Flying On the Wings of My Albatross

by grannydew, posted in The Phoenix and the Albatross Series

Chapter 1

Their clothes were strung from the beach to his bed, and the door had been left wide open. The sun was setting low in the sky, hovering just above the water. The colors in the sky were like a kaleidoscope, swirling and turning as the sun disappeared into the sea, spilling out all the hues of orange and yellow into the water. ” What a sight,” she thought. She had seen the sun descend into the sea many times before, but this had to be the most beautiful she had ever seen. This place was so peaceful and serene, it had to be because she was with the man she loved and was beyond happy. The sand was warm on her legs, as she sat cross-legged, with nothing but a sheet to cover her. The afternoon seemed to be like a fairytale, they had stripped off their clothes without even knowing it, and he swooped her off her feet, carrying her to his bed. The next few hours had taken them on a journey that either of them wanted to return from.

Can slept soundly, but she could hear the sound of the sea and she had to see it. She took the sheet and wrapped it around her and walked toward the water. Watching the water roll in and out on the beach, calmed her and rocked her gently into a trance. Her mind was empty of any worries, all she thought of was him, and how much she loved him. She could stay here forever with Can, but what about her parents, and her book. At some point she would have to address these issues, but not today. She heard Can call her name, ” Sanem, where did you go,” He called. ” I’m here, by the water.” She yelled back. In a second she felt him, he sat down behind her and slid up against her back wrapping his arms and legs around her. ” You scared me. I thought you ran away again.” Kissing her on the neck. She smiled, loving the touch of his lips on her skin. ” Never,” she said, as she leaned back to feel his chest on her back. She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him close. ” This is where I want to be,” she whispered. 

Still with the book and Kai stuck in the back of her mind, she would have to call him sooner or later but how would she get out of all her obligations. They lingered on the beach, letting their love for each other take them over. She had lost some of the fears that inhabited her mind and let her heart take over, freeing her, to show him how much she loved him. ” Can, we need to go inside,” she whispered to him. ” Why?” He asked with a smirk on his face. ” There’s no one here but us,” and it’s dark, and you have a sheet.” He stated quietly. She knew she was fighting a losing battle with him, so she just rolled over and gave in, happily. And he took her, obsessively, with the waves lapping at their feet, and the breeze flapping at the sheet, until Can finally tossed it to the side. Once again, he had satisfied her in such a way, she never knew existed. They fell together exhausted and tired, but so fulfilled it was unbelievable. They slept, until the sun peeked up above the water, Sanem opened her eyes, not believing she had actually gone to sleep. She sat up, instinctively grabbing for the sheet, glazing over his body with her eyes as she did. What perfection, she thought, she would never get tired of looking at him.

The sun was rising fast, lighting the sky with every color in the rainbow. She nudged him, ” Can, wake up my love, let’s go in.” He turned over to his back, the sand coating his stomach, he squinted his eyes trying to see her. ” Sanem, are you ok.” He asked, ” Come here, snuggle with me a minute.” He said reaching for her arm and pulling her down across his chest. She giggled, trying to squirm out of his grip, ” Can we are lying here, naked in the broad daylight for anyone to see.” She stated. ” Lets go in.” She pleaded. He laughed out loud, ” Who Sanem, who is going to see us,” just relax and enjoy the beginning of the day.” He announced. Oh how she wished she had his freeness and uninhabited nature. After a few more moments, he gave in to her, feeling her nervously twitch about. ” Ok, let’s go in and get a shower, then I’ll fix breakfast.” He offered. They picked up the few remaining pieces of clothing from the ground as they made their way to the house.

By the time the “long” shower was over, the breakfast resembled more of a lunch time affair. They didn’t have a care in the world, except their love for each other. She cleaned the kitchen and he watched, filling his heart with her image. She made him happy, it was plain and simple, like nothing else in his life had ever matter before. All those other meaningless relationships, he knew at that moment, just how meaningless and frivolous they had been. His life was forever changed because of her, in fact, his life was just now beginning. She smiled at him, ” What are you staring at,” she asked. ” You, my love, I can’t get enough of you.” He said with a seriousness in his eyes. ” Let’s stay like this forever, never leave this place.” He said as he walked towards her, boring his eyes of love into hers. She wilted, her heart jumped inside her chest, ” This man violated all of her senses, making her lose her will to resist. These hands of his caused her emotions to rise and beg for more. And so they did, more and more, until the time was late again and their shadows reflected on the wall. They were weak from it all, and needed food, neither able to cook, he ordered from his favorite cafe. The lounged in the bed, until the food arrived, then they spread out everything on the beach, to eat and watch another sunset. Content and happy to live this perfect life. 

They had bonded together as one again, just as before, before all of the lies from Huma and Yigit made her doubt her trust in him, and caused him to doubt her love of him, and run away. How much time they had been robbed of, so much happiness was taken from them, but not this time. She wouldn’t allow it this time, they deserved this, and she would see they had it.

This was their spot, on the beach next to the water. The sun retiring to a fiery pool of orange into the water, and the sky full of stars, all with a special meaning for them. The water danced with electricity, as the light side of the moon shined down on it, full with the love of their hearts. 

Her life was full……She was flying…. On the wings of her Albatross.

Chapter 2

The early light was peeking in around the curtains, he had awoken early, and he watched her sleep. Her hair spread out across the pillow, shiny and rich in color, it begged him to touch it. So perfect, it scared him. How had he been so lucky to win her back again, could they always be together and with no one else. He knew he could, his heart wouldn’t welcome anyone but her. “She was his life,” he thought, they would stay there forever and build their life together. He wondered about her book and all the engagements she still had to fill. He would close up the cottage and go with her, that was the only solution. If she had to go, then so would he, no discussion needed. She moved about on the bed and opened her eyes, “Good morning my love.” She mumbled, still half asleep. “You’re up early.” He kissed her on the cheek, “Yes, I wanted to watch you sleep” he said with a smile.

They started the morning with their shower routine, which always lasted longer and longer each morning. He loved the way her body felt, with the water sliding down her smooth skin, it sent a bolt of electric through him, igniting all the desire that lie deep inside him. Their bodies melted together so well, they seemed as one. The past few days had been the most fulfilling he had spent in his life. They dressed and he started breakfast, she made the tea, her specialty, and perched herself on the counter as he chopped and diced all the vegetables to make them an omelet. He was teasing her with a bite of bell pepper, she was giggling and laughing, trying to grab the bite with her teeth, when Miguel knocked on the open door. ” Mr. Can, I’m here,” he announced. Can turned around, startled by him, ” Miguel, hello, what brings you here.” He asked quickly. Sanem quickly jumped down from the counter, pulling the t-shirt down to cover her bottom. She smiled sheepishly, ” Hello, I’m Sanem,” she said extending her hand to shake his. He smiled, “Yes, I recognize you from Mr. Can’s description of you, he didn’t leave out a thing.” She blushed as he shook her hand and Can beamed ear to ear with pride. “Mr. Can, we have a shoot today, I take it you forgot.” He stated. Can had a puzzled look on his face, “Really, I don’t recall any scheduled shoot, what is it.” He asked. 

Miguel reminded him of the shoot for the vacation brochures, it was a big assignment. The shoot consisted of photos of the various beaches and port towns along the coast of Malaga down to Sitio de Calahonda. A beautiful stretch of the coast that welcomed thousands of tourists that flocked there each year. The photos were to be taken from his boat, as they sailed along the beaches, giving the full effect of the view. Can had completely forgotten about it, they had accepted the job about a month ago, and were waiting for the peak season to take the pictures. Miguel had estimated the shoot to take a couple of days, with the cooperation of the weather of course. Can was immediately apprehensive about going, but he knew Miguel couldn’t go alone. The boat had to be prepared and stocked for a two day trip, that was already going to put them behind of the schedule. Miguel made the list of supplies and took off to town to buy what they needed. Can and Sanem finished their breakfast and Can started for the boat to make it ready to sail. Sanem tagged along to watch him do what he did best. She hadn’t been aquatinted with his boat much, she only knew that is what had taken him away from her for that year of their life, bringing her the most pain she had ever had. She was somewhat jealous of it, she knew the boat is what he had turned to when he ran from her that night. It seemed to be his sanctuary when their love would fill him with pain. 

It was beautiful, she would say that, so stately and free in design. She sat and observed him, busy himself with the checking of this and that, making sure everything was in good working order. He was so serious and thorough, it was just another side of him that made her want him more. About an hour later Miguel returned with all the supplies on the list. They stocked everything where it needed to be. By the time they were done it was late afternoon, he still had to set up his camera and go over the list of projected photos, he didn’t want to miss a location. His fear of leaving Sanem alone there, was plaguing his mind, should he make Miguel stay there with her and he would do the shoot by himself.  But that would take twice as long, so that wasn’t an option either. She assured him she would be fine, she would read and relax, maybe even start to write. She was anxious to write the continuation of their story, but this one would be of the happiness they were living this time, no pain, no heartbreak and sorrow. Miguel left, they had their plans to leave early the next morning, so he would be back ready to sail at daybreak. He fixed them dinner, with her help and spread it on the beach to eat and enjoy another sunset. His heart was heavy at the thought of leaving her for two days. She laughed at him, ” Can, sweetheart, I will be fine here.” I can visit the market if I get bored, and besides this gives me the time to write.” She explained. He hugged her tight, his heart breaking at his feelings of loneliness he was already feeling.

They carried the food and dishes back to the house, after the kitchen was cleaned, he coaxed her back to the beach to gaze at the stars. They lay in each other’s arms, tingling from the touch of desire, she couldn’t get enough of him, his touch that set her on fire, she begged for more. “My love, how will I survive these next days without you, I need you so much.” He pleaded. She smiled, “The separation will make the reunion that much sweeter.”  She whispered in his ear, nibbling on his earlobe. He moaned her name, ” Sanem, you make me crazy and sane at the same time, “He groaned as he flipped her over on her back, trapping her beneath him. “I will be ready for you when I return, so don’t make any plans for a while.” he whispered, as he devoured her lips with his, she felt his hardness grow. It sent her desire soaring and in minutes they were fulfilling each other’s heart with such a love, they would be flying higher than ever before.

Hours later, she watched the stars, twinkle and dance above, thinking of how happy his man had made her, her heart, she was soaring to the heavens on his wings……..

Chapter 3

He laid beside her as the light began to creep in. It was time for him to go, as bad as he hated it, he knew he had to. He was dressed and had made breakfast for her and brewed some tea. He kissed her softly on the cheek, ” Bebek, wake up, it’s time for me to go,” he whispered in her ear.     She stirred, and moaned his name, reaching for him she pulled him down close to her. His heart couldn’t resist her when she called his name, he always had to go to her. But he remained strong and shook her awake. ” Sanem, my love, wake up, I have to go. You have the keys to the car and we have plenty of food here, so you don’t have to go out if you don’t want to.” He explained to her as she sat up in the bed rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up. She shook her head, letting him know she understood what he was saying. After the scare at the hotel before, and the mob of people trying to get to her, she was apprehensive about going out alone. He kissed her, a long and longing kiss, making his departure harder by the minute. She hung her arm around his neck, begging him to be careful and hurry back as soon as possible. 

She wrapped the sheet around her and walked out towards the beach, watching him as he walked toward the pier where his boat was docked. He turned around and waved, she waved, and blew him a kiss, as tears formed in her eyes. My god, two days, what am I going to do without him for two days. She watched until he was out of sight, with that feeling of emptiness building up in her, she walked back to the cottage. Looking at the breakfast he had made for her, it made her miss him more. ” How sweet,” she said out loud. ” And he made tea too.” She got her plate and sat down at the table. Alone, she hated to eat alone, just like in all the hotel rooms on her book tours, she was always alone. She ate a little, but didn’t really have an appetite, so she trashed the rest. There on the counter was a stack of menus from some of the restaurants and cafes close by, and a note, ” My love, order from these places, they have wonderful food, if you don’t, you’ll starve.” I will call you later today, I love you” She laughed, how well he knew her, but he was probably more afraid she would burn the house down when trying to cook. She took a quick shower and dressed, anticipating what her plans of the day would be. She took her notebook and made herself comfortable in the chair on the beach. ” Now,” she thought with a smile, “Let’s write the rest of our love story, the ‘happily ever after’ part of it.”

She had written for a while, when the clouds started to roll in off the sea, the wind picked up and it turned chilly. She grabbed her notebook and ran to the house, just as the sky opened and dumped the rain. She ran around the house, closing the windows and locking them. The wind howled and whipped about, leaning the trees down to meet the ground. She hated the storms, they tested her nerves, and to be alone was even worse. She turned on his radio and turned the music up as loud as it would go, just to drown out the sound of the storm. She worried about Can and Miguel out on the water, hoping they had been able to make a port before the storm hit. She called his phone but he was out of service, she sent a text, just to make herself feel better, but there was no reply. The storm lasted well into the afternoon, leaving the day dark and gloomy, almost as if it was night. She had crawled in the bed and continued to write, until she got sleepy. When she woke up, the storm had pasted but the clouds remained and still no call from Can. She was worried, but she knew he could handle himself and the boat and he wouldn’t take any chances.

She looked out the door, watching the sky turn a deep purple as the clouds shielded the sun from having its final farewell for the day. Her stomach growled, it startled her, she had forgot to eat. She looked through the menus and found a pizza place not far away. She called and order, a small pizza with everything on it, that sounded right up her alley. She was devouring it forty minutes later, with a cup of tea, not realizing how hungry she had been. ” Well, that’s done, she thought,” Now what,” maybe she would call her mom before it got too late. She hadn’t talked to her in several days. That had surprised her, usually there was a phone call a day at least, when she was away. Her parents were happy when she called them and told them that she was going back to Malaga to be with Can, so maybe they were giving them their time together. She took her phone and dialed her mom, ” Momma, how are you,” she cried, ” I miss you and dad.”  Mevkibe was glad to hear from her, ” Sanem my daughter, we are fine, and you, are you good.” She exclaimed. She assured her she was well, and happy. Telling her about Can’s job and that he would be gone for a couple of days, Mevkibe immediately was worried for her there alone, but didn’t voice her concern to her. It was time for Mevkibe to let go some and let her stand on her own two feet, with the man she loves. The conversation last for a while, with her talking to Nihat, Leila and even Emre. That relationship was still in the works, but they were both trying. After they said their goodbyes, Sanem tried to reach Can again, but still no service. She was longing to hear his voice, and was beginning to worry. She dressed for bed, and settled in with her notebook, but it didn’t last long before she had slumped over, hugging Can’s pillow and drifting off to sleep. Her dreams would have to keep her company tonight, and she had plenty to dream about.

The ringing of her phone jarred her from her dreams, she sat up, looking at the time, 5:10, wow, she looked at her phone, ” Can, is that you,” she yelled. ” Are you ok,” she cried. She heard his voice on the other end of the line, ” Sanem, yes I’m good now.” Are you ok” He asked. She was so relieved; she had no words. He told her how the storm had blow them off course, and out of cell range. They had been tossed around in the storm and almost lost the boat, but they had made it back to the coast and were back on course. She cried as he told the story, thinking how close she had come to losing him. ” Are you coming home, just come back before another storm hits,” she begged. He laughed, ” We’ll be fine, we have to finish the shoot and then we’ll start back, probably tomorrow.”  With no way to change his mind, she accepts his decision, begging him to be careful they ended the call.

She buried her face in his pillow, and let the tears come, ” He was almost lost, what would she have done if the outcome hadn’t been good.” 

She shuttered at the thought, ” How could she live without her albatross.” 

