Page 75 of My Turkish Fling
The man jumped, then narrowed his eyes, regarding me with suspicion before throwing on a hospitable smile. “Hello. Where’s that accent of yours from?”
“I’m Turkish.”
“Are you the Turkish fella staying with Ms. Andrews?”
I jerked back at his question, fighting to keep my voice neutral. “Ms. Andrews?” I knew he was talking about Janie, but I hoped confusion would buy me some time.
“Yes. Janie Andrews. I keep hearing she’s found herself a Turkish fella. Is that you?”
I met his challenging gaze. “I suppose so.”
I’d never been called a Turkish fella, courtesy of having lived my whole life in Turkey. Did it bother me? I took a breath, taking note of the odd feeling in my stomach. This is what we’d always be with Janie—the odd ones out. Either me in New Zealand, or her in Turkey. She’d be the New Zealand woman. Would it bother her?
From the corner of my eye, right behind his back, I saw Josh walking Molly, a huge head of cabbage under his arm. No, not just the head. The entire stalk and roots hung off the thing. Mr. Pattison would be left scratching his head at the damages. I had to say something, to keep his eyes on me.
“I’m helping on Janie’s farm. She’s hosting my brother’s engagement party and we’re trying to get the place fixed up by then. There’s quite a bit of… what’s the word…” I waved my hand, as if searching for the right term, making him wait as Josh coaxed the stubborn horse through the gardens.
“Work?”
Did he really think I was struggling with the English word for ‘work’?
Josh and the horse finally disappeared behind the bushes, and I exhaled.
“Yes, work!” I smacked myself on the forehead.
Cem should have seen me. There were two actors in the family, now. A movie star and an idiot who wasn’t good enough for community theater.
“Must be a lot of work. She’s let the place go since the divorce. Fencing is down here and there. It’s a wonder her horse hasn’t escaped.”
I forced a smile on my face. “Don’t worry. I’ve been fixing those fences, making sure the horse stays in. Anyway, I should get going. The tow truck will be here shortly.”
“What about that glass of water?”
“I just remembered there’s a water bottle in my trunk.” I thanked him, lifted my hand in goodbye and turned around, hurrying down the driveway. The last thing I saw was Mr. Pattison scratching his bald head.
Chapter 31
Janie
It was amazing how stepping into your favorite café could ground you. The moment my buttocks touched the worn wooden chair and the aroma of roasted coffee beans hit my nostrils, I felt like the old Janie Andrews—the one who made things happen and did it with a smile.
“You look different,” observed Aria, rendering my momentary sense of control completely void. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” I attempted to ooze inner strength as I took a sip of my espresso. The way it hit me on the way down induced an involuntary shake. “Oh, dear. I haven’t had one of these in a while!”
“We were here last Thursday.” Aria looked a little baffled.
“Yes, that’s right. It just feels like a long time ago.”
Everything prior to my relationship with Emir felt like a long time ago. Would I start marking time as ‘before’ and ‘after’ that man? Or would this all fade, like most things did? Even the divorce.
Aria waited, looking at me expectantly. I considered us friends now, but I was still technically her boss. She would never pressure me to open up, even if she suspected something.
“So, I’m looking at finishing work at the end of May. Cem has a new job in Istanbul, a local movie. They’re filming over the summer there, so I’ll tag along and escape the winter here.”
“Sounds like a good deal.”
She’d talked about quitting a few times, and I’d told her to follow her heart. It was a weird piece of advice—so easy to give, so hard to take. The only time I’d ever attempted to follow my heart was when moving to Napier. But my stupid heart had led me astray and left me lonely and broken.
