“You know, she has her cell phone off. She’s not avoiding you,” she admitted softly.

A giant sigh of relief tore through me as I hit seventy-five on the highway. “There’s hope.”

“That girl loves you more than an ancient city full of relics.”

A grin tilted my mouth. “That’s really saying something.”

“Yeah, well, love like that doesn’t come along every day.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m going after her, Sam.”

“Good, and for once…screw the speed limit, Josh.”

I pressed the pedal to the floor as we hung up and drove like a bat out of hell to the Nashville airport. This was our moment, and it was fucking movie worthy. I made it in forty-three minutes.

The car was barely in park before I jumped from my seat and ran into the terminal, cueing up the flight-tracker app on my phone. I just had to buy a ticket, and I could get through security. The shortest line was for StatesAir, so I headed that way as my phone pulled up the departure info.

I could get through security in about two seconds thanks to being TSA pre-checked, so that wouldn’t take me—

Fuck.

My fist clenched around my cell phone, and I sucked in air through my teeth to keep from exploding.

No. No. No…

Her plane had already left the gate. I’d missed my chance.

I stuttered through one breath, and then another, trying to relieve the god-awful pressure in my chest. I refused to lose her. Not like this, not ever.

Now I just had to prove that to her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

EMBER

The room was coming together nicely, each newly revealed tile joining in a gorgeous mosaic. I hummed, enjoying the soft echo as I used a small brush to remove the smaller debris from the new section we were working on.

“Are you sure you don’t want to break?” Ilyas asked. “I’m going to run to town while Dr. Trimble brings through his investors.”

I lowered my handkerchief from my hairline and caught the sweat off my forehead, then pushed it back up. How could I have forgotten that Luke’s father was coming through today to see how we were doing? “No, I’ll stay and work.”

“Alone?” he asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” I assured him.

“You’re alone a lot, Miss Ember. You’re here alone, in your room alone, walking in the evenings alone. If you get much more alone, you’re going to be a certifiable recluse.”

“I know,” I said over my shoulder with a small smile. “I’m okay. I promise. I just want to say hi to Luke’s dad.” I turned back around, letting the tiles consume my vision, and I focused on the beautiful colors.

“Do you need anything? I’ll pick it up for you.”

“Oh.” I nodded, sweeping a small bit of debris off a darkish red tile. “Powdered creamer.”

He laughed. “Have you not learned to drink your coffee the real way yet?”

“I’d rather milk a camel.” I fake gagged, and he laughed harder.

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.” He rinsed off his hands in the corner by the archway that connected us to the next room.

I’d never develop a taste for the dark, sugar-brewed roasts they preferred over here. I missed smooth, silky cream too much.

I missed the States, really. Okay, mostly Josh.

Always Josh.

His smile, his eyes, the way his arms wrapped around me at the perfect moment, simply knowing what I needed.

A familiar ache settled into my chest, constricting my breaths for a few painful seconds. How had we gotten here? We’d made it through more than a couple should have to over the last three years, and now we were teetering on what…all-out collapse? Why? Because we couldn’t see eye to eye on his job?

Because you don’t see the same future.

“Miss Ember, are you okay?” Ilyas asked, now in front of me, snapping me out of my depressing thoughts. He’d done too much of that lately.

“Yeah,” I nodded with a forced smile. “Let me grab you some money.”

I reached into my back pocket and felt only soft fabric. Shit. You did not… A quick check of the other pocket, then the small, skinny ones in front, and I swore under my breath. It was a half mile walk back to my room…and my wallet.

“Ugh, it’s in my room.”

“No problem,” Ilyas said with a shrug.

“I’ve got it.”

That voice sent shivers racing down my limbs, and the ache in my heart morphed into butterflies of disbelief. Forty Turkish lira appeared in front of me in a hand I knew all too well.

I turned slowly, my breath catching in my throat as I looked up and met his eyes. Josh. His name was my only coherent thought, my every heartbeat screaming it. My first instinct was to throw my arms around him and forget every reason we were ripping each other apart. A myriad of emotions crossed his face as we stood there, eyes locked on each other. Joy quickly flickered to worry until he tilted his head, sighed, and gave me a half smile. “December,” he whispered.

“What are you doing here?” I shook my head. “Not that I’m not glad to see you. Crap, that came out wrong,” I verbally vomited. Fuck me, but he looked good in that Henley and vest. And he was in Turkey. Turkey!

“I came for you.”

So simple. So very complicated.

“How about I get your creamer?” Ilyas said and backed out of the room, a giant, goofy grin on his face.