Chapter 4

Her sleep was over for the night, her fear of him not returning alerted her every nerve and she couldn’t seem to close her eyes again. She brewed her tea and went to the beach. The morning was warm, and the sun was emerging ever so slowly from the sea, like a ball of fire. She thought of him, probably already up, preparing for the day. She wished he was on his way home, but he was determined to fulfill their assignment. She was lost In thought when a shadow moved over her. She quickly jerked around to see a man was jogging her way. She had never seen another person on the beach, so it startled her. He was smiling at her and waved. ” Good morning ma’am,” he said. He spoke English, but she only knew a minimal amount of words, just enough to return his welcome. ” Good morning,” she said in English, she smiled but felt uneasy as she did. He stopped, pulled the earbuds from his ears and gestured to the sea and the rising run. ” Beautiful isn’t it, I’ve never seen a better sunrise anywhere.” He stated as he ran his fingers through his short blonde hair. It was blonde with streaks of golden running through it, quite usual, she thought. She figured from his gestures, and she did recognize a few of the words, he was referring to the view. She shook her head in agreement, looking out across the water. 

” Yes,” was all she could manage, with a a smile. He made her nervous, why had he stopped and where did he come from. There wasn’t another house around close, at least none she could see. Seeing her uneasiness, he thought to introduce himself. ” Hello, I’m Rye,” he said extending his hand to her, she stood, embarrassed as she stood there in her pajamas, ” Hello, I’m Sanem.” She replied in a very broken accent. They shook hands, ” Oh, you don’t speak English much,” he asked. Then he shook his head, ” No English?” He gestured. She smiled, holding up her fingers signing to him, she knew very little. ” Ahh, so Spanish,” he asked again. She was confused, at all the questions and didn’t know that language either, so she shook her head no, again. ” No, I Turkey,” she said pointing to herself.  ” Turkey, oh, you’re from Turkey.” Got it.” He exclaimed. “Well that’s a big problem, because I don’t speak any Turkish.” He laughed, so she laughed, not knowing anything he said. He just stood there, looking out across the water, not offering to move on down the beach and continue his jog. He glanced around, ” Your house,” he asked pointing to the cottage, ” You live here.” She shook her head with acknowledgement, ” Yes, yes I do.” As she backed up towards the house, trying to escape him, she waved, ” Goodbye, see you.” she said, retreating backwards all the way to the cottage. He watched her in amazement, he waved as she entered and shut the door. He raised his eyebrows, ” Hmmm, Sanem,” he said out loud, ” How beautiful.” I’m glad I decided to jog this way this morning.” He remarked with pleasure. She peeked out the window as he slowly jogged on down the beach. That was odd, where had he come from, she thought. She didn’t like not being able to understand the language, maybe he wouldn’t come back by again, she hoped.

She managed to fix herself some breakfast, an omelet and some fruit, along with some hot tea, delicious and the house was still standing, she thought with amusement. After eating and cleaning the kitchen, she took her notebook and returned to the beach, her inspiration to write had soared since she had been there with him. The words poured out onto the pages, all the happiness that bloomed inside her made her pen fly across the paper. She sat there in solitude for a few hours, filling her notebook with their love. She realized the time had passed by and not a word from Can, she looked for her phone, but it wasn’t there. Had she left it in the house? She jogged back to the house to find it. Sure enough, it was on the table, with a list of missed calls from Can and one from Kai. Can had left a voicemail for every missed call, frantic as to where she was. She quickly returned his call, ” Can, my love, I’m sorry I missed your calls.” She said immediately, ” I had left my phone in the house and I was down on the beach.” She explained. His voice was laced with relief, glad to hear her voice, and relieved to know she was ok. ” How’s the shoot going” she asked, hoping he would tell her it was done and he was heading home. But that was not the case. ” Well not so good,” he said sadly. ” It seems the storm had damaged some of the beaches and they were in the process of cleaning them up. So, it looked like it would be another day or two to capture all the resort areas they needed to. She was so disappointed she couldn’t erase it from her voice, he was just a disappointed as she was. He asked how she had filled her day, she told him about the writing, and all the progress she had made in her new book. He felt so bad that he had left her like that, but it couldn’t be avoided, he promised her he would hurry to finish the job and be back as soon as possible. They vowed their love for each other and said goodnight, with a dozen or so kisses sent through their phones.

She felt lonely again, a feeling that she never liked, but had been forced to feel a lot over the past 4 years. She needed him so badly that it hurt, as she strolled back out to the beach, loving the time she was able to spend there, it really calmed her fears. She told her mind to think of something else, it only made the time pass more slowly, so she thought of what she would order in tonight, maybe a nice pasta salad from the outdoor cafe down the road. As she ordered, she thought, ” I really must learn how to cook,” I can’t order out for the rest of our lives and I’m embarrassed to have Can do all the cooking.” She revealed to her mind. ” That’s something to do to pass the time, ” she said excitedly. She might try to venture out tomorrow, just down to the market that was close by, she could pick up some ingredients to try a simple recipe, maybe a white creamy sauce for noodles. 

If it turned out good, she would surprise him with it when he returned, along with a few other surprises, she thought with a devilish smile on her face. Her order was delivered quickly, and she settles back to eat as she watched a couple of ships way in the distance, as they floated on their way to some romantic port on the coast. It made her miss him even more, her body ached for him to touch her. She sat engrossed in her thoughts when she heard, ” Hello again, do you spend all your time out here?” She jumped and turned to see the same man there that she had met earlier. She didn’t recognize all the words, but he was smiling at her, so it must have been funny, she thought. He quickly grabbed his phone and typed something on it and handed it to her to read. ” Hello again, do you spend all your time out here?” was written on his phone in Turkish. She looked up at in surprise, he laughed taking his phone back, he typed again and passed it back to her. She read, ” it’s Google translate on your smartphone, do you have it.” No she had never heard of it before, she thought as she shook her head, indicating she didn’t. He motioned for her phone, she hesitated, but handed it to him. He quickly handed it back, with it reading, ” Sure you do it’s right here,” in Turkish. 

She smiled a big smile, and he smiled back, thinking, ” Ok, now we’re getting somewhere….

How ingenious, she thought, how did she not know about this before, this makes things a whole easier. She thought, looking at the smile spread across his face, as she said one of the few words she did know in English, ” Thanks”………

Chapter 5

He seemed nice enough, she thought, glancing over at him as he took the liberty to sit down on the beach next to her. A little forward though, she hadn’t invited him to stay, yet there he was. He wasn’t dressed in beach clothes, that was for sure. He had on jeans, a button-down shirt, and what she thought to be western boots. He had a cowboy hat on, so she knew he wasn’t out on a jog as before. This kind of attire was out of the ordinary for here, she hadn’t seen it much, but she had watched a show once on ranching when she was in Australia about a year ago, where they all had this type of clothes on. Quite unique, and different, she wondered what he was doing there. He was typing something on his phone and handed it to her. ” I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable,” it read. She smiled nervously and shook her head. He returned the smile, shifting around to get comfortable. 

The silence was broken by the ring of her phone, she grabbed it as if she had been waiting for a call for a long time. A smile lit up her face, ” Can, it’s you,” thank god,” she said, ” Are you on your way home.” She asked enthusiastically. She looks at this man sitting there next to her, feeling a bit guilty about it. ” Please say you’re on your way home,” she begged. She got up and walked a ways away from him, to continue their conversation. Can sighed, ” Sorry my love, but it will be another day, the beaches are a mess from the storm, so some of them are still cleaning up.” He explained. ” Are you doing ok, you’re ordering your food, right.” He asked. ” Yes, I had pasta salad tonight,” she told him. ” Are you and Miguel doing ok, do you have plenty of food?” She asked. Rye observed her as she talked on the phone, of course not understanding her conversation, but what he got from the vibe of it, that it was someone important. ” Hmm, maybe her husband, no, she didn’t have a wedding ring on, sooo, maybe a boyfriend.” Yeah, it’s probably a boyfriend, ok, that he could handle.” He mulled over in his head. ” He must be away on business,” he thought. ” Or maybe he lives somewhere else” That would be great,” He thought. They finished their talk and she wished him a speedy trip home, as she sent him a few kisses on the phone. She came back to the chair and sat down, her mood was down and he knew the phone had made her sad.

He typed, ” Bad news?” And handed her the phone. She replied, ” No.” in English, she typed on her phone, ” Just disappointing news.”  Closing her eyes to hold back the tears. His heart fell as he watched her fight to hold back the tears. She seemed so delicate at that moment, whoever had called was very important to her, it was written all over her face. She took her phone typing, ” Please excuse me, but I’m going in, it was nice to talk to you.” He read. She nodded her head, saying goodbye. He stood, ” Goodnight,” he said, she understood the word and smiled, walking to the house, she closed the door. He lingered there, she wondered why, what was he waiting on, she wanted to watch the sunset but not if he was still there. He gazed out across the water, and then he slowly walked back down the beach from the direction he had come. Confused she waited for a good 30 minutes, to make sure he wouldn’t return, then she again found her place on the beach. She loved to watch the sunset, each were so different and splashed with such color they made her hunger for more. She observed until the last rays of light disappeared, for a minute there was no sound, it was like the lull of time between the light of day, succumbing, to present the hush of night. It was magical, but she so longed to share it with Can. This was the longest she had ever been alone, even at the farm, there was always someone about, doing something, Deren, CeyCey, Mihriban, someone, but here she was alone. 

Rye viewed her from the trail that wound through the trees, that lead back to the main road. ” So she came back out, ” he thought. She must like watching the sunset, who was to blame her, they were spectacular, almost as spectacular as watching her. ” What a graceful creature,” he thought, ” He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her.” Sanem, the name just a intriguing as she.” He pondered. ” I wonder how long it would take to learn to speak Turkish. ” He started back towards the small house he had rented for the month, it was a few blocks down the road from the beach trail. He made it in, he got changed and comfortable, he goggled, ” favorite Turkish breakfast food,” Ok, bagels, fruit, cereal, and tea. Tea? What kind of tea? No, he couldn’t do tea, just coffee. His plan was brewing, get up early and make a trip to town for bagels and fruit, and a thermos of coffee. Then stroll on down the beach and wait…. he might be late for the ranch, but they would have to start without him. He went to sleep quick to make sure he got up early, what’s that saying, ” The early bird always gets the worm” yeah that’s it. 

Sanem lingered on the beach way to long, the way back to the cottage was dark. It wasn’t far, but she hadn’t left a light, so it left it hard to see. Using her phone for light, she got in the door, locked it and turned on the lamp beside the bed. She turned on some music, it eased the silence that surrounded her when he wasn’t there. Her notebook was her best friend right now, so it laid beside her on the bed. She began to write, her feelings, they were sad today, missing him so much it hurt. Like a bomb, she remembered Kai had called her earlier in the morning and she had completely forgot to call him back. She would call in the morning, if he didn’t call again before then. She hadn’t even got a chance to thank him for forcing her to listen to her heart, it was the best thing he had ever done for her. Remembering the events of a week ago made her smile, she was proud of herself for thinking of her and Can above all else, for once she let her heart lead her back to him. 

She hugged his pillow tight, as she had the last two nights, smelling his scent that was embedded in it. Just that smell set her desire for him on fire, how would she wait for his return, her skin shivered at the thought of his touch.

In agony, that’s how she would wait, dreaming of him, flying high in the arms of love…….

Chapter 6

Can’s anticipation grew more and more as the day wore on. The felt that this day would be the same as the day before, waiting. The storm had damaged more of the beaches then they had thought, leaving the resorts scrambling to recover. The peak season was at the highest and this was the best time to photograph for the brochures. They had decided it wouldn’t be profitable for them to sail all the way home and then back again in a few days, so they would tough it out until the repairs were done. They passed the time by taking pictures of the sea, and all it had to offer. The birds, the clouds as they rolled through, all the different formations that made the sky dance. They anchored in close enough that they could watch the cleanup efforts and they even shot some of those. It seemed they were nearing the cleanup process and they could possibly start the shoot as early as the next day. At least that’s what they hoped. 

He missed Sanem more than he ever thought possible. He called her that morning when he woke up. ” Sanem, my love, how are you.” I so sorry to have left you for so long.” He pleaded. She was happy to hear from him, his voice was nice to wake up to. He told her the circumstances and they should be able to start the assignment tomorrow and be home in 2 days. ” Another 2 days,” she cried, ” Can I miss you so much, please hurry home.” He heard the pain in her voice and it broke his heart, ” Just be patient, I’m going to hurry, I’ll call you later today, be careful and think of me.” He whispered to her, followed by his smooches to her, and hers back to him.  She slowly got out of bed, so hard to get motivated when he wasn’t there. The first thing she thought of was tea, she plugged in the pot and went to get dressed. Just a t-shirt and shorts for now, if she decides to go to the market, she would change. With the newfound translating app on her phone she felt better about venturing out alone. The tea was ready when she came back to the kitchen, she poured herself a cup and opened the  world  for the fresh sea air. ” What is he doing here,” she was shocked to see him sitting there next to her chair on the beach. He was dressed in the same kind of clothes, jeans, boots, a long sleeve button up shirt, and holding a cowboy hat. He turned her way when he heard the sound of the door, he waved. She sighed, and waved back, He motioned her to join him, she hesitantly walked down towards her chair, she smiled slightly and bowed her head. He smiled and handed her his phone, ” Good morning, I brought some bagels fruit, and coffee.” She read. She replied with a ” thank you” that she did know in English. He dug out the bagels from the sack, handing it to her, he pointed towards the fruit, asking if she would like some. She shook her head, as she munched on the bagel. She kept looking at his clothes, wondering why he was dressed like that for the beach, but not asking the question. He recognized the look, so he took his phone and wrote the explanation, ” I’m working at the Reservatauro Ronda Bull Ranch, it’s about not far from here.” He wrote. Thinking that was quite interesting, she smiled and wrote on her phone, ” So you’re a cowboy?” She asked. He smiled, shaking his head, he typed, ” Yep, I’m here buying bulls for the rodeo circuit in the United States.” He stated with pride. She typed, ” Really, you’re from America?” She asked. Without typing, he said ” Yes, I live in Wyoming, have you heard of it?” He asked. 

She looked at him with her eyes wide, and repeated, Wyoming, shaking her head indicating she had heard of it before. ” The rodeo, you work for the rodeo. She typed. He answered with typing, ” Yes, I’m a buyer for the bull riding circuit, I live outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.” She was quite impressed, a real cowboy, she thought. She shook her head letting him know she understood. She finished her bagel, without any more communication. He handed her his phone again, ” My name is Rye Davis, what’s yours?” It read.  She had already given him her name on that first day they met, but supplied it again, ” Sanem,” I live here with my boyfriend.” She wrote. She didn’t feel the need to give a last name, but she did feel the need to clarify she had a boyfriend, with that inner voice of hers screaming loud and clear in her head. He looked at his phone for the time, seeing he was getting late, he stood to leave. She stood, motioning towards the food she said, ” thank you” and nodded her head telling him goodbye. He nodded his goodbye and walked down the beach towards the main road. He understood her message of, ” she lived there with her boyfriend, ” and he was only there for 3 more weeks, so no need in trying to get anything started. Just chalk it up to, ” meeting a new friend” experience. She didn’t seem the type for a one-night stand, he thought. 

She was relieved he was gone. It made her nervous trying to carry on a conversation with the phone. She went back to the cottage, poured her another cup of tea and grabbed her notebook. She continued her story of their love, noting all the details of their meeting at the hotel, when he saved her from the crowd of fans. She loved to relive all the moments they had shared. He had made her life so happy and full. The ringing of her phone interrupted her writing, she saw it was Kai, ” Hello my friend, how are you? ” she asked. He was glad to hear her voice, she sounded happy and rested. ” I’m fine Sanem, you sound good.” He stated. They chatted about the book, and he told her he had canceled the rest of her signing that was left on the tour. ” Are you writing anything,” he asked. ” Yes, but it won’t be ready for a while, so don’t rush me on it.” She teased. He asked when she would come home, and was shocked at her reply…..

” I’m not sure, we may stay here for the rest of my life.” …….this was the best thing you have ever done for me Kai.”

