Page 43 of Crossing Lines

Pins and needles prickle down my arms, my limbs going numb as shock clamps down on me. Mert is moving to America? Him getting into sports feels personal and now I’m seriously worried he’s behind the attack on my house. He might even be pulling Stonehaven’s strings, blocking my business ventures. No other sponsors will take my call, and it’s starting to grate.

“Which sport?” I choke out.

“I’m not sure. It’s just a rumor, but I thought you’d want to know. I remember how close you two were…”

“Thank you for telling me.” After we say our goodbyes and hang up, I message Zeki with the information, asking him to work with Nate to get more details.

Trying to shake off my shock and dread, I enter the house to find pop music blaring from upstairs.I follow it to the guest room, searching for Nina to ask about dinner. I knock,but the music drowns out the sound.

The room is a riot of color.Wallpaper scraps litter the floor like confetti,and a ladder stands precariously close to a table covered in paste.And there she is,perched atop the ladder,a paintbrush in hand,her entire world seemingly encapsulated in the rhythm of one of Stella’s songs.

I clear my throat.

Nothing.

I try again,louder this time.Still,she’s oblivious.With a growing sense of amusement,I creep closer. Just as I’m about to resort to calling her name,she reaches for another strip of wallpaper and jumps when she spots me. A shriek rips from her throat as she loses her balance and tumbles backward.

I lunge forward,catching her easily. She stares at me with wide, unblinking eyes, as if trying to reason out what just happened.

Slowly,deliberately,she pushes against my chest,creating a ripple of sensation through me. “You can put me down now.”

I gently do as she asks, making sure she’s steady before forcing myself to pull away.

“What are you doing home?” she asks. “It’s early.”

“Just needed a break. I sent you a text earlier…”

“About what?”

“Making sure you’re free for dinner.”

“Oh, oops, I haven’t checked my phone all day.” She shrugs like being without a phone all day isn’t a big dealand that it’s normal for her. I don’t know what that’s like. My phone is constantly glued to my hand for work. “When’s dinner?”

“We can make it whenever we want. I came home early to check in on you since you didn’t write back.”

“Give me an hour? Then I can come down.”

“Sure. See you then.” I leave her to her work, inexplicably nervous about seeing her.

Chapter 11

Nina

I’ve been elbows-deep in renovations this week,barely catching my breath.I’m keeping myself busy so I can distract myself from Mom’s constant calls.It’s like she knows that I’m not actually working on making a shop or a website or anything related to selling the jacket for that matter. But I’m worried I’m not going to be able to hold her off for much longer.

Even with the busyness of the renovations, I still meet Evren for coffee in the morning and this week we’ve accidentally (on purpose?) happened to be in the kitchen together at the same time for dinner every night. We have an unspoken agreement to meet at seven thirty every evening. He orders takeout and we just…spend time together. He asks about my day, wanting me to go into detail about how I decide on a style for whatever room I’m decorating, and then, when we finish eating, he goes and sees for himself, complimenting me every time.

Today is the first day he’s asked to make sure I’m coming for dinner. It makes me curious to know what’s going on. After my quick shower, I throw on a T-shirt dress I made with Evren’s logo and the words “I bring every man to his knees” on it. I started making these things to annoy him, but now they just make me laugh.

I breeze into the kitchen and stop dead when I spot Evren next to the table. He’s wearing his usual white button-down and black slacks, but the sleeves are rolled up and the top two buttons are undone. On the table are candles and a shit ton of food served family-style in the middle that smells so good, my stomach is already rumbling in anticipation.

“Funny.” He nods at my dress. “Because that’s exactly where I was planning to be all night long.”

“All night?” I ask, trying to ignore how my breath catches, a shiver rolling down my spine like a whispered secret at what he’s insinuating. “Let’s see if you’ve got the stamina for that due to your old age.”

He laughs and says, “I’m more than happy to prove you wrong.”

I ignore his comment and instead take a seat in one of my jewel-toned upholstered chairs and wave a hand toward the table. “What’s this all about?”

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