Adrenaline (Speed Series Book 2)(20)

I made a tsking sound and slowly shook my head. “That’s not what Google says about you, Mr. Wallace.”

His head dropped back as he let out a roar of laughter. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him as the doors opened and we walked down a long hall to another set of elevators.

“Up again,” I whispered.

He cleared his throat and placed his hand on my lower back, causing my entire body to tremble. I was almost positive he felt it.

I stole a glance at him as he stared straight ahead. As if he was concentrating on something very intently.

When the doors opened, he nudged me ever so slightly and led me out. I loved the feeling and had never had a man do that before. It was nice.

When his hand slipped down and took mine, I forced myself to hold back the moan.

One look around and I was even more confused. “We’re on a roof?”

“Is that a question or a statement?”

“Both!” I said with a titter.

As we walked around a small building, I let out a gasp at the sight before me. “A picnic?” I whispered as I forced the tears down. I’d never been on a picnic before with a guy.

Three quilts were laid out on the roof along with three picnic baskets. “Do you like picnics?”

I walked up to the edge of the quilt and stared down at everything. A small bouquet of flowers was lying on the quilt. I swallowed hard and went to look at Malcolm when I noticed the view.

Covering my mouth, I sucked in a breath and stared out in disbelief. “It’s amazing,” I spoke into my hand. The view from up here was beyond anything I could have imagined.

“I take it you like it and you’re not afraid of heights?”

Spinning back to face him, I smiled so big my cheeks hurt. “No! I’m not afraid of heights. Yes I love it, and I’ve never been on a picnic before.”

His smile faded as he narrowed his eyes. “Really?”

I shook my head. “No. Never.”

He took both my hands in his and guided me to the middle of the quilt. “Well then, I get to be the lucky guy to give you your first experience with it.”

The lump in my throat was hard to ignore. When we sat down, he reached into one basket and took out two bottles of water, and then took out some plates. I couldn’t help but wish that Malcolm had been the one to give me many of my first experiences.

Overcome suddenly with this strange emotion, I focused on anything other than the handsome guy who was making my heart pound so loudly in my ears I could barely hear.

I am so screwed with my vow of hating men.

So screwed.





PAISLIE SEEMED TO BE OVERCOME with emotion for a quick moment before slipping back into her carefree mode.

“This really is amazing. Deuce is missing out.”

I nodded in agreement. “His fault for eating that whole bone I gave him.”

She flashed me a dazzling smile as she asked, “Are you sure he wasn’t sabotaged? You know, by someone wanting to steal his date?”

I glanced over to Paislie. My blue eyes holding onto her green as we both got lost momentarily in each other. “I do believe there might have been a hidden agenda to that oversized bone,” I softly spoke as she chuckled.

Reaching into the larger picnic basket, I smiled when I pulled out the chicken salad on croissants. Janet knew how much I loved her chicken salad.

“Hmm . . . I love chicken salad!” Paislie exclaimed.

“Then you will really love this chicken salad. My assistant, Janet, makes it all from scratch. I’m not even going to ask her how she pulled this off because I’m pretty sure I’d be buying her and her husband tickets to some fabulous hotel in Mexico somewhere.”

Paislie chuckled as I made up each plate. “So tell me,” she said as she pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. I’d never seen anyone look so goddamn sexy yet cute as hell like she did that very moment. “How many girls have you done this with?”

Giving her a look of hurt, I asked, “Done what with?”

She motioned around with her hands and laughed. “This, Malcolm! This is incredible, and not to be cheesy or make you think I’m looking for something more here, but this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.”

When I looked back up at her, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the light in her eyes. I found myself wanting to make her this happy every day, but at the same time I was bothered by the fact no other guy had taken the time to romance her.

Jesus H. Christ. Where in the hell did that come from?

“How many girls have you taken up on a rooftop and swooned them like this?”

“That’s easy to answer. None. Well, actually one. You.”

Her smile faded slightly as her eyes turned darker and she wrapped her arms around her legs and whispered, “Oh.”

“I’m not much of a romance kind of guy.”

She lifted a single eyebrow and gave me a disbelieving look. “I would love to see what you think would be romantic.”

Handing her the plate with the sandwich, homemade chips and fresh fruit, I looked up and thought about it.

“Holy crap. Did Janet make all of this?” She held up a chip.

“Yep.”

Her mouth slacked open as she said, “You better give her a damn good thank you!”