Chapter 7

The cleanup was almost complete, so Can and Miguel set sail to the farthest most point and started shooting. The views were beautiful and the resorts were exquisite, making the job fairly easy. Miguel was taking most of the shots, he needed the experience, so Can maneuvered the boat and he planned the shots. They were making good time, but still, they had a lot of time to make up for. Can called Sanem as they were sailing from one spot to the other, ” My one and only, how are you.” He asked, so glad to hear her voice. She screamed, ” Can, bebek, I miss you so much, where are you.” Her heart was beating fast just talking to him. ” Well, we are finally starting the job.” He said, ” We’re coming along at a good pace, so it shouldn’t be long. I’m hoping tomorrow evening, we will be home,” I’m ready to hold you in my arms, my love.” He whispered quietly into the phone. She giggled like a schoolgirl, with her heart leaping up into her throat. He loved that sound, her giggle, it made his heartbeat fast and the longing for her grow. ” What are you doing right now, my love.” He asked. ” Well, I’m sitting on the beach watching the waves, and I’m writing about the most handsome man in the world.” She boldly told him. ” Oh really,” he said, and what is this most handsome man doing.” He asked, his voice low and gravely. ” He’s making happy, touching me all over, kissing me……..” Sanem, stop,” he pleaded, ” Miguel is right here, so don’t make me do something embarrassing, ok.” He breathed heavily into the phone. Her heat was also rising, with just the thought, so she cleared her throat and changed the subject. ” Ok, sorry,. I’m thinking about going to the market today, I want to make you dinner when you get home, so I need to practice. She explained. He laughed, it was an impulse, and he wished he hadn’t done it. The phone was silent, ” Sanem, are you there, hey I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.” He said still with a hint of humor in his voice. She was fuming, ” Ok, fine Can, I guess I’ll just let you do all the cooking.” She blurted. He knew immediately, he had crossed some sort of line, and he was probably going to pay for it. 

The conversation took a downward turn after that, he begged her not to be mad, and proclaimed his deep love for her, but she cut the conversation short and they said their goodbyes. He hated to argue with her, she was so stubborn, it took a long time for her to forgive him. He banged on the railing of the boat, as she clicked off her phone. Why had he laughed, she was trying to do something nice for him and he made fun of her, ” What an idiot”.  He sighed. He would give her a couple of hours and call again to apologize.  All he could think about was getting done with this job and heading home. 

She sat there, fuming, as the tears welled up in her eyes, ” All I wanted to do is fix something nice for him, just once.” She said out loud. Her feelings were hurt that he had laughed at her ability to cook. It was supposed to be a natural thing for the woman to cook for her man, but not her. Her mind went to Polen, and the night she first meets her at Can’s house, what a beautiful table she had set for him. She felt that same pang of jealousy again, but this time it was of him. Would she ever feel worthy of him and his love, that hurt her more than anything. That feeling quickly set in the determination in her to prove him wrong about her. She would learn to cook, just one thing to begin with, but make the best he had ever tasted. She jumped up and ran to get dressed, still wiping the tears from her face, she literally bumped right into Rye. She didn’t even know he was anywhere around, but there he was, again.  He grabbed her to keep her from falling, and she screamed, scaring him as well as her. She started swinging her arms in a defensive manner, not really realizing who it was at first.  He jumped back with his hands in the air, ” Whoa, whoa, hey it’s me.” He yelled. She quickly calmed down, recognizing the voice before she saw the face. She covered her face with her hands, he had scared her half to death. He waved his hands at her, letting her know it was him, she waved back after a second, letting her heart slow down it’s beating a bit. 

He took his phone typing, ” Sorry, are you ok.” She read it and shook her head to let him know she was fine. She typed on her phone, ” I was just going to the market.” She wanted to be on her way but he wanted to carry on a conversation, which was quite annoying trying to talk by typing everything.  He signaled to her to wait a minute as he typed, ” Do you want some company?” He asked. She shook her head, declining his offer, with a smile. He again signaled for her to wait, typing, ” What are you going to cook?” He typed.  She was totally over the typing thing, so she shrugged her shoulders at him. She quickly waved trying to hurry on to the house, he caught up with her before she made it to the door, he was typing, ” Let me cook for you, I make a killer lasagna,” it read. She read it with her eyes blazing at him, she typed back, ” No, but thank you, I can cook myself.” And she turned and hurried away.  She got inside this time without him stopping her, ” These men…. always think they can do everything better,” I’m going to cook something good all by myself. ” she shouted to herself. She changed and grabbed his keys, heading to the market. 

It had been a couple of hours and he hoped she had calmed down, so he rang her phone. No answer….Damn it, why had he done that. He tried again, still know answer. She had arrived at the market, looking around she wanted to ask a question to the clerk, she reached for phone…. she had forgot it at home, so now what, she thought. She was searching the market with desperation when someone handed her a phone, she glanced around to see Rye standing there smiling, the phone read, “May I help you find something.” She sighed in annoyance, why was he always there, she wondered…… but maybe she would need his help.

She smiled, replying with one of her few English words, ” Thanks.”

Chapter 8

He smiled at her, with his ocean blue eyes twinkling, he typed, ” You don’t know how to cook, do you.” She shot him a look of annoyance, ” Yes.” She replied, using another English word she knew. But he knew she was lying, so he typed, ” Let’s start with something simple, maybe just pan seared chicken breast with a white sauce.” She looked at him in amazement, and typed ” Really, you can make that.” He didn’t reply, just gave her a thumbs up sign and a wink. Well maybe she would let him help her, she wanted to show Can she could do something. They shopped through the store, picking up all the ingredients for the white sauce and selected two boneless chicken breasts from the meat counter. She thought he seemed confident in what he was doing, so she followed his lead. They checked out and started to her car, he spoke into his phone, ” Nice car, it’s yours?” He asked, she shook her head, and replied on the phone, ” It’s my boyfriends.”  She said, smiling. He nodded his approval. He gestured he would meet her at her house, and she waved and pulled away. 

She carried in the bags and went to find her phone, looking she saw three missed calls from Can.  ” Well, I guess he figured I was mad,” she thought. She felt bad, she didn’t like being mad at him, but he was an insensitive jerk sometimes, and the making up was the best part. Within minutes her phones rang, it was Can, ” Hello,” she said, a bit coldly.  ” Sanem, my god, where have you been, I’ve been worried sick.” He shouted. She smiled to herself, ” I went shopping, I told you.” And I forgot my phone.” Sorry.” She stated. His voice was low, ” Sanem, I’m sorry my love, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He whispered. ” You know whatever you cook, I’ll eat, gladly. ” He said. She knew what he meant, and it made her smile a big smile and her heart was warmed with the memories. ” I know, I’m sorry, it just struck me the wrong way,” I love you, when are you coming home.” She pleaded. At that minute Rye entered the door, clapped his hands a said, ” Are you ready to get started,” not seeing she was on the phone. Sanem waved her hands at him to be quiet, but it was too late, Can had already heard him. ” Sanem, who’s that?” He asked in a sharp tone. She was flinging her arms around, desperately trying to think of a response, ” Uhh, a chef, I hired a chef to teach me how to cook a few things, ” she said, covering her eyes with her other hand. She knew how jealous Can was of any other man, she didn’t want to stir up a big mess. ” What, a man chef, you couldn’t have found a nice little woman from one of the cafes to help you.” He spouted. ” Who is he, from what restaurant, maybe I know him.” He asked with demand. She rolled her eyes and hung her head, ” I think he’s new in town, so you probably don’t know him.” She answered. Rye knew the conversation she was having wasn’t going very well so he stepped outside to give them privacy, even though he hadn’t a clue of what they were saying.

It took a bit for her to convince Can that everything was fine, but he finally relented and excepted her explanation. He told her he should be home the next day, but it would probably be late in the evening. She squealed with excitement, telling him she would be waiting for him. He hung up still a bit on the anxious side at someone he didn’t know, being there with her alone. Rye was waiting outside, when she finished the call, she motioned him to come in. He spoke through the phone, ” Your boyfriend? He asked. She nodded with a broad smile covering her face. She typed, ” He’s coming home tomorrow, so I want to make him dinner.” She said. He read it and shook his head in agreement, but his heart had just sunk down to his feet. ” Ok”, he thought, ” you started this so you have to finish it, then walk away and cut your losses.” He’s probably a terrific guy, maybe someone famous, he’d have to be to have a woman like that.” He analyzed. They started to cook, the language barrier, didn’t seem to be a problem, there was just a lot of hand gestures, pointing and a whole lot of laughing, but somehow it worked. He had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her, she was just a beautiful woman, even if he couldn’t understand a word she said. 

” Focus,” he was telling himself, as they stirred the white creamy sauce to go over the chicken. This woman is spoken for, but he did notice there wasn’t a ring of any kind on her finger. Maybe she wasn’t as spoken for as he thought. She smelled the aroma as it steamed up for the pan, ” Hmm, good,” she said. She smiled at him with appreciation, giving a thumbs up, and a wink, making him laugh. ” Well, this lesson was over,” he thought, as they cleaned the kitchen. She had no intentions of sharing a meal with him but felt obligated after he had invested so much time in it today. It was delicious, there was no doubt about that, now all she needed to do was duplicate the same thing tomorrow for Can. Rye stuck out his hand to her, waiting for hers, she returned it with a shake, and he nodded his head in a goodbye gesture and left. It was still early in the evening, so she took her notebook to the beach for her evening sunset viewing. She wrote about the day, how much fun she had, cooking of all things, who would have thought. She mind drifted off, thinking, just one more night, then Can will be back and all will be right with the world again. Her thoughts went to the possibilities of what will happen when he got home. She would have dinner ready, but would he want to eat first, or would he throw her on their bed and ravishingly claim what was his and what they had missed out on the last 5 days. She smiled as the butterflies that always accompanied the desire of him, fluttered about deep within her body.

As her dreams of what was to come became more and more visible in her mind, she thought….

” Maybe we will wait on the food”…. she thought with a smile.

Chapter 9

Rye had tossed and turned all night, reminiscing about the cooking lesson. How stupid he was for getting involved. Even teaching her how to fix a perfect meal for another man. She barely even knows he’s alive, and he can’t seem to get her out of his head. There he was trying to think of an excuse to go by there again, but he had to go to the ranch today, he couldn’t get out of it. He had a little over 2 weeks before he needed to be in Brazil, and that would be the end of that, so stay away from there and her, his mind said to heart. He was up making his coffee, starting to dress for the day, but before he knew it, he had his jogging clothes on and was headed out the door for a run. ” This is not at all what I had planned today,” he thought as he ran towards the beach. It was about 3 blocks down the main road from his small cottage, to the trail leading to the beach, and then another quarter of a mile on the trail before hitting the beach. Once on the beach, you can see her cottage down the way, and be able to see if she’s sitting in her chair or not. ” Maybe just a glance of her, and then back to your place.” He was telling himself as he ran along. 

Sanem had her tea and posed herself in her chair on the beach just as the sun was waking the world for another day. ” He was coming home,” she could barely wait.” She needed to go back to the market for the chicken for tonight’s dinner, and the makings for a salad. She was amazed at how skilled Rye had been in the kitchen, especially for being a cowboy, as she was thinking of her first cooking lesson. Can would definitely be upset if he knew she let some guy come in and show her how to cook, but she was doing it for him. She wanted him to be proud of her for learning new things. Rye had ran to the edge of the trail, just before it turned onto the beach, seeing her sitting there in her chair, he stopped. She looked perfect, sitting there, with her hair piled high on top of her head all messy, she was brighter than the sun that was rising quickly above the water. He wondered when her boyfriend would be home, ” It doesn’t matter, you’re not coming back.” He scolded himself as his eyes soaked her in, he just hoped he could hold himself to that. He watched for a while, then forced his body to turn and head back towards home. She had a lot of work to do today so she ran back to the cottage to get dressed. She had her breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, she stripped the bed of the dirty sheets and found the clean ones. She tidied up the house, making a note in her mind to pick up some fresh flowers from the market, and but some candles. 

Her phone rang as she was finishing, she grabbed it quickly, seeing it was Can. ” Hello, my love,” she said, ” how are you.”  Cans heart skipped a beat, just hearing her voice, ” My love, how much I am missing you.” He sighed. She giggled, ” Well, just wait until you get here, I’m going to show you all you’ve been missing out on.” She teased with her most seductive voice. He sighed, ” Sanem, we may not make it in today, we’re trying, but there’s still a lot to shot before we’re done, so it may be tomorrow.” His words pierced her heart, ” But Can you promised you would be home tonight.” She cried. Her heart broken and disappointed. ” I know my love, and I’m sorry, but we still 3 resorts to shoot, and I don’t want to tell you for sure we will be home, and then not get there.” So you understand, right?” He pleaded. ” But I will for sure be home tomorrow, hopefully before lunch,…Sanem, I love you, please don’t be mad.” The disappointment was quite evident in her voice, but she assured him she understood, and wasn’t mad, just heartbroken. He asked her about her cooking lesson, excited about tasting her first dish. She told him it would be a surprise, but he would love it. He hated to hurt her like that, and vowed then and there, he wouldn’t take another assignment like that again. He sent her a hundred kisses through the phone and they hung up, with him promising to call her again before bedtime. 

She plopped down on the bed, so sad, she thought her heart would break. Another night, she thought, she would be alone another night. She took her notebook and walked to her chair on the beach. She didn’t want to write about any sadness in this story, but there always seemed to be some in there lives together, so she might as well document it for prosperities sake. She poured out her heart as the words flowed from her like water, describing the loneliness she felt. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but still didn’t make hurt any less. As she empty her heart of it’s pain, she decided to make the trip to the market and buy the necessary things for their dinner, even though it would be postponed another night. She dressed and grabbed her bag and her phone, not forgetting it this time, and drove into town. This little community was always humming with activity, she parked and decided to walk, maybe she would shop around in the other little shops a bit, she didn’t have anything to hurry home to. She found a couple of things that caught her eye, for one thing was a beautiful flamenco shawl. It had dramatically long fringe, it was large enough to almost cover her completely, she loved it. Slowly making her way to the market, watching the people and seeing how friendly everyone was, made her even more sure she could stay here forever.

She picked out two perfect chicken breasts, and a large bouquet of flowers. She checked her list to make sure she had everything, checked out and started to her car. She saw this wonderful little ice cream shop, tucked away in the corner of the square, it was full of people so she made her way across the street. Ice cream sounded too good, she would get some and take it home for later. So, that took a big part of her day, but it had been fun, she thought, as she drove home. It still wasn’t going to make up for Can not being there, but it made the time until he was, more bearable. She decided on a salad for dinner and then she would drown her sorrow in the ice cream she had bought. 

Rye paced the floor in his small house, trying to give himself a reason to visit the beach again. “I guess I could go jogging again, she didn’t see me this morning so she has no idea I was there.” He reasoned. ” But what if her boyfriend is there,” he thought,” so, it’s an open beach, I think anyone can go there. And if he’s not, then you get to see her one more time.” That’s a win, win, situation I think.” He determined.  He changed his clothes to his jogging clothes and took off for the beach trail, praying she was alone. As he wound through the trail to the beach, his excitement grew, the sun was going down, he knew she would be there watching it, but would she be alone. 

The wooded trail opened up onto the beach and he could see the cottage in the distance.

” Yes, there she was…. alone. His face excepted the smile that was beaming from inside of him, ” ” just one more time”…….he told himself.

Chapter 10

He jogged out from the trees onto the beach, keeping his eyes firmly planted on her. She must have felt the gazed because she turned and saw him coming her way. She really didn’t want to have small talk tonight, it was too hard trying to communicate with a phone. As he got closer, she could see his smile, broad across his face, it made her smile to. He was an attractive man, tall and tan, with that blonde hair that was streaked with gold from the sun. But he was nothing compared to her man, that made her miss him even more. He waved his hello, and she returned the welcome. She was devouring her ice cream, trying to soothe her loneliness for Can and really wanted to be alone, but being rude wasn’t in her nature. Maybe he was lonely himself, being so far away from home, and just needed a friend. 

