Page 74 of Pomegranates and Olive

"You only get one."

"I only needed one."

Deniz chuckles at that before addressing the crowd that appeared from nowhere. "The show's over, folks. Back to work."

I scowl at him before facing Luca, hands on my hips. "Why did you do that?"

"You might not be mine right now, but you were mine once."

16

Nobody Said This Was Going To End Well

Ask me what part of my body isn't hurting after ten hours of harvesting olives. Seriously, ask me!

Don't worry, I'll tell you — everything. Everything hurts. This part of the olive harvest isn't on any brochure, that's for damn sure. My shoulders ache from the repetitive strain of reaching to rake the high branches of the olive trees. My legs are scratched and skinned from climbing the trees. I'm sure my bum will be bruised from where I fell off the ladder and landed on some rocks and my dignity was compromised (yet again) when I slipped away to pee behind a tree and was caught mid-stream by two young Turkish men. They hightailed it out of there like they'd just seen a ghost (which my pasty white bum could very easily be mistaken for).

All the pain was oddly satisfying at the time as we filled basket after basket of olives, but then Luca had to go and ruin everything by punching Deniz; although, if there has to be any finger pointing, it could be said that I had to go and ruin everything by kissing Deniz in the first place.

I couldn't handle any more of their grandstanding, so I hightailed it out of there on the back of a farmer’s truck.

When I got back to Ginny's I showered and crawled into bed but not before I hopped online and booked myself a one-way ticket back to Sydney. I ignore the frequent knocks on my door by people concerned for my mental well-being (I'd already had one melt-down this year... that's officially my quota!) so when I’m woken by the morning sun shining brightly through my window, I feel refreshed enough to go into battle… and I expect there to be a battle.

I slip on my Daisy Dukes and a bandeau and stare at myself in the mirror. I look tired, despite all my sleep, so add a little concealer under my eyes before pulling my hair into a twist on the top of my head. When I finally show my face on the terrace everyone is doing their own thing. It seems as if they’re purposely ignoring the wild look in my eyes. "Morning."

"Hi, Liv. Are you feeling any better today?" Rosie sees the look of confusion on my face because she answers my unspoken question in a matter-of-fact tone. "Those migraines of yours come on so suddenly, don't they? No wonder you didn't feel like joining us for dinner last night."

I smile at my sister gratefully as I pour myself a coffee. "I took a couple of ibuprofen and went straight to sleep."

Picking up on our ruse, Ginny smiles brightly. "I'm so glad. I was worried you wouldn't want to cruise today."

"We’re going out on Tora?"

"I thought it might be a nice way for you to spend your last day here in Bodrum."

Tears sting my eyes. This is my last day in Turkey.

I had pushedthatthought far from my mind.

I’m supposed to be going to Italy with Luca tomorrow but I’m not, instead I’m flying home alone to Sydney to pack up my life.

My eyes flick towards Luca who is sitting at the other end of the table, ignoring all of us and staring morosely at his mobile. We need to find a moment alone to talk so I can explain how I feel about him, about me and about our life together. I don’t want to hurt him anymore but I know in my heart that it’s over.

Because of Deniz.

No! Because of me. I’m a different person now. I can see that. And as much as I love Luca I also know that he and I don’t belong together.

"But this time you'll be the guest. No kitchen wench today."

I force a smile on my face. I've come to love being Deniz’s wench.

"Sounds great."

Ginny places a plate of pancakes in front of me. "Eat up. We're meeting Aricia and Kat at the marina in an hour."

With Aricia and Kat joining us, I have a good reason to ignore my personal dramas and instead have a day out with the girls... and Luca... and Deniz.

I only have to make it through today.

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