraction to me was as strong as mine was to her? With the way she was eye f*cking me right now I’d say the answer was yes.

Mr. Elliot cleared his throat as he filled in the dead air space. “So, Ms.?”

“Paislie Pruitt,” she replied with a polite smile.

“So, Paislie, do you work for the Cowboys as well? Is that how you met Trey?” Mr. Elliot asked.

Paislie about let out a roar of laughter. “Oh no! No sir, I don’t work for the Cowboys. I work as a physical therapist in the Dallas area.”

I lifted my eyes. “Really? Physical therapist?” And she lived in Dallas. Fucking hell yes. This was my lucky day.

With a nod, she replied, “Yep.”

Trey was getting a bit upset the attention was not on him. “I thought there for a bit you weren’t going to be able to pull off a win. You pulled through at the end, though. Of course I’m sure it’s because the number seven’s tire blew.”

I slowly looked back at Trey.

Fucker. “That might have had something to do with it. I’d like to think it was my driving skills and the flawless car we had.”

Trey stared me down for a good thirty seconds. “Oh, of course. Yeah.”

Dalton walked over and bumped my arm. “Not to be rude, but it’s time for the press conference.”

I gave him a quick head nod before turning back to Trey. Reaching my hand out, I said, “It was a pleasure meeting you. We’ll make sure you’re taken care of in April when we hit Texas Motor Speedway.”

“Yeah, same here. I’ll be sure to hook you up with some tickets to a game, even if you are a Texans’ fan.”

I forced a smile as I shook his hand again. Before leaving, I reached for Paislie’s hand. When her hand landed in mine, I was pretty sure we both felt the energy from that touch. Her mouth dropped open as she inhaled a quick breath. The feeling zipping through my body was a rush I’d never experienced before.

“Paislie, it was nice bumping into you.”

She fought to hold back her laugh as she smiled the most brilliant smile I’d ever seen. It was then I noticed she had a dimple in her left cheek and one on her chin.

Fuck, that is cute as hell. Why was a girl like Paislie with a douche like Trey? It made no sense at all.

“It most certainly was. Congratulations again on your win.”

With wink, I replied, “Thank you.”

I followed Dalton toward the press house and took a chance at glancing over my shoulder. Trey was busy talking to Mr. Elliot, but Paislie was watching me walk off.

When she lifted her hand to wave goodbye, I lifted mine before turning back and looking straight ahead.

Why did it feel like I was fighting for oxygen to breathe?

One more look over my shoulder showed Paislie still watching me. My chest tightened and I wasn’t sure how I should be feeling.

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I ran my hand through my hair and tried to understand why, for the first time in years, the smile of one girl made my heart about jump out of my chest.

“I’m fine. Just tired,” I mumbled.

Pulling my phone out, I texted myself a message.

Me: Paislie Pruitt—Dallas PT

Shoving the phone into my back pocket, I turned to Dalton. “There isn’t anyone in my bus is there?”

Dalton frowned. “Yeah. A hot little number Tom said you had fun with earlier. You know I don’t care what happens after the race, just not before it Malcolm. I need you to stay focused.”

Before walking up to start the interview, I hit his chest and said, “It was a moment of weakness . . . I know your rule. Get rid of her, would you? I’m tired and just want to pull out after this.”