He stopped, bending over to catch his breath. He spoke into his phone, ” Watching another sunset are you,” he said. She smiled and shook her head. He asked if he could sit down, with a gesture, and she accepted the offer with a nod. He quickly sat down, before she changed her mind. He glanced around, searching for another person, not seeing one, he asked, ” No boyfriend, he’s not home yet.” He spoke into his phone. She read and replied, ” No, probably not until tomorrow, his job wasn’t done yet.”  He could see the disappointment in her face, and he felt the guilt for wanting to be there with her. He was fully aware that he was treading on thin ice, knowing it would more than likely backfire on him. ” But you never get anything in life without trying, ” that was his motto. It was evident she wasn’t in the mood to talk, so small talk would be a waste of time. “Just be happy to set here and watch the sun go down.” He told himself. This will probably be the last time.

The ringing of her phone made her jump, she grabbed it and answered quickly. She glanced at him, got up and walked a few steps down the beach. ” Can sweetheart, I’m glad you called.” ” Sanem my love, are you ok? I miss you so much.” He said. ” I miss you, I want you here, so no, I’m not ok.” She cried. He intended on surprising her, as he was only about 10 minutes out from the pier, he could see the lights from the dock in the distance and would be at the cottage in less than 30 minutes. But he kept with his story and promised to see her tomorrow, knowing he was about to give her a big surprise. Him and Miguel had worked hard to get all the shots done, so he could get home, even Miguel was ready to call this job done. 

She walked back and sat down, her mood even lower than before. Rye spoke into his phone, ” Are you ok?” She shook her head that she wasn’t, with the tears rimming her tears. She spoke in her phone, ” He not going to get home until tomorrow, I was hoping he would be home tonight.” He saw the unhappiness in her face, but there wasn’t anything he could do, he could see how much she loved this man that was hurting her. Maybe there was things beyond his control that had kept him from making it home to her tonight. She spoke, ” Maybe you should go, I really would like to be alone.” He read it and knew he didn’t want to leave her but, pushing her could cause other problems. He nodded, he stood to leave, reaching out his hand to say goodbye, she shook his hand, and watched him jog back to the trail leading to the main road. Now she could cry, she had been holding it in until he was gone. She looked at the moonlight dancing and skipping along on the waves, ” It was only a few more hours, and most of those were be consumed with me sleeping, so it won’t be so bad,” she thought. She was deep in her thoughts, as Can came up behind her chair, he slowly bent down, taking a sniff of her distinctive smell. ” Bebek, I’m here, surprise.” He whispered. She jumped almost completely out of her chair and screamed. ” Can, oh my god, Can. You’re home.” She cried. She wrapped her arms around her neck as he picked her up swinging her around, smothering her in kisses. 

Rye watched this all from the edge of the trail, his heart sank, ” Well he’s home, I guess that’s that, get your head on straight and get back to work.” His thoughts told him. ” She’s taken, she not available. ” You know how you felt when that happened to you, so respect the guy.” He shouted in his mind. The memories of how he lost his wife to his best friend still cut like a knife, when he let himself remember. That’s why he was halfway across the world from Wyoming, just trying to start over. He gave her one more look then jogged on towards his house.

Can had her wrapped so tight in his arms she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care, he was home. He carried her to the house, and within seconds they were clinging to each other as if their lives depended on it. Stripped of their clothes and all their worries, the heat from their desire surged through them, as his touch flamed her insides to its heightened release. She couldn’t believe he was here, her breath was labored and his body was covered in sweat before they came up for air. Their bodies stuck together like a magnet, refusing to let go, he kissed her lips, biting and chewing with a hunger, she wanted more. She felt his desire grow as she lay wrapped in his arms, he whispered, ” I love you my one and only, more than you’ll ever know.” His eyes melted her, she begged for him to take her again, with his body full of desire for her, he did, again and again. After what seemed like hours, they laid cradling each other, exhausted and happy. ” Why did you not tell me you would be home tonight?” She asked him. He smiled, ” I wanted to surprise you, and I think I did.” He replied with a smirk. He raised up on one elbow and said, ” By the way, where’s that dinner you promised me when I got home.” She curled her mouth around, ” Well, it seems the cook has been otherwise detained, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.” She groaned. His eyes turned into deep pools of fire, smoldering, her stomach flutter with excitement for him. She was ready again to take his love, making her heart so full she seemed to drown in it.

” If we can stay like this, I may never have the need for food again.” he whispered gently into her ear.” It sent chills down her back, ” That sounds fine to me, my love, you are all I need…

Chapter 11

The sun was shining in bright went she opened her eyes, her immediate reaction was to look for Can. He was up and already outside drinking his tea, taking in the beauty of the sunrise. She called to him, ” Can, why didn’t you wake me,” she asked as she walked to the beach. He smiled, grabbing her and pulling her down to sit straddle across him, in the chair. ” I thought you would need your rest,” he said looking her up and down, devouring her with his eyes. ” I plan on continuing last nights festivities on through today.” He explained with a slight smile. She got those goosebumps, the kind that make you shiver all over, just by thinking of it. He could turn her inside out with just a look, and he knew it. He ran his hands up her legs, all the way up to her thighs, curving around to cup her bottom with his hands. She sucked in her breath, her eyes rolled back slightly, as he gently squeezed and massaged her hips. She rocked her body back and forth with the rhythm of his hands. She was planted directly on top of him, her movements stirred him and she began to feel his desire grow, making the heat penetrate between her legs. 

She had to move, ” Can, let go in, not out here.” She said darting her eyes around. He was already in the mood and ready, his eyes fixed and heavy with desire, ” Sanem, bebek, it’s ok, it’s just us.” He moaned. He pulled at her to sit back down, but she resisted, ” No, Can let’s go in.” Please. He rolled his head back, rubbing his face with his hands, ” Ok, ok my love.” Why do you have to be so confined.” He whined. He got up and followed her to the house, capturing her again as they made it through the door. She twisted from his grip and turned to close the door. ” Sanem, what’s wrong, we hardly ever close the door.” He asked with concern. ” Nothing, I just like our privacy, you know, so we can do whatever we want.” She spoke softly, as she gently pushed him backwards to the bed. She slipped out of his t-shirt she had put on earlier, he stumbled, as she continued to walk him back to the bed. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, her eyes were full of fire, commanding him to do her will. This was definitely a new side of her he had never seen, it took him completely by surprise, but it was the biggest turn on he had ever experienced. He felt his legs bump against the bed, but she didn’t stop. In an instant, he was flat on his back and she had stripped off his boxers. His eyes were wide in disbelief, ” Was this his Sanem, his bebek, the woman that was embarrassed to kiss in public. Without a change of expression, she mounted him, leaving any doubt of what she had meant when she closed that door.

They finally emerged from the cottage by mid-afternoon. The day was a beautiful one, so he spread a blanket on the beach for them to lay on. She brought the sandwiches and tea, still wearing his t-shirt. She was so confident, as she laid out their lunch on the blanket. He looked at her, not believing her actions just a few hours earlier. This woman was full of surprises, and he loved it, she made him want to wake up with her every day, go to bed with her every night. He was so mesmerized by her it scared him. She felt the stare, looking at him she asked, ” What, why are you staring at me like that?”  With a seriousness on his face, he said, ” I’m glad you didn’t come with us on the boat, the storm was tremendous, I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it or not.” He said. ” I’m glad you were here, safe.” He admitted with tears welling up in his eyes. ” Your face was all I could see, as we were tossed around in the swells of the storm.” That’s the first time I’ve ever been afraid on the boat.” She crawled across the blanket to him, he held her tight, not like before, but like he needed her to survive. After minutes of holding on to her, they parted, and she handed him a sandwich. This moment had meant something to them, they bonded, deeper than before even, they had always been as one, but now their souls would live as one, forever breathing for the other. 

They enjoyed their sandwich together, enjoying the view, until the ring of her phone disturbed their peace. She saw it was Kai, ” Hello Kai, I hope things are well.” She said. Can listened, eager to hear what was said. ” Sanem, it’s good to hear your voice,” he said. I hope things are going well with you and Can.”  She smiled, “Yes, very well.” So what’s up Kai, why did you call. “Sanem, your book has topped the bestseller list in all of the major countries that we have released in, including America.” This is really quite an accomplishment, and they would like to have you here for the talk show circuit. Maybe even a trip to the States for a few there.” She was speechless and sat with her mouth open. Can nudged her arm, “What is it,” he asked. She held up her hand, telling him to hold on. ” Kai, what does that mean the “talk show circuit” exactly. Can raised his eyebrows in astonishment, “Wow, the talk shows, that’s great.” He thought. Kai filled her in on all the details he had and waited for her answer. “Let me think on it for a bit, ok.” I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” She told him, still in shock. “Oh, by the way, when would they want me there?” She asked. “A week,” she shouted, “that soon.” She shot a look at Can. They ended their call, and she turned to Can, “They want me there in a week,” Her face carried the look concern.” What do we do.”? She asked. She relayed the conversation to Can, she had just had with Kai. Can was so proud, ” Sanem you have to go, that’s a big deal.” Her eyes filled with tears, ” But what ab………He held up his finger to her lips, ” Don’t even say it, my love.” My place is with you, wherever you are, is where I will be.” He exclaimed proudly. 

” But Can, can we really leave this place.” She cried.

” if that is what you want, then that is what we’ll do.” Our love can live anywhere, as long as we’re together.”……

Chapter 12

Rye had finished his work at the ranch early, he needed to move on to Brazil. The buyers’ market had tightened up some so the PBR association had put a cap on buying. He had already purchased some stock online from Brazil and just needed to go there to take care of the shipping. He really wanted to say goodbye to Sanem, though it was strictly a casual acquaintance. But they had shared a couple of meals together, although they weren’t by her invitation. So he saw no harm in saying a quick goodbye, and he was curious about the boyfriend. He changed into his workout clothes and headed for the beach. He would just give a quick hello and goodbye, then be on his way. 

As he reached the beach, it was already late in the afternoon, and he could see them sprawled out on a blanket together, taking in the view. He stayed his course, jogging down to their cottage. Sanem heard him coming and looked around, surprised to see him, she sat up on the blanket next to Can. Rye waved a welcome, and Sanem returned the welcome. She was a bit wary of him and didn’t want to cause any problems with Can because of him. But he seemed like a thorn in her side at this point. Can had dosed off, so he had no idea he was there, Rye spoke to his phone, ” Hope I’m not disturbing you all,” he asked. ” Just wanted to say goodbye.” He stated. Hearing a male voice quickly brought Can out of his nap, and sitting up next to Sanem, as if it brought him to attention. Can stood, in seconds, eyeing the man standing there that he had never seen before. Sanem also stood, telling Can, ” Yes Can this is Rye, he has jogged by here a couple of times and stopped to say hello.” Rye smiled and extended his hand, Can shook his hand, but didn’t smile, it threw him off guard a bit. Rye spoke into his phone, ” Hello, Rye Davis, pleased to meet you,” and handed his phone to Can. He glanced at the phone, seeing the translation, and smiled, ” Hello, Can Divit, and I don’t need a translation.” He said in his perfect English-speaking voice. Rye smiled an uncomfortable smile, ok, he speaks English, he thought. They grow them pretty big around here, he thought, noticing the size and height of Can, so just say your goodbyes and get the hell out of here, his mind was telling him.

Can was surprised at anyone else being on this part of the beach, he had never seen anyone there before. ” Do you live around her close?” Can asked, still eyeing him with doubt. ” Yes and no, I rented the small house a few blocks away, but my business is over here, and I will be leaving tomorrow. Just came to say goodbye to Sanem, he explained. Sanem gave Can a nervous smile, ” Yes, he stopped by and talked a bit as he was jogging.” She repeated. “You’re from the United States right, what part?” Can asked as he seem to relax a bit. Rye answered, ” Cheyenne, Wyoming, I’m a stock buyer for the PBR association.” Can was quite impressed, so the conversation got a little lighter, ” Really, you were here buying stock then?” He asked. Sanem was totally in the dark with what they were saying, hoping Rye didn’t mention the dinner he had helped her with. She interrupted Can, ” My love, he probably needs to finish his jog, we don’t want to keep him.” She said sweetly. Can agreed, ” Sorry, you probably need to go, so, it was nice meeting you.” He said sticking out his hand to shake his. Rye returned the gesture saying, ” If you’re ever in the States, don’t hesitate to look me up, I would be proud to show you Wyoming.” Can turned and relayed the message to Sanem, she shook her head and thanked him for the invitation. He turned and jogged back towards the road. ” Wow,” he thought,”that could have turned out bad.” You almost got yourself into more than you could handle, Davis. ” This cowboy may be a fool, but I’ve never been accused of being stupid.” He said out loud. He would fly out in the morning, on his way to yet another country, not knowing how long he would be able to stay away from his home. But the the past was something he didn’t want to relive right now. He always seemed to be attracted to the wrong women, ones that were no good or some that were already taken or way out of his league, which is what he had just encountered. “Just move on and stop looking for anyone.” He told himself.

 Sanem was quick to change the subject after Rye left, ” Let’s go in and fix a bite to eat, are you hungry” She asked, giving a side glance, trying to see if Can was upset about their visitor. She would admit, she was glad Rye was leaving, she had an uneasy feeling around him. He swooped her up, making her squeal with delight, carrying her to the cottage, she was so happy he was home. Can could always whip up a great meal out of nothing, making her envy his skills. She hadn’t mentioned the special dinner she wanted to cook for him again, she would let it rest for a day or two. She had more on her mind tonight, with the call from Kai, her thoughts were swirling around in her head. A possible trip to America, that’s something she had never thought would happen, but how great it would be. 

Can knew her head was full of thoughts about her book, but for him, there wasn’t anything to think about, she had to do it. He would close up the house there, shut down his freelance business, and follow her anywhere she wanted to go. The boat could stay at the dock indefinitely, and he could work his business from anywhere. They carried their food outside to eat on the blanket that was spread there. The evening was beautiful, a light breeze from across the water had cool it off nicely. This was their favorite place, lying together watching sunset. Can started the conversation, ” Sanem, we need to talk about what Kai told you.” It’s totally up to you, but I’m ready to go if you are.” He spouted, so proud of her he was actually beaming. She sighed, ” I guess, I really should, that is if you really want to.” He laughed, ” Was that a yes, a no, or a maybe,” He asked. She smiled and hung her head, ” it’s just so hard to leave here,” she swooned, ” We have been so happy here, I don’t know how it will be when we go home.” She said with her eyes tearing up. ” How will be able to stay together like this at home, my parents will have a fit if you move in with me.” He could tell this was really causing her anxiety, ” My love we will be together every night, if I have to sneak in through your bedroom window. ” We’ll work it out, bebek, besides how old are we, we’re old enough to say what we want.” 

Her eyes lightened, and she smiled, ” Well then, I guess we’re going home…. Mr Divit”

Chapter 13

Can smiled, ” Then it’s settled, we’re going home.” He exclaimed. She jumped up wrapping her arms around her neck, ” Oh Can, I can’t believe it, we actually decided on something together, she laughed, ” Maybe we are becoming as one.” He agreed, kissing her neck and drawing in that addictive aroma from her. He would follow her to the end of the earth and fall off, if that’s where she went, anything for her. The dinner was delicious as usual, and the view was the best, but now they would start making their plans to return home to Istanbul. They would have only a few more nights of this paradise, so they intended to make the most of it. The moonlight had dropped a million sequins on the water, they danced about, teasing the waves, dipping in and out of them. It almost resembled a well-choreographed dance, so beautiful to watch, but Can only had eyes for her. Just watching her made his desire fire up into a rampage, she effected like no one else ever had. 

She felt the desire from his eyes drill inside her, she didn’t even have to look at him to get the same feelings. Their connection was undeniable, as he reached for her, needing her to fill his heart with the happiness that only she could provide. It only took a touch from him to make her tremble, knowing he wanted her was what she lived for. She couldn’t live without him, not even a night, so her family would just have to understand they would have to be together. Their desire was fully awake and engaged, as he rolled over to her, touching, kissing her ravishingly, tasting her lips that fed his appetite for her. The thought of someone seeing them, was quickly diminished from her mind, as her desire for him to full her with himself took over. This was what she would miss, the freedom to love him anywhere, anytime.

