Page 38 of Elusive Promise

She poured wine into a glass and sat down at the counter, watching as he spooned butter over the steaks. He moved with confidence and purpose and he looked sexy as hell, strands of hair falling over his forehead as the heat warmed his face. She couldn't remember the last time a man had cooked for her, and despite the extraordinary circumstances they were living in, this moment seemed remarkably normal.

He glanced in her direction, his green eyes warm and smiling. "How's the wine?"

"It's perfect," she said, even though she had yet to take a sip. "You appear to know what you're doing."

"I do know what I'm doing."

"Are you ever not confident?"

"Hmm, I'd have to think about that," he said with a grin.

She couldn't believe how comfortable she felt with a man she didn't know at all.

"How did your call go earlier?" he asked. "Apparently, you didn't learn anything that made you want to rush out of the apartment and do something."

"I did get some information, but there was nothing for us to do about it."

"What did you hear?" He turned down the flame on the steaks as he gave her his attention.

"The kidnappers made a ransom demand of the Larimers—ten million dollars, to be paid by Monday at ten a.m. The demand came in before we saw Westley and Anika. Maybe they were meeting about that."

"And I assume there's proof that Jasmine is alive?"

"Yes. It was a huge relief to know that there's still time to find her."

"Are there any leads?"

"Not that I was told. I don't know the details of the ransom exchange, either," she said. "I'm just happy that the Larimers are willing to put up that much cash for a woman who is not yet in their family."

"It's a lot, especially when they've already lost a diamond worth five times that."

"Maybe the Kumars will chip in. They're not as wealthy as the Larimers, but they have money."

"I'm sure they will," he said, returning his attention to the steaks. He flipped them over, then turned off the heat.

"Can I help?" she asked somewhat halfheartedly.

"I've got dinner. But if you want to try contacting the Langdons again…"

"I can do that. I should have done it earlier. I was on your bed, and it was so comfortable, I was just going to close my eyes for a minute. I feel guilty I slept so long."

"You were exhausted. You don't have to defend yourself. But if you can talk to Neil or Elizabeth and find out if Ben is staying at the house, maybe we can go by there and see him after we eat."

She pulled out her phone and saw no missed calls. "He didn't call me back. But I'll give him another shot." She punched in Neil's number. She was almost surprised when he answered. She put the phone on speaker, so Jared could hear the conversation. "Neil, it's Parisa."

"Oh, my God, Parisa. We've been so worried about you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm recovered. I called you earlier. Did you get my message?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I haven't had a chance to call you back, but I'm happy to hear you're well. Elizabeth spoke with Kenisha earlier, and she said you haven't been able to remember anything that would help the police find the kidnappers."

"That's unfortunately true."

"We've heard about the ransom demand and are very happy that Jasmine is alive."

"It's definitely good news. I really want her to be all right."

"As do we. Jasmine and Anika are like daughters to Elizabeth and me, and Jasmine has been so kind to Ben since he came to the city."

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