Yasmin waved at her family as she took to the stage, walking nervously across to the dean of her department. Don’t fall down. Don’t fall down. Don’t fall down. She spoke the mantra over and over as she accepted her degree and took his proffered hand, turning to the audience and smiling as her father took pictures from beneath the stage.

Yasmin counted the seconds in her head until she reached five, then thanked the dean and took her place with the rest of the graduates at the back of the stage.

As she cheered on the other graduates, her senses prickled with awareness. The smile slid from her face and she scanned the auditorium to figure out what had set off her spidey senses. She didn’t get feelings like this often since she was a nose-in-book-ignore-the-outside-world kind of girl.

A gasp flew from her lips as she spotted him. He was unmistakable, with his broad shoulders, above average height, and the intense look about him. He was staring at her like she was his favourite meal and he was going to devour her whole at the first opportunity.

Volkan.

Her heart skipped a few beats, then started racing like it was trying to leap out of her chest and run for safety. She felt dizzy and hot. Looking around, she searched for a way off the stage without drawing notice. There was no help for it, she’d just have to stand there and wait for the ceremony to finish.

Her gaze swung back to the audience, seeking the man who’d come to watch her graduation ceremony, despite her dumping him a few months earlier. She half expected him to disappear like he’d been a figment of her imagination, but there he was, his gaze unwavering, his arms crossed in front of him, his biceps straining his suit jacket.

He didn’t take his eyes off her, didn’t look away once.

She was strangely happy to see him, despite the bad ending to their last meeting. She pushed the elation aside though and forced her logical brain to prevail. It didn’t matter how he made her feel, the guy was toxic. She’d been lucky to escape her relationship with him unscathed, heart intact. She hadn’t known him long enough to fall in love, but she suspected it wouldn’t have taken long had she allowed the relationship to grow. All the red flags he’d shown in their brief time together were still valid. The man was no good and she refused to date someone like him.