They lay there breathless and tired, what a wonderful life they had now, He thought. Maybe he should surprise her with a proposal when they get home, it would only be fitting. A proposal and wedding, he didn’t want a long engagement. There was nothing to stop them now…… ” So let the planning begin,” He told himself. He felt the excitement rise inside him, as his mind thought of all the possibilities, he would need help and he was sure he could count of Mihriban and Leila. So now all he had to do was wait to arrive back in Istanbul, then get the ball rolling. She stirred in his arms, making him return to the present, how beautifully special she was, he thought, he couldn’t wait to make her his wife. Her movements made him want her, his body turned hot with a fevered craving for her, she never opened her eyes, but smiled and accepted him again with eagerness. It was well into the night when he picked her up and carried her to their bed, he laid down beside her to finish out the night, touching, skin to skin, heart to heart.

The light woke her, as it poured in through the window. She heard the water running in the shower, he’s up, ” What time is it,” she wondered looking at her phone. ” Wow, 10:00.” She really slept in.” Her mind still groggy, then she recalled the wonderful way she had fell asleep, outside in his arms. That’s where she always wanted to be. Her first thought was to sneak into the shower with him and start their day off with a “bang” but if she did that it would be afternoon before they knew it. So she just made their tea, and started breakfast. She wasn’t too bad at making an omelet, it would keep them from staving. She always talked to her food as she was cooking, just trying to get it to cooperate with her, somethings it worked sometimes it didn’t. She heard the water shut off just as she flipped the omelet, she was pouring the tea went she felt his eyes roam over her, ” Good morning my love,” he said, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and biting at her ear. A shiver made her shake a little, as the butterflies took flight in her stomach. ” No, Mr. Divit, not now, I just made us an omelet and we are going to enjoy it.” She demanded, giving him her look of authority. He knew that look and obeyed, ” Whatever you say boss, it smells delicious, and looks even better.” He said, impressed at her effort. She served him at the table and wait for him to take the first bite. They flavor of it surprised him, but he knew better than to show it, ” Excellent, my dear.” The best I’ve ever had.” He announced truthfully. She smiled from ear to ear, and he knew he had just scored some points for later. 

” Can, I’m calling Kai this morning to tell him our decision, so are you sure this is what you want?” She asked. He reached across the small table and touched her face, ” This is what I want, you, where I can touch you every morning and every night.” You’re stuck with me, tagging along with you forever.” Tell him we’ll make our flight arrangements today and let him know.” He said giving her a wink. She grabbed her phone and gave him the call, ” Kai, we’ve decided…we’re coming home.” She announced happily. He was overjoyed, for one, they were coming together, and for two, she sounded happier than she than ever. ” Super,” He yelled, ” They want you next week for the morning show, and then the rest of the local talk show again, I know we have already been there before, but the book has demanded so much, they want you back. The other stations are in negotiations with the publishing house.” He stated. He explained the rest of the schedule was tentative, and subject to change. She was excited to get it started, it would be even better with Can this time. Can was on his phone booking their flight home, as she was talking to Kai. ” Honey, tell him we fly out day after tomorrow, mid-morning, so we will be there by afternoon.” Can relayed to her. She gave him the information, letting the timing sink in. ” Oh Kai, don’t tell anyone we’re coming, I want it to be a surprise, ok.” She told him. He laughed, ” You got it my friend, can’t wait to see you and Can.” He exclaimed. 

” Can, day after tomorrow, I can’t believe it.” I’m going to miss this place.” She cried. ” We will come back, right, this is our home, isn’t it.” She said with tears in her eyes. His heart filled with happiness, hearing her call it “our home”… ” Yes, my one and only, this is most definitely our home. And we will come back.” 

“Can, I want to raise our children here, in this little cottage.” What better playground than this beach.” She sighed. 

” Our children”…………Can thought, smiling.

Chapter 14

The rest of the was busy, they made a trip into town to talk to Miguel, telling him they would be gone for a while and delivering the news about the photography business. There wasn’t any other way but to shut it down. He told him they would return, but just wasn’t sure when. Miguel promised to keep an eye on the house and the boat. Can offered for him to take over the business, but Miguel refused, saying he needed to learn a lot more before he could do it on his own, so he would wait for his return. They said their goodbyes, promising to keep in touch. Needing to close both the house and the boat, they hurried back to the beach. Sanem was working on the house, while Can took the walk down to the pier where the boat was docked. He readied the boat for bad weather and shut everything down. He loved the boat, it kept him grounded, it held a lot of memories, some bad, but not all of them. It had taken him away from her but also brought him back, it was full of her and the memory of their love. He didn’t think he could ever part with it.

Sanem cleaned and rid the house of anything that might spoil or go bad while they were gone. She decided to make her dinner for him that night, since they only had two more nights there together. It had to be special, with candles and wine, outside on their blanket, the place that had been the location for so much happiness for them. Knowing Can would be back soon from the pier, she started dinner, trying to remember every little detail Rye had shown her. She guessed Rye was gone now, and she couldn’t say she was sad about it. He had sent up a red flag in her head from day one. For once she listened to her inner voice saying, not to share to much information. He did help her cook, but that even made her uneasy, so she was glad he was gone. The smell from the kitchen was fabulous, as he walked back from the pier. The closer he got the better it smelled, maybe he had been too inconsiderate about her cooking skills. But from past experience, he had good reason. He pasted through the door into the kitchen, the aroma had his mouth watering, ” Sanem, it smells delicious, what is it.” He asked trying not to sound shocked. She smiled that big smile, ” We’re having pan seared chicken breast with white cream sauce, and a salad with vinaigrette dressing, and of course a Chardonnay wine, she said with confidence, holding her head high. Can couldn’t help but stare, ” Wow she really had learned to cook a dish.” How he loved this woman….

She had changed into a long white, body hugging dress and wrapped her flamenco scarf around her, tying it loosely in front. Her hair was piled high on her head, with a red rose stuck neatly into the bun. His eyes had just seen an angel, he thought, as she handed him a glass of wine. He was speechless, and so turned on at that moment, had could barely hold the wine glass. After a few marvelous minutes of looking at her, he finally found the words, ” Sanem, never have I seen anyone as breathtakingly beautiful as you,” he sputtered. She tried her best seductive smile, and bowed, thanking him for the compliment. He was still dumbfounded at the whole turn of events, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do next, eat the food, or devour her. They carried the food out to the blanket, where she had flowers and candles burning. He felt like he needed to go change himself, he seems to be totally underdressed for the occasion. She insisted he was fine just the way he was and waited anxiously for him to try the food. The first bite was taken with caution and a smile, but to his surprise with chicken was beyond delicious. She watched him happily, as he eagerly ate every bite, licking his lips with delight at the end of the meal. To say she was proud would have been an understatement, she had finally presented him with a meal worthy of eating, that made her feel like a woman. 

With the dinner a hit and him full and happy, she was content with watching the stars, lying in his arms. But Can had other ideas, it was all he could do to finish their meal before he ravished her like a crazed sex fiend. Her hair came down, the beautiful shawl was tossed aside, and the dress… well that was no match for Can Divit, when he had his mind set. His eyes burned into hers, ” My Sanem, my beautiful and most wonderful woman, what are you doing to me.” He growled lowly, as his lips grazed hers. ” I’m like a schoolboy doing it for the first time.” My mind is spinning and my heart is beating so hard it hurts.” She could feel it through his chest, pressed tightly against her, ” Can will it always be like this? She asks, ” I hope it will, because I do so love it, my love.” She whispered. It was late into the night when they finally retired to their bed, exhausted and ready for sleep.

The next day consisted of packing and readying the house to be closed down for a while. Of course, the long shower at the start of the day had taken up the biggest part of the morning, so by the time it was all done the sun was sitting, bringing the close of the final day there. It was so bittersweet for her, this place meant so much to her. She was liberated and claimed there, by the man she loved, making her stronger and more determined to have her happy life. She wouldn’t let anyone or anything come before him, or their love. It had taken her a long time to come to this realization, but now that she had, her heart was happy and content. Her thought was to take in all she could from this magical place, if she could bottle it and take it with her, she would. They laid on their blanket, watching the sun go down. His thoughts went to the first day he had seen this place, thinking how much she would love it. Everything he had done for the past 2 years was with her in mind, thinking only of her and their future. He knew that one day she would find him there and their love would be consummated in this very spot. Now they would take this direction of life for her, and when the time was right, they would come back to their home on the beach. 

As she watched the stars, her mind recalled the night she stayed with him in the hammock by the sea. How they fell asleep in each other’s arms, she never knew how much he would mean to her, or how much her heart would need him, until this moment.

He was her everything……. her Albatross.

Chapter 15

Can had stared at her for a few seconds, his face showing every emotion that could happen in a case like this, but the words wouldn’t come. Sanem smiled, ” Can, are you ok, so did you hear what I said? I’m going to have your baby… our baby. Her heart was slowly being to sink to the depths of despair, in fear he wasn’t as excited as she was about a child. But all within these seconds of silence, Can was reliving their life together, how they met, fell in love, how they hurt each other, and all of that to get to this moment. The crowning moment of his life…. this woman that he would die for, that he felt he didn’t deserve after all they had been through…. that he loved more than himself…. was giving him this gift of eternal love. Sanem turned away from him, her heart shattered, ” how would she make it through this if he wasn’t happy about it.” Her mind was saying to her heart. Was he not ready for a child yet… or did he not want any at all, but he had expressed the desire for children. She was confused.

His voice was low, but it broke the silence like an explosion, ” Sanem, don’t joke with me now…… are you sure? He muttered, his voice shaking. She looked at him, his eyes rimmed with tears, and filled with that look of love. ” Yes, Can they are sure. I’m sorry if you’re not happy about this, but this is always a consequence if you have sex.” She spewed, her tears of joy turning to tears of regret. Can closed his eyes, ” Not happy, why would I not be happy my love.” He whispered, ” There’s nothing more I would want in this lifetime, than to be a father to our children.” I truly am in shock, with all our troubles, it never occurred to me that I could be this happy to hear those words. ” I love you beyond himself, and to share a child with you is more than I deserve. She looked into his eyes, and her heart begin to recover, they were full of love, even more than ever before, her heart surrendered as his lips found hers. This kiss was more meaningful and tender than they had ever shared. ” He’s happy,” she thought, as the kiss lasted longer than she thought possible. It charged her soul with happiness and hope, this child would be born into a family of love and devotion. 

He held her in his arms, letting it all sink in, then the phone broke their bonding. ” It’s Mr. Huessin, l really should take this.” He said looking at her for approval. ” Of course, they may have news.” She stated, with anticipation. ” Hello, Mr Huessin, is there news.” The investigator had received an update, ” Yes, I hope so Mr. Divit, it seems your mother has returned to Istanbul.” He said. ” What, Istanbul, but why? She wasn’t supposed to ever return there.” He spouted. ” Yes, that’s right, but we received a call from your brother. This may be hard for you to hear, but nevertheless, I have to tell you.” Can swallowed hard, looking at Sanem he shook his head, ” Go ahead, what happened,” he said, not really wanting to hear anything about Emre. ” As you know, we learned the whereabouts of Huma from your brother, but it seems she had threatened him to gain information about you and your wife’s location.” He explained. ” She wanted to harm Mr. and Mrs. Aydin, Sanem parents, for ruining the lives of her sons.” So to protect his in-laws he told her where you were.”  Can rubbed his face hard, trying to wake himself from the nightmare he was hearing. ” Ok, but why had she gone back to Istanbul?” Can asked. Sanem covered her mouth with her hands, ” Huma went back to Istanbul.” She cried, why would she do that, she wondered. Mr. Huessin continued, ” When things here weren’t going quite as planned and she discovered that Aziz Divit had arrived here, she contacted Emre again and he convinced her that he would help her with whatever she had planned. So she flew back to Istanbul to get Emres help. But he called me, to report it all and put an end to her insane doings. I had four officers waiting for her went she exited the plane, they have arrested her and she is in custody.” He announced. 

Emre sat with his head in his hands, ” Where did this all go wrong.” He thought. “Why did Huma not want them to be happy, with the women they loved? He said, asking Metin as they waited for the officers to arrive with his mother. Metin tried to console him as best he could, but his main concern was with Can and Sanem. Their relationship had been strained, to say least, but this was also because of Huma Edamare, but Can was still his best friend and brother, so his loyalty would always lie with him. Emre would give his statement of the accounts that had been brought against his mother, the threat of physical harm to the Aydins and the other charges of tampering with medical records. If he was in some way guilty of conspiracy to the threat, then he was ready to except the charges as well. Huma had refused the opportunity to see her son, stating she had been ” greatly offended by the acquisitions against her from her sons,” and all the evidence had been fabricated. It was late in the day before Emre was allowed to leave the police station, he was clearly distraught, but he knew he did what had to be done. His mother needed help, but only if she would admit she did, would she be able to get it. He called Leila as he left, ” Tell mama and papa, they can relax. She is in custody, and no one has been harmed.” He said, his heart broken. Leila relayed the message to the parents, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. ” Emre, are you holding up ok.” Leila asked, hearing the hurt in her husbands voice. “No not really, but I will be fine.” Just years of trusting someone to be the person they portrayed, just to find out it was all a lie, it will take a while for me to come to terms with it.” He stated. ” I’ll be home soon, then we will call Can and Sanem together.” I have a lot of apologies to give, I just hope they can forgive me.” He said, his heart heavy. 

Can held Sanem’s hand as they drove home from the Drs. office. The silence was well deserved, as his mind wandered back to the childhood that was anything but normal. Sanem stayed quiet, letting his come to terms with it all. What a gamut of feelings that were surging through his body, it was almost like he was time traveling back to each disappointment in his life. But no more. He had a much brighter future than he had ever hoped for. The news of this baby would not be overshadowed by the sickness of Huma Edamare. 

” Sanem, do you want a boy or a girl first? He asked, out of the blue, his voice strong and determined. She smiled, how strong he was, she thought, ” I don’t know, maybe a boy, what do you think?” She said. ” A girl, I think, or maybe a boy… I don’t care, I just know I want this baby to live a life of continuous love and acceptance. 

“To never doubt the love from which they came,” he said, looking at her with his eyes of devotion.

Chapter 16

Huma had denied everything that had been leveled against her, ” All these charges are nonsense, utter nonsense, I want my lawyer here.” She demanded. Mr. Huessin agreed, ” Yes you are absolutely right, Ms. Edamare, you need your lawyer. I don’t want anything to go wrong here.” He stated, as he opened the thick file he already had on her. ” You may think you have evidence against me, but you don’t, they have all lied.” She shouted, her dark eyes fuming with anger. He smiled, ” Officer, take her back to her cell, we will wait until her lawyer gets her to continue.” He said, nodding to the guard. She jerked away from the officer, ” Excuse me, do not touch me, I will go of my own accord.” She spewed, spinning around and stomping away. She stopped, and looked back, ” May I have a visitor? I really need to see someone?” She asked, in a sweet, demure voice, smiling at the investigator. ” No, no visitors, just your lawyer.” He ordered, amazed at the change of demeanor. They lead her away. 

Aziz was up early the next morning, but not as early as Sanem, as he looked out the door, he saw she was sitting in her chair on the beach. This child has been through so much, he thought, how has she survived and still kept that innocent aire about her. Still so trusting and loving to all she knew. He slowly walked out to the beach, ” Sanem, are you ok? He asked softly, ” if you would prefer to be alone I………” “No daddy Aziz, come join me.” She offered, pointing to the other chair. He sat down beside her, quietly at first, waiting for her to open the conversation. ” You know, the first day I met you, I admired you, and Emre for that matter. You seemed so genuine, and from what I witnessed you loved your sons very much.” I wonder how you allowed your life to be entangled with Huma’s, did she trick you in some way, did she portray a lie to you also, to force you to marry her.” Sanem asked, still gazing out into the water. The question took Aziz by surprise, and made him wonder himself, how, or why did he let her in? ” Sanem, in the beginning Huma was not the same woman she is now, she of course, was always in demand of everyone’s attention, but she was very smart and dignified.” I at that time loved Mihriban, and Huma was painfully aware of that, she did everything she could to try and make me forget her, but my heart never left Mihriban. It was a short time after we married, that we had Can, and that seemed to make her happy for a while, but it quickly wore off.” He said, clearing his throat. Sanem could tell he was very uncomfortable talking about it, so she interrupted, ” Dad, you don’t need to disclose all the unhappy years with her, I’m just glad you and Mihriban are together and happy now.” she stated, touching his hand. He smiled at her, ” You are so much like my love Mihriban, she always protected my feelings too.” But if we are all honest here, I’m the one that has caused all this upheaval in your life.” I allowed Huma to be in our lives.” He said, lowering his head.

