Seven
her at the cat colony the following morning. She tried to pretend he wasn’t, that it was a mere coincidence or similar schedules that had them there at the same time. But when he handed her a to-go cup of coffee and said, “I got this for you,” she couldn’t deny the truth any longer.
She smiled and thanked him. In truth, she had hoped to see him there that morning. He had been crossing her mind at increasing intervals since her conversation with her grandmother had ended, and though she had fallen asleep willing herself to think about absolutely anything else, he had popped right back into her mind as soon as she had woken up.
Cheddar was glad to see him, too, his small meows and the sound of claws on the hard plastic of the backpack compelling Jasmine to turn around so that the cat could see the object of his affection.
“Hi, Cheddar,” Burak greeted him. “I can’t take you out of there, bud. It wouldn’t be safe, not here. You might get scared and run away and then your mom would be really upset with me. But I’ll make it up to you another time. If that’s alright with you, of course, Jasmine?” He raised his voice with his final words, and Jasmine turned to face him with a nod.
“Of course. I wanted to talk with you, too, about meeting Enes and Celia tonight. Does that work for you? We can reschedule if not, but I just thought you would want to get the project underway as soon as possible.
“No, that’s perfect.” Burak was nodding fervently. He gestured to the cats around them. “The sooner we get these guys settled, the better. I know it won’t be an overnight thing. I mean, they’re free agents and they’ll probably find their way back here. But if we can get them sorted and settled somewhere safe, then by the time we’re ready to break ground, hopefully there won’t be any danger of them coming back and finding themselves in harm’s way.”
“Exactly.” Jasmine took a sip of the coffee Burak had brought her, enjoying the heat of the comforting beverage in her throat on the cool morning. “I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a thing about relocating a whole colony of cats. Though considering the expression ‘like herding cats’ exists, I’m guessing it won’t exactly be a seamless transition.”
“Right.” Burak was looking at the base of a nearby wall, where a mother cat was eating some dry cat food, while her kittens played with her tail. “I believe it can be done, though. And I’m very hopeful that your friend will be able to help us.”
Jasmine raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s a lot of faith in someone you’ve never met and don’t actually know anything about.”
He looked back at her then and shrugged. “It’s faith in your judgment, actually. If we’re going to be partners in this business, then I think that’s essential.”
“So you didn’t look Enes up online last night to see if he knew what he was talking about?” She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one side.
Burak shook his head, his expression deadly serious. “Absolutely not. Of course, I don’t know his last name, so it would have been pointless even if I had wanted to.”
That got a small chuckle out of Jasmine before she checked the time on her phone. “I should head to the cafe. We were thinking of meeting at six o’clock tonight. Does that work for you? At a restaurant just down the road from the clinic.”
“That sounds great. I’ll pick you up at quarter to six then.”
“Oh, no…you don’t have to do that. I was going to go home first anyway and then just take a taxi.” Jasmine waved him away with a hand. “It’s fine. I can just meet you there.”
Burak’s eyes were sparkling as he smiled at her. “I’m afraid on this particular matter I can’t take no for an answer. I can pick you up from your apartment if you prefer, or I can pick you up at the cafe, take you to your apartment, and wait for you in my car until you are ready to go. The choice is yours.”
She knew her cheeks were heating, and she huffed in frustration. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to Burak that she had intended to change her clothes before they went out, because the last thing she needed was another clueless man giving her a once-over and telling her she looked just fine like she was. And if he was waiting in the car, he would definitely notice something like that.
“Fine,” she said finally. “You can pick me up at my apartment.”
“Wonderful,” he replied with a nod before handing her his phone. “Now why don’t you give me your phone number, so I can text you later to find out where exactly that is?”
Jasmine punched the keys with her fingers as she typed in the familiar number, an unfamiliar flicker of anticipation already blooming as she considered the evening ahead of her.
“Thanks,” said Burak as he accepted his phone back from her, tapping a few buttons on the screen until Jasmine’s phone began buzzing in her back pocket. She pulled it out, studying the unfamiliar number there. “Now you have my number, too.”
“Or now you know for sure that I didn’t give you a fake number,” she quipped without thinking. “I mean…I don’t know why I said that. It’s not like you’re a random dude in a bar that I’m trying to get rid of.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Indeed I am not. I’m just your friendly neighborhood cat wrangling partner, and it would inconvenience both of us if you’d given me a fake number. I would have had to drive around the entire neighborhood and knock on way too many apartment doors before I found you.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, right. Why bother with all that effort? You would have gone home, put your feet up, and put the whole thing out of your mind.”
“Never.” Burak shook his head. “You assume I would have reacted out of spite once I realized you had intentionally given me the wrong phone number. But that’s the thing you apparently don’t realize about me, Jasmine.” Why did the way her name sounded on his lips make her feel things in her belly? Burak’s expression was serious as his eyes bored into her. “I could never assume the worst of you. And the thought that you were at home, waiting for me and fearing that you had been stood up would keep me out in the streets, ringing bells and calling up to balconies until an annoyed neighbor threw a bottle at my head or called the police.”
It was difficult to know what to say in response to that, so Jasmine merely nodded. “Got it,” she said finally. “Glad you have the right number, then.”
“Me, too. Even though I’ve always wanted to live out my own Romeo and Juliet balcony scene.”
Jasmine felt her nose wrinkle. “I get the appeal of the dramatic, throwing pebbles at a window or a balcony, but maybe could you make a reference that doesn’t end with two teenagers suffering the ultimate consequence all because no one knew how to communicate?”
Burak chuckled. “Fair enough. I’m out of here, anyway.” He reached for her elbow, pulling her in lightly as his cheek brushed hers, first on the left and then on the right, the movement so automatic that he didn’t even react, though she had gone stiff as soon as his body had approached hers. “See you tonight.”
And with that, he was gone.
Jasmine was left standing there with the scent of his cologne—cedar and citrus—lingering faintly on her senses, the soft brush of stubble a phantom on her cheeks. She had been in Turkey long enough to know the gesture wasn’t romantic, that cheek kisses didn’t warrant the overthinking she was tempted to give them.
But even knowing that didn’t stop her from doing just that. And so, despite the lack of his physical presence, Burak lingered with her for the rest of the day.