Page 4 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

She’d congratulated him, they’d made love and he’d finally fallen asleep, excited about their future. This was his big chance, and he couldn’t wait. Life was finally looking up.

He’d returned to an empty flat that night. Initially, he’d thought she was out with friends, a little concerned she was out so late. At midnight he’d been worried, by one a.m., he’d been frantic. At two a.m., he’d considered phoning the police. At two-ten, he’d found her note on his pillow...

The words were still printed on his brain.

Congratulations on your job offer but this isn’t working and we both know it. I can’t do this, us, any more. Set London on fire, Pas. A.

‘Hello, Pasco.’

Muzi’s sharp eyes bounced between them. ‘You two know each other?’

Pasco couldn’t help his cynical smile. ‘We were married for about ten minutes a long time ago.’

Muzi’s eyebrows lifted. ‘You weremarried? Seriously? And why the hell didn’t I know?’

Pasco looked at Aisha, who was rocking from foot to foot. At Aisha’s insistence, he’d waited in the car while Aisha told her family she’d married him and then left the house, lugging a massive suitcase and cradling a heavy box under her free arm, her brown-black eyes wide with anguish. Her parents hadn’t taken the news well, she’d told him, and she didn’t know if she’d ever be welcomed back into their house.

They’d planned to visit his parents the same day, but Aisha, upset and emotional, hadn’t been up to it and they’d left Cape Town without telling anyone else about their court marriage. Not wanting to break the news over the phone, he’d thought he’d tell his folks when they made one of their trips to Johannesburg, but for some reason they never made a trip that winter. Thinking they’d tell his friends and family when they returned to Cape Town at Christmas—maybe even have a church ceremony and a wedding reception—he never imagined that by September they would be separated, and divorced by Christmas.

Before Pasco could answer Muzi, Ro walked over to Aisha and placed her hand on her shoulder. ‘I am sorry, I had no idea you and Pasco were married—’ Ro tossed him a hot glare ‘—and this must be a bit of a shock for you. Let’s meet again in a day or two and we can talk about the restaurant, his involvement, and you two working together then.’

He was about to speak when Aisha held up her hand. Her skin was paler than her normal shade of light golden brown, her eyes as hard as a chunk of coal. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve lost you. What do you mean?’

Ro wrinkled her nose and gestured to the renovations. ‘You’re going to be working with Pasco to get the restaurant up to world-class standards,’ Ro told her, looking uncomfortable. ‘He’s my chef consultant.’

Aisha briefly closed her eyes, and Pasco counted to ten, waiting for her to lose her cool. Aisha was fundamentally unable to step back and look at a situation through an unemotional lens.

‘Whether or not Pasco and I were married has absolutely no bearing on my ability to do my job. I am one of the best and most experienced consultants in the company and a quick relationship so long ago will not affect me in the least.’

Both Muzi and Ro released a relieved sigh, and Pasco scratched his neck, surprised at her unemotional response. He couldn’t help admiring the way she pushed back her shoulders and straightened her spine. She’d grown up, he thought, become more resilient. But aquickrelationship? God. Her words pissed him off and he felt like a fly she’d brushed off her sleeve.

‘I’m a professional and I’ll deal,’ she told them. ‘On the scale of disasters, this doesn’t even blip on my radar.’

Good for her, but he couldn’t work with someone who made his heart race, his mouth dry, and who’d derailed his life. He wasn’t scared of hard work, relished a challenge, but expecting him to work with his ex-wife—the woman who walked out on him—was asking him for more than he could give. She’d disrupted his life once and he’d never give her, or any other girl, the power to do that again.

But she wasn’t a girl any more, she was a woman. In every sense of the word.

A very sexy, very remote, incredibly beautiful woman.

And he still wanted her with a desperation he could taste. One that scared him senseless. Another good reason for them not to work together.

‘I’m so glad to hear that, Aisha. Thank you,’ Ro said, smiling.

Muzi wrapped his arm around Ro’s thick waist. ‘If you don’t need Ro for anything else, Aisha, I’m going to take my wife home,’ Muzi said. When Ro didn’t complain, Pasco knew she was more tired than she let on. Or maybe they were trying to give him and Aisha some time alone. Who the hell knew?

His temper was simmering, and it wouldn’t take much to ignite. He wasn’t ready to be alone with Aisha or anyone, so he gestured to the path that would take them back to the hotel. ‘Let’s all head that way,’ he suggested, his words a few degrees below freezing.

Ro sent him a tentative smile. ‘Actually, I’d appreciate it if you could show Aisha the restaurant space, tell her what we are thinking,’ Ro said. ‘That would help me, Pas.’

Pasco turned to look in the direction of his car, wondering how long it would take him to reach it. He wanted to slide behind the wheel, crank the ignition, and rocket away. He didn’t need the complication of revisiting the past, wasn’t keen to dredge up old memories. To re-examine the past.

Ro waddled over to him—there was no other word for it—stood on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his cheek. ‘Thank you, I appreciate it.’

What? He hadn’t said he would!

Ro told Aisha she’d touch base with her later and linked her fingers with Muzi. Pasco watched them go and, when they were out of hearing range, turned to look at Aisha again. Best to make things clear, here and now.

‘This is my town, my friends, my part of the world. I’m not interested in working with you and I’m sure your company can replace you without too much trouble,’ he said, his voice hard.

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