Can watched from the door, until his phone rang, ” Hello, Mr. Huessin, what’s the news?” He asked. ” Good morning Mr. Divit, things have progressed here, Ms. Humas lawyer has requested bail, but I’m hoping the judge will deny that request. And there has been another person that is willing to give information against Ms.Edamare, in exchange for some reduction on their prison time served.” He revealed. ” What, you mean someone that’s already in prison has had dealings with Huma.” He said, in shock. “Yes, in fact it was someone you put there, Enzo Fabri, did you have a knowledge of this? He asked Can. ” Fabri, how do you mean? What information.” Can asked, his heart beating fast. ” Don’t tell me Huma and Fabri were working together.” He spouted. Mr. Huessin had to tell him everything, ” Well, it seems that Huma was aiding one of Fabris accomplices, Aylin, to infiltrate the agency. Not sure yet, how much she helped, but Fabri seems to think it’s worth us looking into.” He said. Cans head was reeling, did she have her hand in everything that had harmed him over the past few years. Emres involvement wasn’t enough, he thought, and all of this to destroy his love for Sanem.  He was determined to get to the bottom of what this, find out why Emre wanted to hurt him, and why he lied about all of it. ” I need to ask Mr. Divit, have you spoken with you brother since yesterday? He asked. Can tried to concentrate, but the latest news had his head spinning, ” What? Have I spoken to him? No, I have not, and why would I.” He spewed, his anger lashing out. ” I need to disclose something to you, Huessin said, ” Emre Divit was the one that set the trap for Ms. Edamare and informed us that she would be arriving in Istanbul. That’s the only way we were able to apprehend her.” He explained. ” Let your brother give his account of what happened.” It’s not everything you think.” The investigator said.

Leila nudged Emre, ” My love, are you awake.” She asked quietly. ” Yes, Leila, I’m awake, haven’t slept all night.” He replied. ” We need to call Can and Sanem, I know it s still early there, but you need to talk to him.” She said. Emre shook his head, ” Ok, let me have some coffee, and I’ll call.” He said, feeling life it was his last day on earth. He knew his dad was there with Can so one call would seal his fate with them both. He brewed his coffee strong, taking a few sips before reaching for his phone. One ring and Can answered, ” Emre, why are you calling, I have nothing to say to you.” He blurted out, anger exuding from him. ” Abi, please let me explain, I need to tell you what happened.” he begged. Sanem pleaded to Can with her eyes, to let him explain. He finally agreed to listen, ” Abi, I have done these things that I’m very ashamed of, but I have changed. I was jealous of you, and your relationship with our father, which tainted my judgment.  He relied on you for everything, and I felt like he was pushing me aside. Huma always told me that papa only wanted you, went she left, telling her that I was weak and would never be able to uphold the Divit name.” Can cringed when he heard these words, just another example of how cruel his mother could be. Aziz listened to the confession along with Can and Sanem, saddened that he had allowed this woman to infect his children like that. Emre continued, ” When she revealed to me that she wanted to show the Aydins how much she despised them, by destroying their business and name in the community, I knew she would stop at nothing to hurt Sanem, and you. I did what I knew had to be done, she had to be stopped. So I told her I would help her, just to get her to come back her and away from Sanem. Please forgive me.” He begged.

The tears had filled his eyes, ” Emre, you have to give me time, this isn’t something I can except overnight.” He said calmly. But I’m standing here looking at our father and Sanem, both of which have already forgiven you, I can tell by the look on their faces. So feel lucky that they are both of a forgiving heart, or you would most definitely be a person that would remain in my past.” He uttered, his heart breaking to hear the words. 

” But Sanem thanks you for protecting her parents when we couldn’t, and we have news for them that might shift some of the negative and hurtful events to a more pleasant topic.” He said. Sanem would like to speak to MomMevkibe, if she’s there.” He stated, ready to reveal the happiest news they had had in a while. ” Yes Abi, they are all here, I’ll give her the phone.” And thank you for listening to me, I hope your heart will forgive me one day.” He uttered, his voice full of hurt. 

Can answered, ” Emre, there’s a lot of time left in our lives, let’s make the most of it, and try to heal ourselves. Learn from your mistakes.”

Chapter 17

Sanem was busy unpacking for them, and Can was making dinner. His phone pinged, signaling a text. It was Leila, it read, ” Can we need to talk.” Can you meet me tomorrow.” He replied, ” Yes, mid-morning, is that ok.” Leila asked him to come to the agency, without Sanem, and he agreed. Hurriedly putting his phone away before she would see the text. Leila wanted to talk to him about the proposal, trying to talk with Sanem around is like trying to hide candy from a child, she was sneaky if she thought you doing something behind her back. Sanem had a meeting with Kai at 10:00 the next morning, so he would drop her off and make the excuse of wanting to visit the agency for a little while and then come back to pick her up. He wanted the proposal to be perfect, but simple, and he had to find a ring, that too had to be perfect. 

Sanem came into the room while Can was deep in thought, ” Hey, she said, ” what’s the serious face for.” She asked. He jerked around, startled, ” Nothing my love, just thinking about all the traveling we going to be doing.” He said, giving her a smile. Sanem snuggled up against his chest, wrapping her arms around him, ” I know, it looks like we might be living out of a suitcase for a while, are you having second thoughts about going with me.” She asked with doubt in her voice. He hugged her up tighter, ” Not at all, you can’t run away from me this time, you’re stuck with me.” He assured her, kissing the top of her head. She smiled, melting into the body, smelling him, feeling his skin, it all made her feel so safe and loved. Her thoughts went back to the day she told him he should leave, that she was living her life on her own. How could she have done that, and living her life, she didn’t live, she just existed. For over 2 years she survived being alone, with only the thoughts of him and how she had been so wrong. Now it was different, she had to have him, with every fiber of her soul, and she wouldn’t deny him. 

He kissed her, ready to take it further, but she said, ” The dinner smells great, is it ready?” She asked. He rolled his eyes, ” Really, you’re ready to eat now?” She smiled, ” Yes, we have to keep up our strength, you know, for later. ” She stated with a wink, scratching his beard with her finger. He loved for her to do that, it got that heat simmering way down deep inside him, that heat that would soon turn to a raging fire set to engulf them both. He couldn’t wait until dinner was over…… As they were enjoying the last of their dinner, he saw his dad and Mihriban walking their way. With the whole house being glass, it was impossible to hide, so all he could do was wave and motion for them to come in. They seemed so happy to have them there, he couldn’t refuse them their company. They cleared the dishes and offer to brew tea, which they accepted, all the while, Can reliving the interruption from his dad that morning. He loved his father and Mihriban, but he had gotten so use to being alone with Sanem, he didn’t want to change. He sat sipping his tea, his dad was explaining about a new client at the agency, all very trivial to him right now. His mind was on other things, ” This place is way too busy, I don’t know if I can take this or not.” Maybe I should make a big, ” do not disturb ” sign and hang on the door, one that lights up.” He thought, shaking his head and smiling, as if he was listening to what his dad was saying.

Sanem excused herself from the room for a minute, with her gone Mihriban quizzed Can on the upcoming proposal, ” Do you have a plan yet, on how you’re going to ask her.” She asked. ” Yes, soon, I’ll fix a wonderful dinner, then set up a beautiful area by the fire pit, with some pillows and blankets, and lots of candles. We can spend the night right there, after she accepts my offer. He said proudly, his face beaming. ” I will probably need your help in sitting it up, if that’s ok” He asked Mihriban. She covered her face with her hands, so excited, ” Of course, anything you need, just let me know.” she said. Can had to make something quite clear, ” I will be sure everyone knows when it’s happening, so we don’t get interrupted, you know. I want it to be special.” He said winking at his dad. His dad smiled, giving him a thumbs up, as Sanem reentered the room.

Aziz and Mihriban made their excuses to leave, both unable to hide their excitement of what was to be. They hurried off across the yard towards their house, almost jumping for joy. How long he had waited for his son to be happy, and it was finally going to happen, and with the woman he couldn’t love more if they were his own child. His dad and Mihriban had hardly disappeared from sight went the lights went out and he lead Sanem to the bedroom. He took her hand and pulled her to the bed. ” You’re not getting away from me tonight, we have a lot to make up for.” He said with demand. She giggled, ” Is that right, are you referring to this morning, when we were so rudely interrupted.” She asked. He shook his head, ” Exactly, my love, I have to finish that one and then all the other times that have come to my mind today.” Are you ready for it.” He asked, whispering in her ear as he fumbled with the buttons on the jean shorts. Her thoughts became serious, ” I’m always ready my love, all it takes is that look from you.”  His eyes sparkled with fire, ” What look is that?” he asked still struggling to remove her shorts. ” That look,” she answered, ” like you’re going to attack and devour in an instant.”… My god Can, let me do it. ” She spouted impatiently, helping him strip off her pants. He was out of his clothes in record time, smothering her body with his. Her skin was like velvet against him, warm, and soft. Every inch of his body was covered in goosebumps, and his muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, as they jumped and flexed at will. Her hands ran down his back, stroking him, caressing his butt in her hands as he moaned with pleasure. She had a magical effect on him, she took him places he had never been, he found a new height of desire with each time, as he explored her inside and out. How had he lived his life until now without her? There had been no one before her that could compare, she was his soul, and they were made to be together.  Never had he felt that more than that moment, as he reached his climax of love for her. 

Together they satisfied each other, this was love, their love, a love that was forever.

Chapter 18

They borrowed his dad car and drove into the city for her meeting with Kai. He walked her in and stayed just long enough to say hello to Kai and thank him for giving them back their life. If it hadn’t been for him taking that step, and forcing Sanem to listen to her heart, there’s not much telling where they would be now. Can told her he would be back in a couple of hours to pick her up, he would go to the agency to check things out there. He drove to the agency, everything seemed the same, still the hustle and bustle of this fast-paced office, he hadn’t missed it at all. But he did the people, CeyCey and Deren, and a few others that had become like family to him. He found Leila right away, as soon as he entered the doors. She ran to greet him, ” Can, welcome, I’m so glad to see you.” She exclaimed. ” Did Sanem suspect anything by you coming here.” She asked. Can greeted her with a hug, ” No, not at all, I just have to be back to pick her up in a couple of hours.” They walked on into the office, everyone was voicing their hellos, and waving. CeyCey ran to greet his friend that he had missed so much. They had a special bond, that had lasted the test of time. Deren was glad to see him as well, hoping he was there to return to work, but he set her straight immediately, telling everyone he was home just to support Sanem with the next step in her book promotion. 

Everyone was glad to hear about Sanem and the popularity of her second book. Asking why she hadn’t come with him, he explained about her meeting. Emre came out of his office to welcome his brother as well. The relationship was strained but they both were willing to work out their differences. Emre invited him into this office and closed the door, ” Abi, I’m glad you came, we have so much to talk about.” He stated. Can agreed, but first he needed to talk with Leila, to get the plan rolling for the proposal. ” I have most of the that plan done in his mind,” he told her, ” I’m going to fix a wonderful meal, and Mihriban will help me decorate the garden with candles and such.” Very romantic, then I will pop the question.” He said smiling. Leila wanted to help, begging him to give her a task to work on, ” I can come and help you cook,” she announced, letting him know she was a fair cook, a lot better than Sanem. Can nicely refused her offer, insisting he wanted to prepare all the food himself, but she could help him by taking Sanem away from the house for a few hours on that day, so could get everything ready. She agreed and excepted her duties as a big sister. Emre asked what he could do to help, Can explained, ” Emre, I need you to help me decide on a ring, I don’t have time for a custom ring, so show me your favorite jewelry store, and we can pick one from there. Emre agreed and was thankful for the chance to help them on this step of their journey. 

Leila suggested she take Sanem to look for a new dress to wear on the talks show, so they would have time to shop for a ring without her getting suspicious. She would be on the show on Tuesday, the next day, and then Thursday they would travel to Izmir to appear there. So it had to be done on Wednesday night. The schedule was tight, so everything had to be simple but elegant. The plan was made, he would go pick Sanem up from her meeting and they would meet with Leila at the office. The couples would each go their separate ways, Can and Emre would find a ring, and Leila and Sanem would find a dress. Then they would meet later at the farm and have dinner together. It would be a good time for Emre and Sanem to start mending their broken trust. ” Can, I hope you will forgive me for what I have done to Sanem, and to you for that matter.” He begged. “Our mother did a number on both of us, but most of all she hurt Sanem intentionally, and I should have stood up to her, but I was weak and let her influence me.” Those days are gone and so is she, and I hope Sanem will let me make it up to her.” We are family, more than once, when you two get married.” he said with a sadness in his voice. Can excepted the apology and hugged his brother, ” Now just tell Sanem what you told me and mean it, and everything will be fine.” He said. This would be their fresh start, Sanem had been through enough because his family, it was time to right the wrong his mother had done….

The plan worked flawlessly, Sanem and her sister went shopping, and him and Emre hurried to the jewelry store. He was shown nearly every ring in the store, but they just weren’t what he considered special. Finally, the owner came out with a tray of one-of-a-kind rings, made from different gem stones, some opals, some emerald and even a sapphire. That one caught his eye, it was a brilliant deep blue with some tiny specks of silver, almost like diamond dust, splattered through it. It took his breath away. It was just one stone, in an oval setting, with a cluster of small diamonds on either side the stone, set on a wide silver band. So different, he had never seen anything like it before. It was one of a kind. He guessed on the ring size, according to size of his pinky finger. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Thinking back on the ring he had made out of the moonstone; it didn’t compare to this. Although he knew she still had that ring, he was happy to replace it with this one, and start a new page in their love. He made the purchase, and him and Emre headed back to the farm, the girls would take a taxi when they had found the perfect dress for Sanem. 

Can had started dinner for the four of them, and when Sanem and Leila arrived, they all joined together to finish it. Moving the food to the table outside, they ate and talked like nothing had ever happened in their lives. None of the lies, deceit, or blackmail, all those things that had been brought on my Emre. She had to let her heart forgive, that’s what she had told Can, now she needed to take her own advice and apply it to herself. Her sister meant so much to her, she wouldn’t let this hurt them anymore. So her family was whole again, all the things wrong had been made right again.

She had the man she wanted……she didn’t have any room in her heart to hold on to the hurtful things that had caused her so much pain….

She just had love… love for him.

Chapter 19

Their day started early, 6:00am, off to the tv station for the first of the interviews they had planned for her. Can was happy to escort her to all of these events, proudly walking alongside her. She was just as happy and proud, as the heads of every woman turned as they walked by. These two books were of their live and love, it meant so much to her that people had taken so much interest in the life they had led, all the tears and the joy. The intimacy of reading someone else’s mind written on paper, and having it move them to the point of wanting more, there is no better compliment. Her words had been an expression of all her pain and joy, and allowing people to read her inner most thoughts, wasn’t easy. Although the interview only last about 10 minutes, it felt like an eternity to her. Everyone was shaking her hand and telling her how great she was, but she felt she did terrible. Can was smiling ear to ear, when she came off the set, ” You were terrific, my love.” You were born for the camera,” He boasted. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, ” I hate it, I don’t even know what I was saying half the time.” She blurted. Can hugged her saying, ” You’ll get used to it, then we won’t be able to drag you off the set.” He joked. 

