Page 42 of Elusive Promise

"Which is why you're so interested in the Paris explosion."

"Yes."

"But I'm still not sure what it is about that particular blast that is so intriguing to you. There have been others, some closer to home, some with more devastating consequences."

"One death is a devastation to that person's family."

"I know, but I feel like I'm missing something."

"Let's change the subject. Are you ready for dessert?"

She blinked at the abrupt question. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Do you have dessert?"

"All the fixings for ice cream sundaes: hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts, and, of course, ice cream."

"Sounds delicious."

He grinned, giving her a wicked smile. "Although I can think of a few other ways we might use the whipped cream."

"None of which we're going to do," she said quickly.

"It's not a crime to admit you're attracted to me."

"You're the one who's attracted to me," she countered.

"Well, I can't argue with that, not after that kiss we shared earlier."

"That was expedient."

"It was hot, and you know it."

She frowned. "I don't even know you."

"You don't have to know me to want me. But that bothers you, doesn't it?"

It did bother her, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "What bothers me more is that we lost Westley and Anika. We got distracted."

"So, you can at least admit you were distracted."

She sighed. "Fine. We have some chemistry, but we're not going to do anything about it. We're only together because of Jasmine."

"And because you need a safe place to stay, and for some reason you find it easier to trust me than the person you check in with every few hours."

"Well, as you've mentioned several times, you have saved my life, and the safe house the FBI put me into didn't work out too well. So, let's make some sundaes and then we'll figure out what to do next."

Ten

Parisa surprised him with the awesome magnificence of her sundae: two scoops of ice cream—one vanilla, one chocolate—plenty of hot fudge, a couple of swirls of whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on the top. He'd thought by how slim she was, she might have either foregone the sundae or settled for a small scoop, but she was eating with pure pleasure, her dark eyes lit up, and dollops of whipped cream clinging to her lips with each spoonful.

He was so fascinated by watching her eat that he left his sundae untouched.

"Yours is melting," Parisa told him, as her tongue snaked out to catch a drop of hot fudge.

"You're really enjoying that," he said, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream.

"I love a hot fudge sundae. It's actually my favorite dessert."

"Then I made a good choice. It was this or the cheesecake."

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