Chapter 3

The guy didn't immediately turn at her response, but she guessed he did hear her as she saw his broad shoulders, stuffed into a navy blue, thinly woven sweater, tense up. But when he turned, as if in slow motion, he accomplished what few others in her life had ever managed: to take her breath away.

Hakan admired she masculine features, marveling.

He was not the perfect man: he had a pink scar as long as his little finger right in the center of his chin, as if he had been attacked with a dagger and missed by the skin of his teeth. One of his bushy, ash-blond eyebrows, just like his hair in a messy bun, was split right down the middle by another scar, this time much more noticeable. And on one corner of her neck was another scar, dangerously close to her throat. Apart from being the size of a bear and the physical build of one, but with hard, defined muscles, the man could intimidate anyone with his savage expression. However, it was his eyes, a deep blue, just the shade of the sky when the sun is at its brightest, that enraptured her. Those eyes covered by eyelashes, though short, if quite lush, took her breath away, for they hid a feeling that, though intense enough to notice, escaped her grasp. And she wanted to reach for it.

That and the black ink tattoos on her arms - why deny it - for Hakan loved tattoos, despite being a coward and not having her own on her body. There were those who said that getting one hurt like hell.

And yet, it wasn't her stunning eyes and attractive tattoos that made him lose his speech completely -shamefully if he should have said something, he would have squawked instead of speaking-, it was her splendid smile loaded with dangerously sexy dimples on each corner of her lips and teeth as white as milk.

-Thank you for the advice...

-Hakan -he replied hastily, to which the most attractive snowman in history, and his kind of man, arched an eyebrow-just the one with the scar-which gave him an even more rapturous halo, if possible.

Because without any effort, Hakan could already see himself getting a real lover. The man was to die for... or to eat him up, as her best friend Dalila would say.

The guy nodded, a smile full of amusement dancing at the corner of his lips. But Hakan wasn't ashamed that he noticed that he had amazed her, like a bee running towards honey, because despite considering himself a lady, he was quite clear that it was very macho that only men could show their taste for women. In addition, by the little disguised path of her piercing blue eyes, he knew that she had also pleased the views with her face and body. Hakan considered herself and felt herself a beautiful woman without needing anyone to tell her so-she had worked very hard to do so. And, besides, she was the beneficiary of some pretty decent genes.

-Thanks, Hakan. The mutt is giving me quite a bit of trouble and I greatly appreciate the help.

His name on her lips foolishly quickened her heart, something that embarrassed her, though not enough to show on her face. With a smile, though not as big as his: who seemed to have found the jackpot in it, Hakan shrugged.

-I grew up surrounded by dogs throughout my childhood. I even currently own a rather grumpy dwarf pooch for whom I have to constantly visit the internet to discover new ways to give him medicine when it's his turn -she took her straight black hair, which reached her waist and was tied in a French braid, and put it over her shoulder with an absent-minded gesture.

<

The man nodded, apparently attentive to her words and then with a gesture asked her to leave the animal pharmacy. She complied immediately, as she had already bought what she needed for Rubert, her dog. Which was a rabies vaccine that she could already suspect would not be as easy to give him as it looked on Youtube.

-So you like dogs?

Hakan leaned his back against the wall of the store, careful not to get in the way of any other customers.

-Animals, in general. I even love lizards and I think I would be able to set up a zoo by myself if it weren't for the fact that there is much more to be gained in the business world than in a place to visit and be distracted.

She raised her head and looked up at him from her height-which was not small-and which compared to his was minuscule.

<

-Yes, we are -he replied, his voice a whole bunch of octaves huskier than any I had ever heard before. Príapo had a rather soft one, which helped his constant swearing not sound so fierce, and his ex's was rather thick, like he'd been eaten by a lion or something. Which, she remembered, she loved to tease him about.

<

Noticing that he was looking at her with curiosity shining in his blue eyes and an amused grimace, Hakan stopped his chatter, feeling his cheeks heat up. She was very prone to talk and talk without a filter, but to her closest acquaintances and friends-which were very few-not to strangers. Oh, my goodness.

-I'm sorry... I -she stammered, trying to justify herself, but fortunately he saved her from embarrassment.

-There's nothing to forgive, I find it quite attractive when women talk to me without any hindrance, that means you have confidence...

-And that they are also very talkative -she added with a half-smile.

He gave it back to her, though bigger -showing her his dimples again- and with just enough power to make her heart skip a beat. Her smile was beautiful, period. And he seemed to know it, using it as a deadly weapon.

He stretched a hand just as huge to his muscled frame in her direction.

-I am Maurer. Maurer Beerli, at your service.

Hakan accepted it, delighted with the sheltered way it made her feel his huge hand around her own much, much smaller and fragile one in comparison. Aside from looking extremely pale in contrast to her sun-browned skin.

-Hakan Daigo. I am Asian. And I know the name will slip your mind as soon as you let go of my hand.

The grip on his hand tightened slightly and with a mischievous smile capable of igniting every last flame, he gradually released it.

-That would be impossible.

Hakan gave him a silly smile, and with his nerves on edge, he tightened the grip his other hand had on the bag containing Rubert injection.

-Well, it's been a pleasure exchanging words with you. But I'm in a hurry and... -She cut herself off, disgruntled at the thought of losing sight of him forever, without even having a number to reach him at in the vast city of Munich. And then an idea occurred to her- Are you from around here?

Subtle enough it had sounded, though it didn't stop her from feeling a little embarrassed. She never took the initiative with her shoulders, in that area, she had no experience whatsoever.

