Yasmin jumped as her classmates shouted, clapped, and threw their hats in the air. Belatedly she flung her hat as well, then, during the chaos, stepped out of the crush of students and ran for the edge of the stage. She wasn’t the only one to head off the stage to talk to their family, so it didn’t look weird when she plowed into the audience.

“Be right back,” she said breathlessly as her mother reached out to embrace her.

Shocked, her mother watched her as she ran through the audience toward where she’d last seen Volkan. Everyone was standing and moving and she lost sight of him. Frustrated, she stopped and turned on the spot, searching the crowd. She hoped to see his head above everyone else’s but was disappointed.

Giving up, she turned back to her family, but Volkan stepped into her path, taking her by the arms and stopping her.

“Yasmin,” he said in his smooth, deep voice, sending a cascade of shivers down her spine.

“Volkan.” The world around them disappeared and she was transported back to the moment they first met. The scent of his cigar, his voice as they spoke, his intriguing shadowy presence. “What are you doing here?”

“Today is a special day,” he says enigmatically. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

It surprised her that he even knew the date of her graduation. Or perhaps she wasn’t. During their brief time together, she’d noticed he had an eye for detail, especially where she was concerned.

“I have to get back to my family,” she said, her voice low and regretful. Though she knew better, part of her wanted to stay with him. To absorb the heat from his big body, hear the deep throbbing words of romance as he spoke to her.

God, she was an idiot.

His eyes moved past her, then narrowed. She knew her parents and sister were making their way over. He released his grip on her.

“Enjoy your time with them.” Though the words seemed like normal well-wishes, there was an ominous edge to his tone. It was like he silently tacked, while you can, onto the end of the sentence.

She stepped away and turned to search for her family. They were several feet away and closing in. She felt safer with them at her back and turned to confront Volkan again, but he was gone. She searched for him and saw him melting into the crowd.

“Volkan!” she called, but seconds later he disappeared.

“Is everything alright, Yaz?” her mother asked, coming to stand next to her. “Who was the man you were talking to?” Her mother’s tone was curious, with a hint of hopeful.