Page 34 of Elusive Promise

He poured two tall glasses of juice and then came back to the couch. He handed one to her and then sat down next to her. "What are you thinking?"

"That I'm stumped."

He nodded in agreement. "I wasn't expecting Anika to meet up with Westley. That's a twist."

"I'll say. I don't know what to think about it. I suppose they could be having an affair, but why? If Westley wanted to be with Anika, why wouldn't he be? He's not married to Jasmine yet."

"Would Jasmine be more important to his business interests than Anika? Does she bring anything to marriage that her sister wouldn't?"

"Not that I know of. She's a professor. And whatever money is in the family is probably equally shared." She sipped her juice as she pondered the questions in her head.

"Maybe Anika wants to break Jasmine and Westley up, get the diamond and the fortune for herself."

She frowned at his suggestion. "I can't imagine Anika would set her sister up to be kidnapped."

"What's Anika like? What's her personality?"

She hesitated, wondering if she really knew what Anika was like. "As you said, I haven't known her since she was a teenager, but back then she was ambitious, driven, and a go-getter. She talked a lot about having a career, being known for something. Jasmine was more introverted. She loved books and music and her friends. But despite their opposite personalities, the two of them always seemed to have a strong bond. I was actually a bit jealous. As an only child, I had always wished for a sister, and during the three years that I was in Bezikstan, the Kumar girls were like sisters to me. We talked about everything—school, boys, dreams. I can't believe we've ended up here. Anyway…" She finished her juice, then set her glass on the coffee table. "We need to figure out what to do next."

He smiled, and her heart skipped a beat. She was suddenly very aware of how close he was, and her lips tingled in memory of their kiss.

"I have a couple of ideas," he drawled.

"From the look in your eyes, I'm guessing those are bad ideas."

"Sometimes bad is good."

"Or just bad," she countered, giving him a pointed look. "We need to stay focused, Jared."

"Who says I'm not focused?"

She licked her lips, feeling the heat of his gaze. "Jared…if we need to talk about that kiss."

"I wasn't thinking we need to talk."

"Well, we don't need to kiss again. We have work to do. We need to find Jasmine."

His jaw tightened, and he blew out a breath. "You're right." He downed the rest of his juice. "All right, I have another idea. Why don't you call the Langdons? See if you can find out where Ben is. We may not have an immediate next move when it comes to Jasmine, but we can push forward with Ben. And there's a possibility the kidnapping is connected to Paris."

"I could do that, but I don't have their number."

"I do," Jared said, pulling out his phone. "Do you want Neil or Elizabeth?"

"Why don't I just call Ben directly? I'm sure you have his number, too."

"His phone is off or dead. I tried it last night and again this morning. It doesn't ring, nor does it go to voicemail."

"Okay. I'm a little closer to Neil, so I'll start with him then."

As Jared read off a number, she punched it into her phone. Unfortunately, the call went to voicemail. She decided she might as well leave a message. "Hi, Neil, it's Parisa. I was hoping to speak to you about Jasmine, about everything that happened. If you get a chance, please call me back. It's important." She left her number and then disconnected.

"Want to try Elizabeth?" Jared asked.

"Sure." Unfortunately, her second call also ended with voicemail. Since she'd already left a message for Neil, she hung up. "Sorry," she said, giving Jared an apologetic shrug.

"We could just go over there," he suggested.

She knew he was eager to make something happen, but she wasn't sure that was the right choice. "It's a thought. But if Ben isn't there, and the Langdons get suspicious about our intentions—"

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