Page 62 of My Turkish Fling
I led Emir towards the beach, thinking we could slip in from the ocean side, unnoticed. But I didn’t account for how recognizable my car was.
We were halfway across the stretch of grass when I heard the shrill voice. “Janie! Janie!”
I turned around and found Tabitha picking across the grass in her heels, waving her hand. Having caught my attention, she stopped, sinking one ice pick heel into the soft ground, awkwardly tilted to one side.
“She’s the lady that visited you, right?” Emir hissed. “I recognize her voice.”
“Yep.” I cast him an apologetic look. “You can go ahead if you want, and I’ll talk to her. It won’t take long.” I wouldn’t let it.
“You don’t want to be seen with me?” Emir smoothed his hair and shirt, as if something might be wrong with his impeccable presentation.
I felt the sting of shame all through my being. I couldn’t treat him like this. It wasn’t right. “No. I just wanted to spare you.”
My stomach wound itself into a tight ball of nerves as I approached Tabitha. By the time we reached her, she’d managed to extract her heel and tiptoed back to the concrete path, smiling sheepishly. “That’ll teach me,” she grumbled, pulling a packet of wet wipes from her purse to clean her shoes.
“I know. Those things sink in like tent pegs.” I hid my smile, thinking that her metallic heels looked a lot like tent pegs.
“I was waving like mad and calling your name, but you didn’t hear me.”
“Sorry.”
Her heels cleaned and back on, Tabitha wiped her hands and brushed her flowery blouse, turning to my companion. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
She made it sound like an accusation.
Emir stuck out his hand like a true gentleman, leaning in to kiss Tabitha on both cheeks. “Emir Erkam. Pleased to meet you.”
An odd flush of jealousy darkened my thoughts. I’d seen his family greet each other like this, but he’d never done it with me. When we’d first met, he’d been holding that camera, though.
Tabitha tried to cover her blush by fussing with her hair. “Tabitha Tubbs. I’m Janie’s friend.”
“Me too.”
“Oh. I haven’t seen you around. Heard a rumor, but…”
My heart drummed in my throat. “What rumor?”
Tabitha turned to give me a tired look. “Oh, come on. It’s a small town. So, this must be the mysterious stranger?” She threw a sideways glance at Emir.
It was a small town, but that didn’t make any sense. “Did Len tell you about our date?”
I’d relied on his discretion, thinking that as a pastor he was used to keeping confidences, even though I hadn’t specifically asked. I hadn’t texted him at all since the date, which was terrible of me.But so much had happened since then that I’d all but forgotten about poor Len.
Tabitha’s mouth opened a couple of times before any words came out, her tone defensive. “He played golf with Adrian early this morning. They always do on Sundays, well before church. You didn’t reply to my text so of course I asked Adrian to find out how the date went. You must understand why I’m curious. I know both of you and I set you up. I feel invested.” She cast me a hurt look.
I drew a deep breath despite the elephant sitting on my chest. “Of course.”
Tabitha’s eyes flicked at Emir again, even more hurt. “I just thought you and Len were so compatible. He’s so lovely.”
“He is. Absolutely. We had a nice dinner.”
Tabitha smiled back, thawing a little. “Well, that’s good. And I wasn’t expecting an update from you, immediately. But in due time… I thought Len might cancel the golf game this week if the date went well.” She wiggled an eyebrow.
I folded my arms, the feeling of betrayal gnawing my gut. “So, he told your husband all about it this morning?”
Tabitha’s eyebrows stopped wiggling and flew up. “Oh, no! Len is very discreet. Adrian said it took a lot of prying to get a few words out of him. He said that there was someone else in your life.”
“Someone else?” I tried to look sufficiently confused. “Nah… It just didn’t… I’m sorry it didn’t work out.” I glanced up at Emir, wishing we could both step through a portal and enter another dimension, where I could properly apologize to him. I could feel his eyes on me, trying to understand my evasive words. But hedidn’t know Tabitha.
