Page 20 of Pomegranates and Olive

Deniz bows slightly.

"You're an architect?"

"Right now I'm between jobs."

"You're a little bit dodgy, aren't you?"

"No, but my work is somewhat dull and I would rather you think I am a sophisticated man of the world."

Turning my back on him I roll my eyes at Ginny. "So whereisyour place?"

"Olive, you're staying with us, of course." Ginny points part way down the hill to a two-storey stone building slightly obscured from view by the trees. "Deniz, do you want to stay with us as well?"

"I'll be next door." He indicates with a wave of his hand up the hill. "Better to be close at hand if I'm needed."

A golf cart pulls up beside us and —yowza! — a tall, dark and ridiculously handsome man steps out, flashing us a shy smile as he makes his way over to where we were standing. Dear God this entire family seems to have hit the genetic jackpot, each one is more delicious than the last!

"Phoar!"

Dio mio, he is gorgeous.

He doesn’t greet any of us, just pulls Ginny into his arms, kissing her as though she has been lost at sea for months. "I've missed you, Green Eyes."

"Seriously, holy shit!" I clamp a hand over my mouth and mumble between my fingers. “Did I say that out loud?”

Deniz nods.

Damn, but seriously, my cousin and her guy have passion coming out the wazoo!

The family talked about Aydin for months when we found out about him. Thanks to the internet, we sleuthed a lot of his story, and no one was happy with Ginny's choice. A model. An actor. A father. Divorced from Hollywood's current "It" girl. Rumoured to have played the field with alotof women. Honestly, there wasn't much to like about him, except for the fact that he had lost his heart to my favourite cousin.

But as I watch Aydin and Ginny swap spit, I can tell that she's genuinely happy.

He stands Ginny upright and turns to me. Dear God, this is a perfect specimen of man with his thick hair that curls down his neck, his strong jawline covered in stubble and a smile that is filled with genuine excitement. Oh, he’s walking toward me with his arms open wide. Gulp.

"You must be Olive." Aydin pulls me into a giant bear hug, lifting me off my feet. "Ginger has told me so much about you. I'm so glad to meet you at last."

"Oh my God, yes I am. Olive, I mean." I giggle and blush like a giddy teenager on her first date. "I'm so glad to meet you as well."

I sound like an idiot.

He turns to Deniz and they hug somewhat awkwardly. I'm guessing they haven't seen each other since the wedding fiasco. No time for awkward though. Ginny puts them straight to work grabbing the luggage from the car and piling it onto the back of the golf cart.

Ginny and I sit on the back seat as the two men take the front, already engrossed in conversation, partially in English before swapping into their native tongue. Turkish is a sexy language. Actually, scratch that. It probably only sounds sexy because of the Adonis and his arrogant, but begrudgingly I'll admit, somewhat gorgeous cousin speaking it.

We turn down an almost hidden track and pull up beside a rustic stone building with a blue front door, most likely a nod to Ginny's long addiction to the movie Notting Hill. We scramble out while Aydin grabs my bags and deposits them at the door. "We'll leave you two to catch up. Come down for a swim once you're settled in, Olive."

Deniz turns in his seat. "Thank you for keeping me so thoroughly entertained, Russo."

I raise my hand in a half-wave as the golf cart drives away, but not before he turns back and flashes that shit-eating grin at me again.

Dio mio!

I might have a problem here.

5

When Life Serves You Lemons… make Limonata

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