-The truth is, I'm a newcomer, I don't know much about Munich and I've been around quite a bit to get this place.

Hakan heart was racing again, but this time in anticipation.

-I know we had just met, but not to make a fool of you, I'd like to buy you a few drinks at a place that's quite popular around here," he let out a nervous chuckle. We wouldn't be alone, though, and I could introduce you to some friends so you can make some of your own. What do you say?

She tried not to sound so hopeful, but the longing was embarrassingly clear in her voice.

-Sure, it wouldn't hurt to clear my head a bit. The move and the change of environment have been weighing on me a bit.

Hakan bit his tongue to keep from asking where he was from and why the change had hit him. He managed it by sheer miracle.

<< Will you pass me your number and let's meet up?

She obeyed, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

- Can you make it tonight? My friends and I want to celebrate something. I don't know if you can, though...

She hadn't come around to that idea and wanted to smack herself on the forehead in the face of, perhaps, a refusal. But wonderfully he made no objection to it.

-I'm free today and I could celebrate with you too.

They exchanged numbers after that, and before they left for their vehicles. Maurer Beerli - a name she found as intriguing and charming as the bearer of it - approached her with ease and confidence, planting two kisses on the Spaniard, dangerously close to the corners of her lips, and whispering to her:

-Until then.

***

Dalila gave a scream capable of waking the dead from their graves and fleeing in terror, as soon as he finished telling her the story of the moment in its entirety. Then she threw herself on her two-poster bed -now only for herself- and looked at her with a smile between mischievous and dreamy.

-Jesus, the way you paint him, I'd say he's the perfect man.

Hakan finished folding the shirt he had taken out to try on and the one he had discarded as soon as he realized it looked too formal for the occasion, and put it away instead in one of the many drawers in his closet the size of half his room, which was not small at all. Hakan was a neat freak, in every sense of the word. That's why her separation with Freder had destabilized her too much at the time; and because she loved control: Freder was that point that managed to unbalance her from the beginning, putting an end to her peace of mind. One that day by day she had promised herself to recover.

-It's perfect... for me.

Dalila squealed again at his confession, and Hakan smiled tenderly to see her enjoying like a little girl the amorous gossip of her best friend. Dalila Vodoz had had a hard life ever since she decided at eighteen that she wanted to be one of those undercover agents the government sent to embed in the lairs of the bad guys, make good friends with them and then rat them out. At twenty-eight, Dalila was the best of her team, but that didn't mean she hadn't made mistakes before, ones that today still left a burning mark on her memories and the scars on her skin.

His laughter was rarely heard, so it was a privilege for anyone who would listen.

-I wonder who my perfect one will be.

Hakan shook she head in amusement.

-You're beginning to sound like Chris.

Dalila rested her chin on her palm and stared at her.

Her best friend was a beauty with pale, almost vampire-like skin -a genetic inheritance shared by almost all Vodoz, including Príapo- and chin-length curly hair, dyed in a vibrant reddish hue that matched the small brown freckles scattered haphazardly across her heart-shaped face. With thin but naturally pink lips and round, expressive eyes, her best friend was prone to steal the sighs of her coworkers; however, what was most striking about her were her eyes of different shades: the left one was a striking lead gray and the right one was the color of chocolate. Her body was slim, but slender and marked by the arduous exercise to which she constantly subjected herself, and she was four centimeters shorter than she was. Which made her taller than average.

She was perfect, but still, to date, true love had not knocked on her door. Yet she herself had accepted that she was not brave enough to look for it or to allow it to come to her.

Hakan stretched a hand in her direction and rested it on her head full of messy curls, whose disorder was due to having spent the whole time lying on her bed.

-Soon it will be your turn, Lila -he lowered his hand and bit his lip, remembering Freder. I don't think I know if it will be the right one, though.

Her best friend sighed and lay back down on the mattress. - Do you think Freder wasn't the right one?

-I think Freder was just a mistake and it took me too long to see it. I think... -she looked up at the ceiling -.I think I think the right one is out there, waiting for me. Willing to forgive my past mistakes and for me to help him with his.

They both lapsed into silence after that, until Delilah sent a reproachful glance at the little device playing Another Day In Paradise. Her favorite song for a whole bunch of reasons.

-I think the choice of music made us all very romantic about it -he looked at her with a hint of a smile on his lips. Or maybe it's just Christine's spirit.

Hakan rolled his eyes, but didn't dare to change it. It was his favorite song, for God's sake, it would be sacrilege to even think of removing it.

-Christine is still too young to know true love.

-True -she jumped out of bed and shook out the cobalt blue mini skirt she would wear to the club that night. And he hasn't known love of any kind, because as far as I know, even his parents haven't set him an example of how good he could be.

He twisted his lips.

<

Hakan nodded, agreeing with her completely.

After all, Christine was a different soul: a breath of fresh air, as she liked to tell him.

-Well, what are you finally going to wear? It's about half an hour before the boys come for us.

Hakan lifted the black dress with a slit in the back at the waist, leaving it completely uncovered, and so short that it barely reached a few centimeters below her rear. And what saved her from looking vulgar was that although Hakan possessed a body full of curves, he had a slim build. There was nothing excessive about him.

-I'm ready.

Dalila looked at her with a mischievous smile, free of dimples-which made her think irremediably of Maurer Beerli.

-You go with every girl.

Hakan lowered her dress and shrugged.

-I'm willing to let fate, if it exists, surprise me, not the other way around. I'm tired of being ahead of its steps.

Dalila nodded.

-As with Freder?

She nodded-. Like with Freder.