by Rhonda Bowen
When she finally unlocked the door so Khai could open it, his nose was as red as his cheeks.
“Trying to make me freeze to death out here?” he helped her out of the car, keeping her hand securely in his.
“Nope,” she walked with him towards the door. “Just helping you cool down.”
He chuckled but said nothing more until they stood in the hallway, tucking their coats into the closet just inside his door. Portia was about to follow the sound of the voices to the living room when Khai grabbed her hand.
“Wait.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I want to give you your gift,” he reached into the open closet and pulled out a red and green wrapped package.
Her mouth stretched into a smile. “Khai. Thank you!”
He chuckled. “You don’t even know what it is yet.”
She leaned on her tiptoes and kissed him on his chilled cheek. “Doesn’t matter. It came from you. That’s enough. Here’s yours.”
He ripped into it with a fervor matching the boyish look in his eyes. When he saw what it was, he laughed out loud.
“The Hungry Man’s Cookbook: fifty easy recipes for the kitchen-challenged man.” he grinned at her. “I love it.”
“Oh, that’s not all of it,” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Open it.”
He opened the front cover and caught the thick stock piece of paper before it fell out. She didn’t know his grin could get wider, but it did as he read the details.
“This gift certificate entitles you to five complete cooking lessons with Portia Wynters.” He looked at her, slipping an arm around her waist. “Just five?”
“You sure you can handle all five?” she challenged.
His eyes grew hazy as he pulled her closer. “I think I can handle a lot of things.”
She bet he could.
But before he could demonstrate, she put her own gift between them. “My turn.”
He nodded and watched as she pulled off the wrapping, then opened the box. A gasp slipped from her as she caught sight of the beautiful amber tinted mason jar with a gold ribbon bow around the mouth. Closer inspection revealed there was something inside.
Khai settled his hands around her waist and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Go ahead, open it.”
She turned to the side slightly. Her shoulder rested against his chest as she tucked the box and wrapping back into the coat closet to free her hands. Her eyes filled with tears as she opened the top. The jar was filled with painted Popsicle sticks.
“You made me a new alternative jar?” She whispered.
He nodded. “The boys helped me paint the sticks.”
She pulled out a green one.
Go skiing with Khai.
A yellow one.
Girl talk with Milo.
A blue one
Paint a picture.
A red one
Pray with Khai.
“The green ones are high impact things you can do with other people. The yellow ones are low impact activities. The blue ones are things you can do alone and the red ones are spiritually based things. And it’s not just me in there. I talked to Milo, Derek, Morgan, your mom and they put themselves in the mix also.”
She slipped an arm around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Her tears flowed onto his sweater.
“I figured you needed some new alternatives,” his hand rubbed her back gently. “I know this is something you mostly have to do on your own, but don’t forget that you are never alone. You’ve got people to support you. You’ve got me.”
She sniffled, her head still pressed into his chest. “Why are you so good to me? Why after everything, after how hard I was on you sometimes?”
He chuckled and gently stroked her hair. “I thought you would have figured it out by now?”
She tipped her head up, turning her tear streaked face towards him.
He wiped away a tear with his thumb. “I love you, PJ.”
She smiled. “Thank God. Cause I love you too, Khai.”
When he dipped his head towards hers, touching her lips gently with his, it was like everything was suddenly right. Portia sighed as tension she didn’t even know she had melted from her. How long had she waited for another kiss from him? Every moment since the last one.
“Hey.” Her eyes were still closed as he trailed kisses across her jaw to her ear, her neck.
“Hmm?” he mumbled against her skin.
She eased him back, making him look in her eyes. “This is the place we met. Right here on your doorstep.”
His eyes sparkled. “I know. Why do you think we haven’t gotten much further?”
She giggled. “I guess this is going to be our spot from now on. Huh?”
He kissed her nose. “You bet.”
Then he caught her lips again in his. He kissed her gently at first and then eagerly, backing her into the coat closet, forcing her to grab onto him and hold tight so she didn’t fall into the pile of coats behind them. Or maybe that was just the excuse she made so she could cling to him the way she did. She climbed on his toes in her socked feet so she could get closer. And when that wasn’t close enough, she tipped off his beanie so she could run her fingers through his silky blonde hair. Hands down, this had to be the best gift exchange ever.
“Mommy! How come Uncle Khai gets to play in the closet and I can’t?”
Khai groaned against Portia’s mouth. She laughed. He pulled back from her to lean around the open closet door that had kept them partially out of view. “Because I’m grown, Squirt. When you’re my age, you can play in the closet too.”
He pulled Portia from behind the closet door before pushing it closed. “Especially if you have a pretty girl to play with.”
“Auntie PJ!”
Portia’s eyes widened. She turned to look at Khai. He shrugged, an impish grin on his face.
“They have to call you something. After all, they’re probably going to be seeing a lot of you from now on.”
Portia smiled. She liked the sound of that. In fact, she liked the sound of everything Khai was saying right now. And she liked the truth that had settled in her heart, that the life of Portia Jasmine Wynters was overflowing with love. Love of a man who had pursued her. Love of a family who was always there for her. But most importantly, the unconditional love of a God who showed her every day that she was beautiful, capable and valuable. Loved and cherished by the Creator of the universe. And that kind of truth? That was priceless.
