“You’ll have to tell me about it,” he paused, then added, “Over dinner.”

“Smooth,” she said with a laugh.

He inclined his head. “Your answer?”

She thought about it for all of two seconds. “Yes, I would love to have dinner with you.”

“Excellent,” he said, turning back to the car and opening the door.

Disappointment rushed through her, but then he stepped back and waved her towards the back seat.

“Uh… we’re going for dinner now?”

His dark eyes were enigmatic. She didn’t think she’d ever seen eyes quite that colour. They were black, only a shade or two lighter than his pupils. They gave him an eerie, almost unreadable look. If she believed in the devil, she imagined he would have the exact same eyes.

“You have other plans?” Volkan asked, a slight edge to his voice.

“No,” she admitted. “But I want to shower and change before we go out. I didn’t have time this morning after working another late shift at the hotel.”

He frowned, the groove between his eyes deepening. “You weren’t on the schedule to work last night.”

Whoever had told him what she was taking at school had apparently also informed him of her work schedule. She should be annoyed, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to be truly upset. Somehow, she’d captured this man’s attention. He was rich, gorgeous and interesting. How often in life would she get to spend time with someone like him?

She was under no illusion that this flirtation would go anywhere. She wasn’t going to be the princess in some fairytale who got swept off her feet and whisked away into a life of luxury. She was an ordinary student who would go on to do ordinary things with her life. But for this moment in time, she was going to bask in the glow of this man’s attention. The niggling doubts creeping in to ruin her good time could just go away.

“Someone called in sick and I picked up a last minute shift,” she explained.

“You look tired,” he said, still frowning as he searched her face.

Not wanting him to break their dinner date, she rushed to say, “No, I’m totally fine. My class on… ah…” She wracked her brain about the class she’d just slept through. “Incan settlements in pre-Spanish times was an eye opener.” He looked skeptical and she laughed, then shook her head. “I’m lying. I napped through the entire class, but I’m feeling refreshed now.”

He stared down at her, as though trying to see into her head. “You shouldn’t lie.”

“I only lie to the people I like.” She inserted an airy note into her tone. “Maybe I like you.”

“Good,” he said, taking her hand and gesturing for her to get in the car. “Because I very much like you, Yasmin Mahdi, and would like to get to know you better.”