By the time they got home she had calmed down and was ready to eat. They fixed a bite and snuggled up together on the sofa. Can was still going on about how well she had done on the interview, making her self-conscious, ” Can, really that’s enough, it wasn’t that good,” She said. He quickly disagreed, ” Yes, Sanem you were great, wait and see what the ratings will be, then you’ll see. Can had all the plans made the big night on Wednesday, Leila would take her off to visit her parents, while him and Mihriban got everything ready at the house. He would fix her a fabulous meal and have a glass of wine, then the big question, that is if he could wait that long. He had planned an early dinner, because they would fly out for Izmir on an early flight the next day. He wanted to have plenty of time to celebrate their engagement. 

Late that evening Mevkibe called Sanem, begging her to come for a visit the next day. With all the traveling for the book, they wouldn’t have much time to see her. She agreed, and Leila would come and pick her up to take her to the neighborhood. She asked Can to come but he gave a little white lie, of working with his dad on a project for a client. She was quite surprised he had taken on anything for the agency but excepted his answer. His plot was being executed to the fullest, and everyone was playing their part. After talking to her mother, she laid down on the sofa next to him, he pulled her in, ” So what kind of help are you giving your dad, I don’t want you to get involved in a campaign and not be able to go with me.” She said with her lips pouted. Can rubbed her back, leaned in and kissed her neck, ” Not a chance, my dear. It’s just a small matter, it shouldn’t take long at all. I will be home when you get home.” His words comforted her, and she kissed his bare chest, ” Thank you, sweetheart. Shall we go to bed? I feel the need to be behind closed doors.” She hinted devilishly. She lead him to the bedroom, he loved it when she took control, he never knew what was going to happen. What do you call that, ” fear of the unknown?” That was a fear that he could live with forever.

He woke the next morning with Sanem still laying on top of him, they had been so exhausted, they both fell asleep in their last position. He gently slid her to the side and made his way to the bathroom, she had done a number on him the night before, his muscles aches and he was stiff. He smiled reliving her full on assault of him, how his mild and meek Sanem could turn into the sultry tigress, when she wanted to. He was completely at her mercy, when she was in control. He showered and started breakfast, this was “the” day, his plan had been a success. Sanem woke to the smell of food, she stretched, smiling at the thoughts of last night. She was quite proud of herself, she had rendered him speechless and he had melted like butter in a hot skillet, begging for more. She took a quick shower, twisting her hair up in a bun, still wet, she wrapped towel around her and waltzed into the kitchen. Can smiled ” Sanem, breakfast is almost ready, are you hungry.” He asked. She hopped up on the counter next to the stove, ” Of course, I’m always hungry.” She replied. He moved over in front of her, she draped her arms around his neck, her smell had already stimulated him, he took a deep breath, ” My god, you are so beautiful, but let’s save some of this energy for tonight.” He whispered. She sighed, ” Ok, but I’m not going to guarantee the same results.” She teased. He kissed her lips licking and biting them, ” Well I’ll take whatever you have then, but if it’s anything like last night, you might have to call an ambulance.” He grunted. She laughed, and jumped down from the counter, ” Ok let me go get dressed, and I’ll help you finish breakfast.” She said. Now he knew it was going to be torture waiting until tonight, but this night would be even more special. 

They devoured the breakfast and cleaned the kitchen. Leila was to be there shortly to pick her up, and Can was still playing his role of helping his dad by leaving first and walking to his house. When Sanem left they would set everything else in motion. Leila was to have her back home by 5:00, Can would be waiting for her. They were gone by 1:00, so Can and Mihriban hurried about making everything ready, she decorated the small garden with flowers and candles. She laid out a blanket and pillows, there was lights hung from the trees to set a glow over the area. It looked perfect, and the dinner smelled wonderful. The day was turning to evening when Sanem returned, her eyes lit up as she saw the garden and all the decoration, ” What have you done Can,” she asked with a smile. ” I have made my beautiful woman a delicious meal, are you ready to eat.” He asked. She loved surprises, so this was just what she needed. The meal was exceptional, but she noticed that Can was nervous and hardly touched his food, ” My love what’s wrong, you seem upset about something.” She asked. ” No, not at all.” He replied. ” Ok man, it’s now or never,” he heard his head say. All the romantic and beautiful things he had written in his mind, disappeared, as he stared into her face. His eyes darkened with desire, as his heart pumped hard in his chest, ” Sanem, you are my most wonderful gift,” He said softly, ” We have outlasted all the tests of the universe, and still we have remained as one. ” I love you with all my heart and soul.” Will you marry me.” He asks, with a smile slowly spreading across his face. He opened the ring box to reveal the gorgeous ring, she gasped, ” Can, it’s exquisite, I love it.” She gazed into his eyes, full of tears,” Can there’s nothing that would complete my life more, than to be your wife. ” Marry you? Yes. A thousand times yes.” She answered as her own tears rolled down her face.

She watched him place the ring on her finger, her heart fast, and she had a hard time breathing. This time it would happen, no looking back, only forward.

Chapter 20

She said “yes,” his mind was jumping for joy, this time there would be no running away or hiding their feelings. No more denying each other’s love, they had been so stupid in the past. Their passion and desire rose quickly and firmly, with him slipping the straps of her dress off her shoulders. He was glad to see she had worn a loose one piece sundress, making it easy to remove. She shimmied out of it, letting it pool around her waist. She was unbuttoning his shirt as he roamed over her body with his eyes. Such perfection, he thought, she was soft and smooth, her skin bronzed from the sun. ” Do we want to go inside Can?” She asked as he laid her back on the blanket. ” No, I have warned everyone to leave us to our privacy tonight,” He mumbled as he unbuttoned his jeans, pushing and wiggling until he was out of them. She smiled at how skilled he was, stripping with just one hand and the other hand caressing her. With them both free of their clothes, he brought an array of kisses, covering her body with his lips. She accepted all he was, he made her feel alive. She felt charged with electricity, as her body became covered with goosebumps, his hands moving all over her body making her crazy. 

He always wanted to bring her to the height of her desire, before joining her as one. But this time, it was hard to wait, as she moaned and called his name. He responded quickly, as she coaxed him to join in. How they were able to last that long was unbelievable, as they fell apart from each other, breathless and covered in sweat. They had survived hours of heated desire, when they finally slipped into a content sleep. They woke up as the sun started to rise. Happy to be in each other’s arms, she smiled as she looked at her hand, sporting a beautiful sapphire ring. ” No it wasn’t a dream,” she thought, ” He did ask her to marry him.” He was so handsome, lying there with his hair free and flowing across the blanket. She ran her fingers through it, making him stir, she kissed his cheek, making him open his eyes, ” Good morning my love.” She said. He smiled, ” Good morning, shall we get married today.” Her eyes squinted, ” Married, today, is that what you had in mind.” She asked. He rolled over on top of her, ” Yes, that’s exactly what I have in mind.” I’m ready to make this legal, make us legal.” He stated as his eyes made her tingle. 

” Can we cant get married today, we have to fly to Izmir today.” She told him. Shifting her eyes from his, avoiding that convincing twinkle he had in his eyes. ” Well, we can swing by the marriage hall on our way to the airport, it shouldn’t take long.” He spouted, all of sudden wanting to do just that. “How wonderful would that be, arriving in Izmir as husband and wife, that would be the talk of the talk show.” He thought. What better way to announce it to the world than that? She shook her head, ” Can, we can’t, our parents would be furious with us.” She explained. He hung his head, he looked like he had lost his last friend, ” Can, stop, you’re not seriously trying to trick me now.” She said. Can smiled, “Ok, but as soon as we are back from Izmir, we are having a wedding.” He demanded. She smiled, agreeing with his plan, ” Yes, as soon as we return, we can have a simple ceremony, here in the garden.” Just our families and close friends.” She spouted with excitement. They gathered everything from the garden and took it to the house, ready to pack and be on their way to the airport. They had a 11:00 flight so they had to get moving, no more sidetracks. She had already packed most of her things, and the same for Can. Just pack the last-minute essentials, grab a quick bite, and head for the airport, but not before she called her sister and parents to report the happy news. ” Abla, get ready for a wedding, as soon as we return from Izmir.” She reported. We you help me plan it?”  She asked. Leila agreed with happiness, ready to make it all happen. Aziz and Mihriban both received a text from Can of nothing more than, ” She said YES,” with a thumbs up.

It was a quick flight, getting them there in plenty of time to make reservations at a nice restaurant. Kai was arriving on a later flight, so they would have some alone time. He couldn’t believe they were really engaged; he had dreamed of it so much over the past 2 years he felt like it was unreal. But dreams do come true, or so the story goes. She had to on the set by 7:00 am so they planned a early dinner, and early to bed. The hotel was beautiful, and centrally located, a short taxi ride to the restaurant. How romantic everything seemed, just with Can there. Their lives were perfect for the first time in years. The early to bed was an understatement, as they laid completely exhausted in each other’s arms. She had missed a call from Kai, just letting it go to voicemail. She had blocked out everything except Can, nothing else seemed to be that important. They had only a short time for sleep, as her alarm was set for 5:30. Maybe Can coming along had been a misjudgment on her part, she thought with amusement, as she rushed to get ready. He was definitely a distraction, but a very handsome distraction. 

This show was of a larger market, reaching a lot more stations. She had been welcomed with open arms, and even more so when they realized the gentleman escorting her was the character in her book. The interview took on a whole different spin, with them insisting that Can set in on the interview. He was more than reluctant, and the same with Sanem. Was this the right time to reveal who the albatross character was in her book. But the damage had already been done, with the steady clicking of the cameras capturing the couple. There were lots of questions about their, “now,” lives together, what relationship they had and what the readers could expect with a possible 3rd book. All these questions seem to bombard them, leaving them ready to escape from the camera. Kai was trying to troubleshoot for them, but the questions kept coming, causing quite a scene. They managed to dodge all the personal questions, at least for the time being, making Kai’s job a bit more difficult. Taking a taxi back to the hotel, they had a couple of hours before their flight back to Istanbul. They were both in shock over the events, ” Can, what happened, they forgot all about the book and just went straight to our personal lives.” She spouted, upset with whole thing. ” Maybe you should just make a statement about our engagement, that might make it a lot less dynamic.” He suggested. She would talk to Kai, and get his advice…..

Had this been a wrong move, maybe the talks show tour was bad idea. Kai was more than sympathetic of the situation, telling her she couldn’t separate her personal life from the book, if the book was about the two of them. But how would she be able to live a life away from it all…. she couldn’t. 

All the way home to Istanbul, she thought of their home on the beach, how she wished she was there… away from all the questions. Her heart wanted to be there… home.

Chapter 21

Her face carried the problems of the day, he could see she had it all running though her mind. When she saw him staring at her, she tried to hide it, smiling and laying her head on his shoulder. But he knew her all too well, this was filling her mind with doubt. ” Sanem, please don’t worry about it so much, it’s just a local tv show, you don’t have to tell them anymore than what you want to.” He assured her. They took the taxi home, Kai phoned as they arrived, ” Sanem, how are you, I think I smoothed everything over, but they really want to know about your’s and Can’s life now. So you might want to make some kind of announcement about your engagement, so they will get back to the book”. He said. ” Do you really think they will, by just announcing our engagement.” I didn’t want to drag all of our personal life into it.” She said. ” Honey, the book is your personal life, so that’s what they want.” He explained. ” It’s totally up to you, what you do, but an announcement seems the only way.” 

Planning a wedding had taken a backseat to the publicity of the last talk show, and how to proceed from here. She wanted to get back to their life, the wedding and their happiness. Can was willing to do whatever she wanted, but he didn’t want to wait on their wedding. So they continued on with the plans. Sanem thought it would blow over in a few days then, and they would be old news. The next day Kai canceled the next appearance, claiming a scheduling conflict, so they would have time for their wedding and to make a decision of how to continue. She forced herself not to think about it and focus only on the wedding. That evening they were snuggled together in bed, talking over the events of the next few days. In three days they were getting married, Leila and Mihriban had taken care of almost everything, so Sanem could worry about other things. The book promotion had taken the fun out of the most important thing in her life. She had vowed not to let anything, or anyone, come between them again. Can felt the tension from her, as he held her. ” My love, try to relax, our wedding is right around the corner, and I want you to enjoy it all.” He kissed her lips, lingering there tasting her, making her heart pound. He could make her forget anything, all but him and the feelings that he stirred inside her. She relaxed with his touch, welcoming that tingling sensation that started at her toes and traveled all the way to her head. This is all she wanted or needed in her life, but how could she turn her back on her career. If she was forced to choose, Can would win, hands down, every time. So maybe that was her answer, Can…..

The next morning she took a taxi to the city to meet her sister and her mom. Time to get her wedding dress, the last thing on the list of things to do. After the second bridal shop, she was beginning to get worried she wouldn’t find the dress she wanted. She pictured it in her head, a silk, close fitting dress, with thin straps. A fitted bust line with a little embellishment, just simple and elegant. She would wear her hair up, to show off her neck and shoulders. No veil, she wanted to be able to see Can as she walked down the aisle towards him. But would she be able to find that dress, she hoped she would. The next shop was a small shop with a limited selection, but the minute she walked in her eyes were drawn to a dress on display. It was almost an exact replica of what she had described, with the exception of the straps. The straps were wide and covered with tiny crystals, and the same crystals outlined the fitted neckline. It so resembled what she had in her mind that it was almost scary. She had to try it on. The fit was almost exact, just a little in at the bust and it was perfect. They assured her the alterations would be done by the next day and be ready for pickup. She was walking on clouds as she took a taxi home. She hadn’t once thought about her book or anything about the promotion. Her mind was happy and content thinking about the wedding. Can wasn’t home when she arrived, but let a note, ” I have gone for a run, you rest, and we’ll fix dinner when I get back.” Love you.” How sweet, she thought, as she kicked off the shoes, ready to do just that…. rest. She opened her laptop to check her emails, and browse a little, when a picture of her and Can popped up on an entertainment page. It was a picture from the talk show in Izmir, it said they were the couple from the bestselling book, ” The Phoenix and the Albatross ” by Sanem Aydin. She was shocked, they had printed it without knowing the whole story. She was embarrassed for Can, up until now, no one knew his name, but now everyone would know. She was engrossed in her computer and never even heard him come in, ” Bebek, I’m home.” He said as he leaned down and kissed her neck. She jumped at his touch, ” Oh Can, you scared me.” She yelled. He laughed, ” What are you looking at?” He asked. She shoved the laptop at him saying, ” Look, it’s on the entertainment page, our picture.” She shouted. He looked, shook his head, ” Ok, so, it’s not a bad picture is it.” He stated. ” But now everyone knows you where the albatross of my book,” She exclaimed. He smiled, ” Sanem, it’s fine, everyone can know, I’m not ashamed, are you.” He asked. ” You’re ok with it?” She said. ” Yes, my love, it was bound to come out sooner or later, it’s fine.” He assured her. 

She was still upset with it all, as they fixed dinner, ” So, do you think we need to make an announcement of our wedding.” She asked him. He thought a minute, ” I think it would be fitting to answer all of this with a picture from our wedding, and a explanation of how our love withstood some of the toughest obstacles that a love could have, and still it won.” She smiled. ” That would be beautiful, and so true.” She said hugging him, thankful to have him and his love. She would call Kai and run it by him. That could possibly be the best idea yet, but the rest of their lives would be just theirs, no book. He agreed, their happy beginning, would be the end. The evening was warm and balmy, as they lounged on the blanket in the garden. “Two more days,” she said, ” Then I will be your wife.” Then you will never get rid of me.” She teased, rubbing his beard with her fingers. He sighed, ” I can’t wait to be stuck with you forever.” He said. He rolled over on top of her, ” My love, you are all my heart desires, don’t ever doubt that.” He whispered.

She felt her heart skip a beat, ” Can, let’s go home, I’m ready to go back to our home on the sea…

Her heart longed for that small cottage…. where their love would live forever….

