Adrenaline

DID HE SAY OLIVE OIL? No. Did he? Holy shit, what is happening right now?

“Sophie, run and let your momma know we need some water for Paislie.”

My hand flew up as I called out, “Harder! I need something harder than water.”

Malcolm laughed as Sophie gave me a puzzled look before turning and running into the house.

Glancing back to Malcolm, he flashed me a smile that made my stomach flutter. Damn him.

“Information overload?” he casually asked.

My mouth opened as I tried to speak. Is he for real? Any other woman would be running for her life right now.

Inhaling a calming breath, I slowly blew it out as I tried to clear my head. I’d give anything to talk to Elizabeth right now.

“So . . . let me get this all straight.”

He took my hand and kissed the back of it as I continued to talk. “You bought this house with Emmit, along with the land.”

“Yep.”

“Autumn and Sophie most likely will live in the stone cottage.”

He chuckled and then gave me a wink as he replied, “Unless Autumn finds out what we did in there, but most likely yes, at least for a little bit.”

I let out a frustrated breath as I covered my face before dropping my hands to my sides. “Wait. You said Emmit and Adaline are going to live in this house too?”

His smile faded. “Um . . . well yeah. They were going to live on the top two floors and we’ll take the first two floors. Keep it all just like the original owners had it. The only thing that was part of the contract is that we didn’t turn the original house into a tasting room or anything. There are two private entrances and both houses each have three-car garages.”

So I’m getting married and moving into a four-story house that we’re sharing with another couple. Am I okay with this? He sure seems to be.

“Did you mention olive oil? Are there olive trees here also?”

With a smile, he shook his head. “No, that’s where buying the ranch that backs up to this place comes into play. Since Adaline loves to cook and the idea of making the bed and breakfast on that land was hers, she mentioned growing olive trees and making our own olive oil.”

My eyes widened as I stared at him. “So, you all have your futures planned out and what am I supposed to do?”

Malcolm looked at me with a stunned expression. “I . . . well I thought . . . um . . . I thought you would love the idea of living here. You’ve mentioned how much you loved the house. And the bed and breakfast. You mentioned it just a little bit ago. It’s perfect.”

I stood up and let out a dry laugh. “Malcolm, that’s Adaline’s idea. I can’t just walk in and make myself a part of it.”

“No, Adaline will be thrilled you’re interested as well. She knew there was an old historical home on it. She simply mentioned the B & B idea. Her goal is to get the olive orchard going.”

I turned away from him as I tried to calm my racing heart. Slowly turning back around, I looked directly in his eyes. “I have a job. I have a career I actually like, and you want me to just walk away from it and help Adaline start her own business?”

Swallowing hard, Malcolm pushed his hand through his hair and cursed. “Shit. Paislie I’m not asking you to walk away from anything. I thought this might be something that you would be excited about and want to be a part of.”

I didn’t know how I should be feeling. The excitement from the engagement had worn off and now I was being faced with a future I wasn’t the

least bit prepared for.

“I’d like to go home, please.” I quickly turned and headed back toward the cottage and Malcolm’s truck. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop.

“Are you mad?”

Giving him a blank stare, I tried to figure out what to say. “I’m not mad . . . well hell I don’t know, maybe I am. How did you know I would be okay with this?” Glancing back to the house, I looked at it. It was huge and we would probably go for days without even seeing Emmit and Adaline.

“The house is big, but did you even stop to consider that maybe Adaline and I wouldn’t care for each other? That maybe I didn’t want to go into a business with her? I originally wanted to do this with my best friend and to have something else forced down my throat doesn’t sit well with me. You didn’t even talk to me about any of this, Malcolm!”