Page 52 of My Turkish Fling
We made love, losing track of time. Afterwards, she collapsed on my chest, out of breath. “Emir. Your smile is kryptonite. You have to be careful.”
I stroked her hair, inhaling deeply. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
What if I couldn’t keep this stupid grin hidden in public? My family would think I’d lost my mind. They’d ship me away to an institution. A laugh bubbled up in my chest. First a low rumble, like the distant sound of earthworks, slowly turning into an earthquake.
Janie jerked up, staring at my face, blinking.
My laughter settled into a soft chuckle. “You think I’m a miserable, grumpy bastard, right?” I wiped my eyes, shaking my head. “I can’t blame you. I’d forgotten how to feel… light enough, I guess.”
Her eyes misted. “I… I don’t even know what to think of you, Emir. You keep surprising me.”
We stared at each other for a moment, both unable to speak. I could see it in her eyes, the weight of what had happened between us. The implications. There was no going back to what we’d been before, yet we had no words for what existed right now. It was too fresh.
As the waves of pleasure settled into gentle laps, the reality re-entered our world. Janie rolled off me, checking her phone for time. “I have to feed the pigs and check on Molly, let her out…”
She leapt from the bed, and I followed her, finding her camisole on the floor. “I’ll help.”
“Only if you want to. I also need to get new locks and some kind of security system and maybe report the break-in to the police. But I don’t want to turn my home into a crime scene.”
She looked so distraught, standing before me in her underwear, hair mussed. “You don’t have to go to the police if you don’t want to. We can just secure the property.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll call Cem right now and ask him to pick up a few items on the way. We can add a deadbolt to the front door and secure the latches on those sliding doors. How does that sound?”
“I’ll pay him back! But nothing hi-tech or super expensive,” she pleaded.
“Okay.” I had no control over Cem’s spending, but I also knew he’d never accept a penny from Janie.
“Thank you!” Her smile was adorable when she kissed me on the cheek and skipped off to get dressed.
Chapter 24
Janie
With Emir handling more than half of my morning chores, we were back in the dining room in half an hour, preparing eggs on toast. I’d insisted on a light breakfast so I could focus on baking something for Cem and Aria’s visit. I couldn’t believe how much had happened since the last time I’d seen my friend. This was the longest weekend of my life.
Emir cleaned up our breakfast dishes, casting dubious glances my way as I ransacked the cupboards to find ingredients for spicy apple muffins.
“You don’t have to cater for them,” he said.
“Isn’t that the Turkish way, though? Catering and cleaning like your life depends on it?” It was a phrase one of my Turkish interviewees had used years ago.
Emir grinned. “We’re in New Zealand.”
Seeing that smile on his face, my insides did a series of flips. I focused on mixing the muffin batter. “I know. I’m just getting ready for the culture shock.”
He stepped closer, forcing me to look up. “Are you planning to follow me to Istanbul?”
Logic caught up with my flighty heart, and I laughed. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m all high on… you know.”
His smile faded and my laughter fizzled out. We couldn’t make any plans or promises.
His gaze snagged on a photo on the fridge. Me and my boys on the day we’d moved to Napier. I’d asked Shaun to take the photo after a lunch in town. He’d hated the food, and complained about everything, and I’d been happy he wasn’t in the picture, ruining our fresh start with his foul mood. Alex and Josh both smiled—the sort of polite half-smile they knew would be passable with me. They looked so handsome in their new shirts. With all the expenses on the farm, I’d have to work twice as hard to provide for them. I couldn’t let them down.
“Tell me about them,” Emir said softly, following my gaze.
I shook my head and smiled. He didn’t need to know about my kids. This was a fling. Whatever he’d told me. Whatever I’d felt last night… nothing could change my reality.