Chapter 22

“Home? You want to go home.” What about the rest of the appearances for the book?” Can asked with concern. ” I’m not sure, but I know I want to start off our life as husband and wife there, in our home. This place was my safe harbor, The place I felt safe without you.” She explained. ” I don’t need that anymore, there’s so much more that our cottage means to me that my heart belongs there.” She said with tears in her eyes. His eyes were glistening with the tears that had formed there, ” I understand, but I don’t want you do something you’ll be sorry for later, then you can’t go back and fix it. You may not get another chance with your book, but just know, I support you in whatever you decide.” He said, gently kissing her lips and wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She laid her head on his chest, ” My love, I don’t want anything to stand between us, especially the book of our love.” From now on what I write will be just for us, for our eyes only, our hearts and souls.” And when we’ve grown old and having a hard time remembering, all we have to do is read it, and we will feel it again.” She whispered to him, feeling their strength mold together, as he stroked her hair. 

His heart was happy, just to hear those words, “grow old together.” How much time they had lost, letting other people try and destroy what they had. Now was their time, so if going back to the place he had bought with her in mind, was what she wanted, then that’s what they would do. But first there would be a wedding. Nothing could be more perfect, then to be united, as one, in the place that had separated them. They stayed on that blanket all night, enjoying each other and their love, free to show their love openly and willingly. The next morning she was up early, making the last minute plans for the party after the ceremony. There had to be food, so she called her favorite caterer, she was going over the menu when Can came in from his run. ” Food, do we need that much, let’s just have cake and let everyone be on their way,” He said wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close, ” So we can move on to better things.” He whispered in her ear, sending a chill down her back. ” As good as that sounds my dear, that’s not what we have planned.” She said, giving him her stern look. With the food taken care of and Leila had the cake ordered, next was the music. She knew CeyCey was famous for his DJ skills, so he would be in charge of the music. Mevkibe and Mihriban had their hearts set on decorating the garden for the ceremony. The wedding was at 7:00, just before the sunset. They had lanterns and lights to string around the trees. Can didn’t want a long ceremony, just a few words from them both and then the ring. He had purchased a solid band to go with the sapphire engagement ring for the wedding. It had the same small diamond that were clustered around the sapphire stone, lined along the band. Sanem still had to pick up Can’s band, she had chosen a black Onyx band, it was a beautiful ring. She chose it because of the meaning of an Onyx stone, it meant eternal commitment as well as strength and power, both described Can perfectly. She couldn’t wait to place it on his finger and show the world how much she loved and adored this man.

As she went over her list of things yet to do, she got a call from Kai. ” Hello Kai, how are you.” She said. ” I hope you’re not calling with a problem,” she stated, ” but I am glad you called.”  Kai laughed, ” Well I don’t know if you would call it a problem, but I do have something to talk to you about.” He announced. She sighed, ” Me too, so who’s going first.” She asked. Kai took the liberty telling her the sales of her book had jumped almost double, since her and Can had appeared on the talk show. There had been some offers from other Entertainment channels for their story. ” What have you decided to do my friend, everyone is waiting for the word.” He stated. ” Can and I have made a decision, well actually, I made the decision and Can agreed.” After the wedding, we will make a statement, announcing our marriage. We will supply a wedding picture and a brief explanation, that I will retire from writing, and thank them for supporting us and respecting our privacy.” Kai was stunned, ” Are you sure you want to do this, your popularity is at its peak now, especially with the appearance of Can.” He explained. She took a deep breath, ” Kai, I know I have put up you in a tough situation, but that’s exactly why I have made this decision. ” From the beginning, they only knew me in the book, now they know Can is my albatross. Our joy, happiness, and the pain of our love was spread out like a feast, for them to devour. But I don’t want that for our future. Now they will know how that story will end, with our marriage. That will be our last chapter to that story, a wedding picture, showing we passed the test of fate and our love won.” She told him. ” I’m sorry to do this to you, but the rest of our story will be just that, our story.” Kai replied, ” You have nothing to be sorry for, if I were you, I would do the same. ” So you won’t be making any more public appearances on behalf of your book?” He asked.  Sanem explained, ” No, I have made my last appearance, after the wedding, I only want to be known as Sanem Divit, and live in our cottage by the sea. Nothing will make me happier.” She said, hoping he would understand. 

Kai did understand, he knew how much she had been through, and how much she sacrificed for her story. So now let them live for themselves, without a reason or doubt, just love. 

Can listened to her conversation with Kai, so proud of her for protecting them, and their love. ” I can’t wait to start our lives as one… in our little cottage on the beach… may it soon be filled with the laughter of our children.

Chapter 23

The sun was barely making an appearance when Can laced up his running shoes and headed out the door. Sanem was still sleeping, so his intentions were to do his running, stop by and check in with Mihriban on the wedding preparations, and then get back home to start breakfast. All he cared about was taking care of her, being with her, enjoying her and their life. After breakfast she would more than likely shoo him out to spend the rest of the day to his dads’ house, until time for the Ceremony. His run was invigorating, stimulating his already overactive nerves. This would probably be the longest day of his life. He arrived at his dads, ready to enjoy some tea, and visit. The decorations were being handled by Mihriban and Mevkibe, so he knew they would be beautiful and special, but they were keeping them a secret from the couple. 

His dad had arranged for Emre to come along with Leila about mid-morning, so he could spend time with his sons. He was taking them to the pier, for a late lunch and a couple of drinks, before the wedding. If he knew his son, he would be a bundle of nerves, and be ready for a distraction. The ladies were getting help from Deren and Leila, so everything would be on schedule and on time to help Sanem get ready for the wedding. Sanem opened her eyes, lying there a minute letting her mind think about what this day would bring. She smiled, ” My wedding day, I can’t believe it’s finally here.” She spoke out loud. All the heartache and pain of the past 4 years seemed to disappear, ” Maybe that was our fate, she had to go through all the lives of the Phoenix to rise again and be happy. Had she done it, faced all of her trials, now to live forever with her albatross. She jumped out of bed, quickly gathered Can a change of clothes, and the clothes he had picked out to wear that night, his small bag with everything he would need to get ready with and set them outside the door with a note, ” Here’s everything you’ll need for the day,” I will see you tonight.” I LOVE YOU.” She didn’t want to see him until the ceremony, when her dad would talk her across the garden and present her to him. Her heart had a thousand butterflies fluttering about, making her giddy.

Can jogged from his dads to their house, stopping abruptly, as he saw his bag sitting there and his clothes draped over the bag. ” What’s this, he wondered, ” is she kicking me out already.” I didn’t even get to fix her breakfast.” He took his phone and called her, ” Hello my one and only, what’s all this stuff doing on the doorstep, are you tired of me already.” He asked jokingly. ” Ah, Can, my sweetheart, we need to stay apart for the rest of the day, I don’t want your eyes to see me until I’m coming to you to be your wife.” She said in her best sexy voice. He was disappointed, but knew she meant what she said. He gathered his things and started to his dads; how would he be able to make it through the day. They hadn’t been apart since him and Miguel took the boat on that job, and nearly got swallowed up by the sea. He arrived at his dads just as Emre and Leila got there, she dropped him off, waved at Can and started towards Sanem’s house. Aziz was glad to be able to spend these last few hours with Can, before he took the biggest step in his life. This had been a long time coming and he couldn’t have been happier for them both. 

Sanem was taking her time preparing for the evening, doing all the little things to make her look her best. Leila knocked on the door, ” Sanem, open the door, I’m here.” She yelled. Sanem ran to open the door, ” Abla, welcome, come in.” She said. ” Why the locked door, are you trying to keep Can out.” She said laughing. They both laughed, knowing the statement was true. “Yes, I don’t want to see him today, so I set his things out and locked the door.” She stated. Leila asked, ” What’s on the agenda for the day,” have you eaten yet.” She asked. ” No, not yet, have you.” Leila replied she hadn’t, so they decided to make the first thing on the list…. food. They tried to eat, but her nerves had Her stomach churning. By early afternoon, Mevkibe and Mihriban we’re rushing about in the garden, busily turning the already beautiful place into a magical wonderland, filled with flowers and lights. Leila and Deren had also joined in to help. 

Aziz had takenCan and Emre to the pier for lunch, just to get Can away for a bit, he had been pacing impatiently for hours, waiting for the moment to arrive. He was quite amused at his son, the strong, independent, and for the biggest part of his life, solitary man, had been changed into a caring, needing and loving man by this woman. And he couldn’t have more pleased. With all that their relationship had endured, and for it to be as strong still, their souls had been born for each other. Aziz had tried to keep him away as long as possible, but Can was insisting on returning to get ready. With all the decorations and lights in place, the food had been set out on the tables, the cake arranged at the center, it was time to get ready. Sanem stood, looking at her dress as Leila rushed in, ” Abla, come on, it’s time, let me help you with your dress.” She spoke. Sanem was smiling, ” I never thought this day would come Abla, she said softly, ” my heart had almost given up.” But Can never did.” Do you know when he found his house there on the beach, he knew I would love it and that’s why he bought it, knowing I would find him there one day.” “And I did.” She said. She didn’t know how a heart could love so much, but hers did, without any hesitation or doubt. They both had tears ready to fall, but Leila quickly changed the subject, not wanting to ruin their makeup. “Oh Sanem you should see the garden, it’s gorgeous, you’re going to love it.” She announced. ” Here, let’s get you dressed,” she said, ” it’s almost time.”

Can, Emre and their dad walked the short distance to the garden, they all gasped when they saw the transformation that had been done there. Can’s mind was spinning, this was going to happen, no one could stop them now…….

His nerves had calmed, this seemed to be the most natural thing he had ever done. He stood there underneath the arbor, waiting, waiting for his heart and soul, his life, his love…

Chapter 24

CeyCey had picked the best music for the ceremony. Soft, romantic music, for her to walk in to, then songs to dance to later. The sun was quickly disappearing, letting the hundreds of lights that twinkled in the trees, dance magically with the music. Everyone was waiting for her appearance, most of all Can. His heart was in his throat, tears rimmed his eyes, the love of her was overwhelming and powerful at that moment. Nihat knocked on her bedroom door, “Sanem, are you ready, it’s time.” He spoke softly, not wanting to believe it himself. His youngest daughter would now belong to someone else. Leila called out, ” Give us one minute dad, she’s almost ready.” Sanem was attaching her crown of flowers in her hair. They were small white daisies, just like the ones she had made and wore, that day of the photo shoot at his house. She had found the picture that Can had taken that day of her, in a box on top of his dresser in his cottage. It was folded, and worn, but he had kept it. When she found it that day, she knew just how much he loved her, and he would for the rest of his life. 

She took one last look in the mirror, all the nerves were gone. She turned to Leila, ” Well, how do I look, am I presentable” she asked with a smile. Leila covered her face, ” Sanem, you look absolutely gorgeous, there’s no other words for it.” She cried. ” Well, I guess I’m ready,” she said, hearing the music playing that she was to walk in with. She opened the door to greet her dad, ” I’m ready PaPa, are you ready?” She asked. Her father took her in his arms, ” My sweet daughter, I’ll never be ready to give you away,” he said, kissing her lightly on her cheek. She linked her arm in his and started towards the door. She saw all the lights and lanterns, all the flowers, the people, all standing waiting for her, but all that matter was Can. They reached the door, Nihat turned to her saying, ” My daughter, I will give you to this man, because I know he will care for you just as I have the past 28 years, keep your hearts pure and full of love for each other and your lives will be forever happy.” Sanem nodded, in agreement, and she kissed his cheek. He led her out the door and into the garden, with all the guests In awe of how she looked. She was quite a vision of beauty. Her eyes saw only Can, and his saw only her, as they made their way to the arbor. Nihat stopped, he reached for Can, giving him a hug, then placing Sanem’s hand in his, he said, ” My son, I give you my daughter, to honor, protect and love.” 

Can bowed, respecting the words he said. He held her hands tightly, afraid to let go for fear she might disappear. Their eyes had riveted together, not seeing anything or anyone else. She was a vision of loveliness to behold, from that crown of white daisies to the beautiful dress that was hugging her body, he couldn’t believe how perfect she was. The clergyman had said a few words of welcome to everyone, then ask for the couple to address each other. Can spoke first, ” Sanem, since that first day I met you, not knowing even who you were, you have guided my life to this moment. You have reshaped me into a man full of hope and love, and for that I will be forever thankful and grateful to have you as my wife.” He said with tears rolling down his face. Sanem reached to wipe the tears with a stroke of her finger, then she said, ” Can, from that first moment of our meeting, you have been in my heart, never leaving or doubting. I may have been far away from you in body, but never did my heart leave yours. You have renewed my soul with love, our love, that will last forever. She said, as he wiped her tears. 

The exchange of the rings, and their vow of love for each other, and the crowning moment, the kiss…. All, was said and done, making everything they had been through, worth it. The guests erupted in applause, to witness this union, for some, was their greatest joy. CeyCey was by far the happiest for them. He had been there for them through it all. With the presentation of ” Mr & Mrs. Can Divit, the party was officially started. Can twirled his wife out onto the dance floor, to christen it with the first dance. After a few minutes, everyone else followed their lead. 

After a couple of hours, with everyone full and happy, the couple danced their last dance before the night was over. They closed it all with their favorite song, Ay Tenli Kadin. This had been a night to be remembered, forever in their hearts. Sanem was ready to make her final announcement, ” Everyone, I would like to tell you all of the decision that Can and I have made.” I have retired from writing, there will not be a book about our lives from this point on. From now on we will live for ourselves and our love, in Spain, in our cottage by the sea. That is our home, and that’s where we will live.” I hope that each of you will understand and support us on our journey we will take together. ” Everyone was shocked hearing their news, but knew they would be happy wherever they lived, as long as they were together. They said their good nights and retired to the house. 

They escaped to their bedroom, ready to end their evening and start their night together, as man and wife, filled with desire. He was already eager to take her as his wife, devour her, love her forever. His touch seemed different this time, more meaningful, more powerful. It charged her with a deep desire for him like never before. ” Her husband.” how wonderful that sounded,” She thought, as he slipped her dress off letting it fall to the floor. He gazed at her, ” This woman was his wife, forever, he would never be without her.  The sensation of desire was high as she kissed his chest, feeling the heat rise from his skin, it made her tingle inside. He nestled his face in her neck, kissing her soft skin. He was ready, as he laid her down on the bed, her eyes held his gaze. His mouth covered hers, biting at her lips, sucking and licking them with a frenzy of fire that ignited inside him. She felt him, hard and ready to satisfy her, and bring her to the edge of insanity, her breathing was fast as he readied her, making her beg him for more. They both were ready for a night of unbridled love. He breathed her name in a whisper, unleashing a full range of desire that lasted until the light of dawn crept in the window. Still in each other’s arms, catching their breath, Sanem kissed his neck, and going straight for his earlobe, his weak spot, she nibbled at it making him moan and move feverishly in the bed. “This woman would definitely be the death of him, but what a way to go.” He thought as he took charge and another hour of love gone crazy began

By mid-morning they had managed to shower and dress. Their happiness was evident by the smiles with at were permanently tattooed across their face. ” Can, when are we going home, soon I hope.” She demanded. ” Well, how about in the morning, a 9:00 am flight, direct to Malaga, Spain. He said with pride. She squealed, ” Really, we’re going, Oh Can, I love you so much I can’t stand it.” She yelled. He always did things big, and this was no different. What a surprise, but what a lot of work, getting packed and ready to go. They took the rest of the day to say goodbye to her parents, Leila and Emre, and his dad and Mihriban. Making them all promise to come and visit as soon as possible. They were packed and ready to go by the evening. She had given Kai her approval to make the announcement of their wedding and the statement of her retirement to the public, hoping they all would understand. 

Can threw their carryon bag over his back and they headed for their gate, hand and hand. They found their seat, but not flying first class this time, made them a little cramped. But she didn’t care, she thought, ” We’re going home, home to that magical place on the beach. She buckled and snuggled up to his arm, ” Can, just when I think I can’t be any happier, I realize, I can…. He smiled at her, stroking her hair, as the plane lifted into the sky.

She closed her eyes…. I’m flying…. I’m flying home…. On the Wings of My Albatross……

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