A LEAP OF THE EARLY BIRD

If a heart could smile...

As much as he disliked Fabri, Can had to admit that he was thankful to him for one thing. Making Sanem play the part of his beloved. She would stand beside him. She would sit beside him. She would hold his hand. For a man who planned his life to a "T", planning his work around having to pretend Sanem loved him was the easiest plan of all. He wouldn't have to plan anything, he would just have to follow his heart. Yet he would have to prepare for a way to convince her to follow his lead...

Stepping foot in Sanem's home felt so good that he wondered if it were possible to come by more often. The Aydins made him feel welcomed. Made him feel happy. For the first time in his life he met a family that did not want anything from him in return. They had no hidden agenda, no motive to like him. They were sincere. And they got to him. The warmth that beamed from Mevkibe spread to his heart. Deep down, very deep down inside he yearned for a mother's love, and she had boatloads of it. So much so that he could already feel like she treated him like someone that mattered. On the other hand, Nihat's light shone just like Sanem's. If he didn't know them, he would have been able to tell he was Sanem's father. He was polite yet enthusiastic. Calm yet spirited. He was firm yet kind at the same time, which was very uncommon. Sanem was the same way, in Can's eyes. Her family made him feel like one of their own. And that mattered more to him than he would be able to admit to them, that first time in their home.

Hearing Sanem come in, his heart shook. Though he was prepared to see her, he still paused and smiled. She was a sight for sore eyes, even if she only saw him as her boss now. Still, he smiled, and smiled more when he saw the baffled confusion painted marvelously on her beautiful face. So he neglected to let her know he would come early. Good. It was time for her to wonder about him. To wonder more. She was on his mind, so he would make sure he remained in hers. And he had to admit that it felt gratifying to realize that he still made an impact on her. Especially after she tried to convince both of them that what happened at his hut ended with a simple meal they shared together.

They dined with Fabri and his Company's partner. They had a good time even if Can wished they were all alone with Sanem, and back at his hut. Fabri was polite, charming, but direct underneath it all. Can could sense how uncomfortable Sanem felt. Not only because she had to be polite to Fabri, but because she had to pretend she cared for Can. Fully understanding how much that thought hurt, he did his best to make her relax. He had not counted on the fact that his touch on her shoulder would calm her down. His touch, instead of making her turn away from him, made her turn toward him. That simple gesture did not go unnoticed by either of them. Knowing she didn't mind his touch brought him more pleasure than his heart could hold. And it appeared as if his touch reached all the way to her smile...

The evening was going well until the moment Fabri asked how they met. The question directed at them made them both answer at once. Kayseri and Paris. Paris and Kayseri. Speechless, they both turned to each other. Can could not believe they did not at least come up with that part before they met with Fabri. But luck of life and fate knew what they were doing. Amused at Sanem's response, he let her explain her side of their story. She painted him as a hot tempered man looking for food. Wasn't she right? He had to admit that yes, she was. Her story of Can seeking food and finding Sanem was such a symbolic matter to him. It not only reflected the way he felt that night in Agua, but how he felt in real life. He seeked something he thought he knew he was looking for, and instead he found Sanem. Much as she shared her Manti with him in her story, she shared sardines in Agua, and shared something more with him the night at his hut. She shared a moment with him, and she hooked him. For good...

As the moment came for Can to tell the tale of their encounter in Paris, he knew what his story would tell. His soul already knew the story, his heart felt it too. What else but her scent would reel him in? What else but her amazing presence would enwrap him in his feelings for her. Her scent was enchanting, it made him wonder, and made him yearn. For more of a closer encounter, for more of Sanem, for simply more... He spoke softly, with gentle words. And watched Sanem's eyes light up with the same burning fire he saw in them before. If a heart could smile, he knew he saw it in Sanem's eyes just them. She was still taken with him. And he was still there. In her eyes, and hopefully much deeper than that.

His battle was not lost yet. Not by the least. He had his limits, his borders, his walls. But he realized Sanem was the first one, the only one that broke through all of that. She caressed his pained heart, she mended his broken pieces. He hurt her somehow, he realized that now. But knowing that he still mattered to her gave him a push to keep fighting for her. One battle at a time...