Page 25 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

‘How long were they going to be away for?’

‘A month.’

Pasco pulled back, frowning. ‘She couldn’t hold off on having the engagement party for a month?’

Aisha shook her head. ‘Apparently not. My two eldest sisters supported her, Priya tried to support me but my parents were forced to choose.’

‘And they chose an engagement party that could’ve been postponed,’ Pasco stated.‘Wow.’

Aisha sat up and reached for her drink. ‘Tonight was the first we’ve been together as a family for ten years. Judging by the way they behaved, I was never married, Reyka wasn’t a complete bitch and I didn’t lose a whack of money.’

Pasco skimmed his hand over her hair. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘It is what it is.’ Aisha shrugged and tried to smile. She sat back and draped one leg over the other, leaning her shoulder into Pasco’s. For the first time that day, she felt marginally relaxed.

This was a little slice of heaven and she intended to enjoy it. The margarita was cold, the fading sun still warm and a stunning view in front of her. And, for once, she wasn’t surrounded by spreadsheets and lists, stressing about what to do next.

Aisha slid her feet out of her shoes and wiggled her toes, sighed deeply and tipped her head back and closed her eyes. She hadn’t felt this relaxed for...

‘Why did you walk out on us?’

Aisha shot up and spun around to look at him.

Pasco took a sip of his whisky and winced on seeing her shoulders shooting towards her ears. Excellent way of killing the mood, Kildare!

‘Wow, that’s an out-of-the-blue question. Why are you asking me now, ten, nearly eleven years later?’

Because he needed to know, now. Tonight. ‘Why, Aisha? You left me with a goddamn note and nothing else.’

Shame flickered in her eyes, only to be extinguished a second later by annoyance. ‘Pasco, I tried to talk to you! I told you I was unhappy, that I never saw you, that I was lonely.’

‘I was working, Aisha! Trying to create a decent life for us.’

She took a deep breath, and when she spoke, her voice was calm. Well, calmer than his. ‘But that’s the thing, Pasco,youwere trying to create a life for me, for us. We should’ve been doing it together. You made all the decisions, you plotted a future for us that I didn’t have a say in, partly because I never saw you and when I did, we rarely talked. We’d make plans, but they always fell through because your work always, always came first. You never made me a priority and I felt like a visitor in your life.’

He stared at her, shocked. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to leave me? Why didn’t you give me a chance to fix it?’

‘Pas, I tried to...so many times. But you always told me you were too tired to talk, you changed the subject, or you seduced me. The few times I did get you to listen, my unhappiness never sank in because your behaviour never changed. You didn’t make the effort to give me what I needed.’ Aisha lifted one shoulder in a helpless shrug. ‘Then you took the job in London without consulting me. It was a massive decision, we were moving to another country, but you made the call...all on your own. That was what broke me, broke us.’

He started to argue, only to realise he didn’t have a decent defence. He’d done exactly that, made the decisions, planned their life, so damn sure he was doing the right thing. His motives, to provide a secure life for them, for the children he’d imagined having with her—for him to be the exact opposite of his feckless, useless father—were good.

But the execution of those plans, he reluctantly admitted, could’ve been better. He could’ve brought her into his confidence more, asked for her input on the plans he’d been making. He’d been so damn arrogant, confident and self-involved.

‘I made so many mistakes with you, Aisha, and for that I’m sorry.’

Shock flashed across her face, and he didn’t blame her, as apologising wasn’t something he often did. Or at all. He pulled a face. ‘I’m happy to take responsibility for the part I played in the destruction of our marriage.’

She gave him a shaky smile, obviously taken aback by his apology. Admittedly, so was he. But while they were on the subject, there was just one more thing he needed to say. ‘But you could’ve at least told me that you were leaving, that you wanted a divorce. You should’ve told me all that to my face.’

To his surprise, Aisha nodded her agreement. ‘Absolutely. That was wrong of me and I’m sorry.’

Her sincere, easy apology rocked him. God, they’d been so young and made so many mistakes: his fuelled by pride and stubbornness, hers by fear, loneliness, and insecurity. Pasco raked a hand through his hair. He caught her eye and tried to smile. ‘So where do we go from here, Aish?’

Aisha placed her hand on his forearm and squeezed. ‘We can’t go back, Pasco, but I’d like us to be friends.’

It was pretty difficult to be her friend when all he wanted was to back her against the wall, press his body into hers and ravish her mouth. Fill his hands with her lovely breasts, her mouth with his tongue. He wanted her to wrap her long legs around his hips, wanted to hear her breathy moan as he slipped inside her heat, capture the sound of his name on her tongue as she flew apart.

Yeah, friends. Much easier said than done.

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