Page 55 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

Pasco hauled in a breath and straightened his shoulders as if bracing himself to take another verbal beating.

‘When you walked inside, you said you loved me. Is that true?’ she asked, discarding her pillow and wrapping her hands around her knee.

Pasco nodded. ‘I do.’

Two words, so simple, so powerful.

Aisha blinked away the moisture in her eyes. ‘I love you too.’

He lunged in her direction, but she laughed and edged down the couch. ‘Not yet! Just hold on, okay?’

Pasco glanced at his watch. ‘You’ve got two minutes, talk fast.’

‘I’m still up for promotion—if I get it, I’ll move to Cape Town. I don’t want to stop working and I won’t let you stop either, so we will need to adjust our schedules.’

‘Done.’ He easily agreed. ‘A part of me wants to slow down, take it easy, just be. Be with you.’ Those were the sweetest words she’d ever heard.

‘But we need to make some rules...’ he added.

Aisha mock-frowned at him, her lips twitching with amusement. ‘You’re not good at rules, Pas.’

‘I am when I make them,’ he told her, cupping her cheek. ‘One rule, two parts...we always prioritise each other, and our kids, above work. That’s non-negotiable.’

‘Agreed.’

‘And we make every important decision together. Deal?’

Aisha nodded enthusiastically. ‘Deal.’

He smiled at her before looking at his watch. ‘We still have a minute and ten seconds left.’ His mouth tipped up in that sexy smile she so adored. ‘Anything else we need to cover or can I strip you naked now?’

There was just one more thing...

She had a man who loved her, who’d promised to put her first, offered to give up his business for her, someone whosawher clearly. He was a good man, not perfect—perfection was overrated, and she was far from perfect herself—but he was perfect for her.

She pulled in some much-needed air. ‘Will you marry me again, Pas? Love me every day and in every way, give me babies and back rubs? Will you talk to me and fight with me and consult with me? Will you build me up when I’m feeling small and pull me back into line when I’m being awful?’

‘You’re never awful,’ Pasco told her, and Aisha swallowed at the look of adoration on his face.

‘That wasn’t a yes,’ Aisha told him on a wobbly laugh. God, maybe she was going too fast again. They’d only been back in each other’s lives for a couple of months—maybe she was jumping the gun again, maybe it was too soon. What was she thinking? Talk about history repeating itself...

‘I’m sorry, I’m rushing things, rushing you,’ Aisha said, waving her hands around.

Pasco moved over to the couch and sat down on the coffee table in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. ‘Look at me, sweetheart.’

Aisha raised her head and sucked in her breath when she saw his face. His eyes were tender, his mouth curling in a pleased smile, his fingers warm on her thighs. ‘Sure,’ he stated, sounding completely confident.

Great, but... ‘What are you agreeing to, Pas?’

He curled his big hand around her neck and lowered his forehead to hers. ‘Everything,’ he whispered. ‘And a whole lot more,’ he added.

She brushed her lips against his before pulling back. ‘One more thing?’

‘Make it quick,’ he muttered, placing kisses on her jaw.

‘Let’s not keep our relationship or our marriage a secret this time around, okay? Love needs to stand in the light, not the dark.’

Pasco pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and swiped his thumb across the screen.

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