Page 13 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
Todd shrugged. “You don’t have to say anything.”
Fazil finally met Todd’s gaze. No anger there. Not even any judgment. But there was sadness, and that hurt worst of all.
They were interrupted by Ozan and the main course, which was three dishes: eggplant mousakka, Iskender kebap, and several lahmacun. “Afiyet olsun,” he said, then was gone.
“This... is a lot of food!” More than they could ever eat. It smelled like heaven, and Fazil didn’t know where to begin, so he took some of everything. So did Todd, and for a while they both savored the meal.
It was certainly authentic, especially the Iskender. So hard to get the lamb and the sauce right. Itdidremind him of his mom’s cooking. That took him straight back in time, especially since Todd sat across the table from him as if they hadn’t been apart at all.
“So what about you, Z? What have you been up to all these years?”
Hearing Todd call himZused to warm his heart. Now it punched a hole through him. He didn’tunderstandthis Todd, the one that programmed code and hid his pain.
There’d been plenty of other, better people for Todd to date—he’d had his pick back then—and when Todd had grown tired of Fazil, he usually chose someone else without even a thought.
ButthisTodd hurt, and Fazil had caused that pain by leaving him all those years ago.Except you left first, Todd. Every time. Left me for someone else.
Fazil took a sip of water. “Well, you know I went to Stanford. After that, I went to Boston for grad school. Worked there for a while, then ended up back on the West Coast. Job-hopped a lot.” He pushed pita through his hummus. “That’s basically it. School. Work.”
“How’d you end up in Pittsburgh, of all places?”
“Hey, it’s a nice city!” He poked the pita at him. “Getting better every year.”
Todd held up his palms in mock surrender, but the smile was back, thank God. “Just asking.”
He chuckled. “Sam called. I’d worked with him at one of my past jobs when he came in and saved our asses. When he asked me to join his company, I said yes. It’s my dream job. Good engineering. Solving problems. Making a difference.”
“Closer to home, too.”
A five-and-a-half-hour drive to his parents’ place. “Yeah, I get back now and then.”
Todd cocked his head and looked poised to ask a question. That vanished into a small, pained smile, and Fazil’s heart sank into his feet.
He still knew Todd well enough to guess the question.Did you look for me?
And Todd still knew him well enough to know the answer. He hadn’t. After all, he’d run for a reason.Hunting down and finding Todd would’ve ignited everything that had been between them all over again.
Just like now.
Ozan reappeared. “I hope you saved some room for dessert.” He deposited a small tray of various sorts of baklava on the table, including Fazil’s favorite: pecan in the shape of birds’ nests.
“We’ve hardly finished our plates,” Fazil said. Still, he took a piece of baklava.
“I’ll box up the rest,” Ozan said. He cleared all but the dessert tray off the table.
“There’s a fridge at work.” Todd picked up one of the pieces of rolled walnut baklava. “Lunch for tomorrow.”
Work. The reason he was here with Todd had entirely slipped Fazil’s mind. They’d go back, the day would end, and Todd would be lodged in his thoughts all night, no matter what Singularity had in store for Eli and him in the evening. “Are you seeing anyone?” The question fell out of his mouth, almost without thought. A stupid thing to ask.
But he really wanted to know.Please say yes.
Todd leaned back and his smile was like the sunlight in winter. It made Fazil ache in ways he hadn’t inyears, and he longed for Todd and the warmth of his arms around him. The quiet sound of summer nights together.Please, please say you have someone.
His answer was soft but undeniable. “No.”
Damn.Because that tempting door opened a crack. The one he’d nailed shut and labeledDO NOT ENTERwhen he’d left for California. Inside were all the feelings, the hurt, the frustration—but all the joy, too.
The smile dimmed a bit. “You?”