## END ##
Author’s Note
I wrote Under My Rules while living in Asia. I have an A-type personality so when I came to Asia I arrived with a plan. One month in and my plan was turned entirely on its head. From my travel itinerary to my job description, nothing was like I planned. What’s worse, I had to navigate my new unpredictable life with sketchy internet access, shaky financial resources and the absence of many daily comforts I had been accustomed to. I was not a happy camper. And I was a little annoyed at God for placing me in this situation.
Now, six months later, I am lot less A-type personality than before. The conditions have not really changed, but my mindset has. I still don’t always like the way God allows things to happen, but I trust that He has a plan for me and His plan is not to harm me, but to give me the best. It’s hard to see that sometimes isn’t it? We can’t imagine that the challenges we experience have any positive purpose, especially when they involve weighty matters of health, finances, life and death. But even when it hurts and I can’t understand why, I hold to the truth that my Father loves me. His love is constant and unconditional. And in His love He has created an optimum path for my life that He will lead me down if I trust Him enough to hold His hand. I am learning to trust Him, to hold His hand. The more I do, the more I find that it is absolutely worth it.
What about you? Will you trust Him enough to hold His hand?
“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you* and not to harm y
ou*, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11, NIV
Go Deeper...
Get to know Jesus
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/get-to-know-jesus
Learn about God’s promises to you
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/gods-promises
*Emphasis added by author
About the Author
Rhonda Bowen knew she would be a writer as early as eighth grade when she wrote her first novel with a classmate in a dollar notebook. While waiting for the day to come she completed a degree in Communications and spent a few years working in Public Relations and Event Planning. Throughout this time however, her desire to write stayed alive. She eventually completed her first novel, Man Enough for Me, which was released under Kensington Books’ Dafina imprint in February 2011.
Several years, a stint in Asia and a career change finds her still writing. She has written several romance novels and her books have been featured in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and LIBRARY JOURNAL. When not writing or entertaining children in the name of education, she enjoys talking to her family on Skype, haggling with street vendors for a better price and finding ways to travel on a shoestring budget. Visit her online at www.rhondabowen.com , www.facebook.com/RhondaBowenBooks or drop her a note at [email protected].
Oh and...
Don’t believe everything you hear. Most authors really survive on chocolate and feedback. If you enjoyed this novel - and even if you didn’t - please take the time to write a review and post it online. You might save an author’s life.
Other Books by Rhonda Bowen
City Girls Series
Under Covers
March 2015
Naomi Savoy is five days away from marrying Jordan Lennox, the man of her dreams, when she is faced with her worst nightmare. Her sister is missing. When her search for her sister sets her on a path into her past, she is forced to ask for help from the last person on earth she ever wished to see again - Garth Duhaney - a man she has both loved and hated for most of her life and whose power over her she has never been able to break.
Jordan Lennox knows his wife-to-be is hiding things in her past. But his love for her keeps him believing that one day she will come clean. But when the secrets force him on a trip across the ocean only days before their wedding, he begins to question whether love is really enough.
Will love keep them together or will it all fall apart when everything is uncovered?
Under My Skin
June 2015
The moment Image Consultant Morgan Cox walked into the conference room Derek Wynters knew he had a problem. There was no way he would be able to work with this over-styled, overconfident, over-involved woman. Leaving her in charge of the image of his million-dollar footwear company was definitely out of the question. But the instant she slipped one of her gorgeous feet into his custom designed high tops he knew his real problem wasn't that she was shaking up his company, but that she was shaking up his heart and he was falling hard.
Morgan’s only goal is to help Derek and his company have the best image as they prepare to go public. But when their attraction pushes their relationship past the professional boundaries the company is not the only thing up for public inspection.
As their lives go on display for the world to see Derek and Morgan must both make important decisions about how committed they are to the new relationship growing between them. Are the emotions that keep pulling them back to each other real or are their feelings only skin deep?
Isaacs Family Series
Get You Good
March 2013
Sydney Isaacs has two priorities: her family, and Decadent, the gourmet pastry business they founded almost three generations ago. But both are in jeopardy when her brother, Dean, marries conniving Sheree Vern. Worse, when Dean inherits ownership of Decadent he and Sheree decide to sell it to finance his dreams of becoming a music producer—or so Dean believes…
Thanks to Sheree, Dean’s plans, the business, and his marriage, soon implode in ways he never expected—leaving Sydney determined to salvage whatever she can. Her only solace is her romance with Hayden Windsor. But Hayden is Sheree’s half brother, and Sydney can’t help wondering if Hayden knew about Sheree’s scheming all along? Soon Sydney carries out a deception of her own to discover the truth—until the consequences threaten to destroy everything she values most—including her faith. Overcome with guilt, can she make things right with her brother, with Hayden, and with God?...
Hitting the Right Note
March 2014
JJ Isaacs' dream of becoming an R&B star has come true, and it's all thanks to Rayshawn, her amazing producer--and secret lover. But as JJ enters the spotlight, the relationship gets harder to disguise. And the more she hides the truth, the more distant she feels from her faith, and from her family's approval. But support may come from an unexpected place...
When JJ finds herself helping her estranged sister-in law, Sheree, through a difficult pregnancy, she discovers a surprising ally. But she also becomes enthralled with Sheree's doctor. Simon Massri is world renowned--and scheduled to leave the country. The more time JJ spends with Simon, the more she questions her choices--in love and in work. Now she'll have to face some tough decisions. Can she make peace with an uncertain future--if her heart is in the right place?...