Page 54 of The Rules of Their Red-Hot Reunion

Aisha nodded, her brain still trying to catch up to reality. When her feet remained glued to the spot, her eyes stuck on his, Pasco put his hands under her forearms and easily lifted her. Walking her backwards, he deposited her inside the cottage and kicked the door shut with his foot.

Looking down at her, he shed his leather bomber-style jacket and tossed his car keys onto the surface of the small table to the side of the door.

‘Hi,’ he said, his thumb skating across her cheekbone.

‘Hi back,’ Aisha whispered.

Aisha turned and, feeling a little shaky, sat down on the edge of the grey couch. She pulled a yellow cushion onto her lap and hugged it. She gestured to the chair opposite her and watched as Pasco sat. He immediately leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs.

‘You said you landed. Where were you?’ she asked.

‘New York,’ Pasco told her, his eyes not leaving hers.

She lifted her eyebrows. ‘Why were you in New York?’

And why are you here?

Lifting his head, he nailed her with an intense look. ‘I was there because I was looking at setting up another restaurant. My investor, Hank, found a property and it has potential for an amazing restaurant.’

Aisha’s heart dropped to her toes and her blood turned to ice water. She wrapped her arms around her torso and started to shiver. He was going back to the States and, in doing that, hammered the last nail into their already sealed-tight coffin. Why was she surprised and why, oh, why had she expected anything different? She hauled in a deep breath and forced herself to smile. ‘Sounds interesting.’

‘It’s a great space but not for me. Neither is the city.’

She frowned, trying to keep up. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘Another restaurant, anywhere but here, is...how did you put it? A shiny object that I have to have,’ Pasco explained, his smile forced. She saw his worried expression and it was his lack of confidence, his hesitation, that kick-started her brain. She’d never seen him looking unsure, uncertain. She didn’t like it.

‘You were right, I have spent my life doing everything I can to prove to myself that I’m not my father’s son. But in trying to be the opposite of him, I became more like him than I imagined. I look like him, talk like him, but Iamnot him. I refuse to be,’ Pasco stated, his eyes flashing with intense emotion.

No, he wasn’t, not really. Oh, parts of him were, but he was a better guy than his father had ever been. He was the guy who worked hard, who gave his everything, supported his friends, made her feel more alive than she ever had before.

‘I just want to be with you, Aish. I’ll be a good partner, I promise. I’ll give you copies of all my bank accounts and never ask you about yours. I’ll change nappies and cook and we will make every major decision together. We’ll argue, probably, but I swear I’ll listen and I’ll always,alwaysrespect your point of view. I’ll respect you.’

It was his turn to ramble, and she found it sweet.

She was about to speak, but Pasco beat her to it. ‘I’ll move. I’ll hand over complete control of Pasco’s at The Vane to my chef de cuisine and I won’t rebuild Pasco’s, Franschhoek. If you get the promotion, I’ll move to London or Johannesburg. If you don’t get the promotion, I’ll follow you wherever you go next.’

Aisha’s fingers dug into the fabric of the cushion, and she was sure her eyebrows had reached her hairline. ‘Are you offering to give up your career? For me?’

Pasco nodded. ‘I’m not saying it will be easy and I’ll probably be, on occasion, an ass about it, but if that’s what it takes, then I’ll do it.’

‘But why?’

His eyes drilled into her, almost begging her to understand. ‘Because your job is important to you.You’ve worked hard to establish your career and you love your work. But you are my priority, your happiness is myonlypriority. You’re the most important person in my life, hell, youaremy life.’

And there it was. God, it was sweeter and sexier and more wonderful than she could ever have imagined. But despite her need to throw her arms around him and taste his lovely mouth and lay her hands on all his skin-covered muscles, they still needed to talk.

Be an adult, Shetty. You can get to the fun stuff later.

Pasco released a low, frustrated growl. ‘I wish you’d say something, Aisha.’

She mulled over a few sentences, discarded them, considered others. ‘I don’t want or need you to give up your career or your business for me, Pasco, that wasneverthe point. I just wanted to feel I was as important to you, that I had an equal call on your time.’ Aisha smiled at the hint of relief she saw in his eyes.

Yeah, Pasco not working would drive them both mad. His thumb skimmed her cheekbone. ‘I promise you will never doubt that, or me, again.’

He started to move off his chair, but Aisha held up her hand, silently telling him to stay there. He slumped back and stared at her, his expression a little frustrated. ‘Can we have make-up sex now?’ he asked.

Aisha smiled, knowing he was trying to lift the tension a notch or two. ‘Not yet. I still have things to say.’

---