Love By Accident (The Elements of Love #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Leyla

Nine Years Earlier UC San Diego

Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s sofa was mild compared to what I was doing.

That crazy thought went through my mind as I wiggled up and down on the tiny leather couch in Professor Logan’s office. There was a faint smell of stale cigar smoke, dust, and disinfectant, but none of that would put a damper on my mood.

He eyed me suspiciously. No one could ever accuse him of being sunshine and unicorns, but he was always fair.

“I’m really excited about this assignment. I’ve been waiting for this project from day one of your Formulation Science class,” I said, my joy bubbling over.

“I would never have known, Ms. Cooper,” he deadpanned.

It was the spring of my junior year at UC San Diego, and having survived Organic Chemistry I and II, I was ready to tackle this new challenge.

He had assigned us partners to develop a fix for an unstable serum, but it had to be original and well-documented.

Following my dream of working in the cosmetic industry, this was a dream come true.

“Your partner for this research project is…” he said, pushing his thick-framed glasses up over his bushy, dark eyebrows and scanning his paperwork. “Oh, yes. Nick Demir. I thought you two would make an…interesting pairing.”

My heart fluttered, and I forced myself not to raise my hands in victory and dance around his office.

I know. Dramatic, but true.

His tone was sarcastic, but I knew he, like the other professors in the science department at UCSD, enjoyed seeing Nick and me go head-to-head in class. Let’s just say we were both deeply passionate about science and loved defending our experimental processes.

His love of science aside, Nick Demir was stupidly gorgeous. Dark, wavy hair curled at his neck, and eyes that were the color of rich, dark chocolate. One side of his mouth quirked up on the rare occasions he smiled.

But even though he was very pretty to look at, what made him even more attractive was his mind.

No. Really. I promise.

When it came to science, he was focused in a way I’d never witnessed before.

Almost robotic in nature, once he started on a path to prove his hypothesis, he wouldn’t stop until it was resolved.

The way his mind worked through problems was something to behold.

I had the same tenacity as him, but let’s just say we approached things very differently.

Nick was methodical, whereas I preferred a more unconventional approach to achieving results. I had what some would call a flair for the dramatic. Nick did not appreciate my theatrics in class.

I was gregarious and a complete extrovert. Nick was shy, serious, and almost brooding, the epitome of an introvert.

It made for some interesting classes, not to mention a few daydreams of riding off into the California sunset. I did mention the brooding, right?

The thought of spending so much time working on this project with him set off a few, okay, maybe thousands, of butterflies. It would be academically thrilling to be in a collaboration with him, but I couldn’t deny that I also wanted to know more about this mysterious, quiet man.

Almost every student in the science department knew who Nick was because of his brilliant mind and perfect GPA.

While other students struggled to keep up with the class load, Nick seemed to breeze through it.

Many scrambled to sit next to him in class as if his brilliance would rub off on them by osmosis.

But it was the female portion of the student body that showed the most admiration and did the most scrambling to be near him.

It became comical to watch women knocking each other over to get to sit next to him, only for him to either completely ignore them or change seats. That was my favorite. I chose to play it cool and engage with him in his own language.

He went by Nick, but his full name was Nikolas.

Nick, Nikolas, didn’t matter. The man was practically a hermit, to the horror of said female student body, but I knew that he and his family were from Istanbul.

I had heard him tell Logan one day after class.

Although it wasn’t thick, he still had a slight accent. And let me tell you. It was dreamy.

Can’t believe I just used that word.

But there was no other way to describe it. His deep, caramel voice, with its Turkish lilt, was like a warm drink on a cold day. Deep, rich, satisfying.

He and I were often in the library at the same time, but whenever I’d try to say hello, his eyes would widen, his caramel-colored cheeks would blush, and he would just nod his acknowledgment, but then turn away.

If it were any other man, that kind of rejection would have me running in the opposite direction, but that blushing?

Like I said. Dreamy.

So, I kept my attraction a secret and our interactions in the classroom.

Since he was also entering the health and beauty field, we met as freshmen and had many of the same classes.

After just one Physical Chemistry class, everyone knew his grades were the ones to beat.

And Professor Logan was right when he said we were rivals.

Friendly rivals, but still fiercely competitive.

“Is that going to be a problem? I know you two can get a bit intense,” Professor Logan said, bringing me back to the present. I’d almost forgotten I was in his office.

“No problem at all, sir. I think we’d make a great team,” I answered confidently. And yeah, if I got a date with the elusive Turkish stunner, all the better. I kept that little tidbit to myself as I grabbed my laptop and backpack and headed out.

Bumping my way through the throng of people rushing to their morning classes, I smiled and couldn’t wait to tell my best friend Luke about this new development. He knew about my little crush, and the man loved gossip as much as the girls in my dorm.

Luke had graduated earlier than I did, a stroke of pure luck with his class availability and timing. He and his family had been making organic beauty products since his sophomore year in high school, and he was poised to start his own cosmetics business.

Everyone thought I was insane for double-majoring in business, but I knew it would pay off once Luke got his business up and running.

We had been friends since elementary school, and once we both knew our career paths would be the same, we dreamed of working together when he started his new company, Earth Organix.

“Hey, saw you in Logan’s office. Got your partner?” my classmate, Lucy, asked when she saw me hurrying in the narrow hall.

“Yup. Got paired up with Nick Demir.” I couldn’t hide my smug smile as her eyes went wide. She had been throwing herself at the poor man for months. Unsuccessfully, I might add, even though she wore tight T-shirts and her shorts barely covered her, ahem, hindquarters.

“You. Did. Not. I asked Nick if he’d partner with me, and he just side-eyed me and walked away.”

Your loss is my gain. Petty, I know.

Feigning indifference with a slight shrug of my shoulders, I said, “Wasn’t up to me. Logan put us together. Gotta go. Oh, want to meet me at La Jolla tomorrow morning? Heard the surf is going to be perfect.”

Shaking off her disappointment, she yelled back as she took a left down the long hallway, “You know it. Hey, Leyla. Be careful. Been told Nick is ruthless when it comes to his grades. Not sure how he’d do on a joint project like this.”

I waved without answering her, greeting several people as I walked, but her warning rang like bells in my mind. I couldn’t imagine Nick undermining a partner, especially since this project was forty percent of our grade. I shifted my backpack onto my shoulder, frowning at her insinuation.

“Hey, Leyla,” someone called.

I waved, not even looking at them. “Hey.”

As I made my way to the science building, crossing a courtyard, I forced myself to think about getting out on the water in the morning.

Feeling the tension bleed from my mind, I took a deep breath.

The only thing I loved more than science was surfing.

I pulled out the gold necklace that never left my neck and rubbed the pendant with my thumb and smiled.

Mom and Dad said I had saltwater in my veins. I totally agreed. Out in the water, I felt like everything got quiet and peaceful.

The science program at UCSD was rigorous, and I probably wouldn’t have made it without Luke’s encouragement, the dream of working together in the future, and, strangely, Nick Demir.

He made me a better student, pushing me without even realizing it to excel as I tried to keep up with him.

He was the Paris Geller to my Rory Gilmore.

This was the Nick I knew, not the selfish man my friend had described. Resigned to lean into that belief, I wondered how he would react if I ever told him how much he challenged me.

There was no denying it. In his unique, quiet way, he made me dig deeper and find the strength I never knew I had.

The fact was, I really admired Nikolas Demir.