Page 57 of Elusive Promise

Parisa felt her cheeks warm at his compliment. He was putting on an act, but still, it was nice to hear.

"Parisa has always been a beauty, like her mother. How did you meet?"

"Do you want me to tell the story?" Jared asked her.

"Sure," she said, curious to hear what he would say.

"It was raining, and we were both running for the same taxi. Our hands actually came down on the car door handle at the same time. It was like an electric shock ran through me," Jared told Elizabeth. "Our eyes met, and I thought to myself, where on earth did this stunning woman come from?"

"I think you were more likely wondering how you were going to get me to take a different taxi," she interjected.

He smiled at her. "Not at all. I wanted to get to know you." He glanced back at Elizabeth. "I told her we'd share the taxi. We got into the backseat, dripping wet, and icy cold, but there was so much heat in the car—"

"Jared," she protested, not sure how far he was going to go with the story.

"Don't worry," he said with a laugh. "I'm not going to elaborate. We got lucky enough to be stuck in traffic for almost a half hour, and during that time I convinced Parisa to meet me for dinner that night. The rest is history."

Hearing Jared's tale made her realize how good he was at making up a story on the spot, much like she had been when she'd told Neil about the book of poetry Jasmine had wanted her to give to Ben. How ironic that she would feel so connected to a man who was as good a liar as she was.

"That's so romantic," Elizabeth said. "It's just like one of those romantic comedies I used to act in. And not at all what I would have expected with Parisa. She was always such a cautious, look-before-you-leap, analyze-every-possible-scenario, make-a-pro-and-con-list kind of girl."

He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her. "You've definitely changed, sweetheart."

"I was a teenager when Elizabeth knew me."

"That's true," Elizabeth said. "You're an adult now, and I'm sure I don't know you at all."

"Speaking of children growing up, I was hoping to speak to Ben."

"Yes." Elizabeth frowned. "Neil said that Jasmine gave you a book, and she wanted Ben to have it, but I don't understand. She didn't know she was going to be kidnapped, so how could she leave you something to give to my son?"

"She was showing me a book of poetry when the fumes came into the room." Parisa reached into the tote bag she'd bought at the bookstore and pulled out the volume of poems that were all about heartbreak. "She said that Ben was heartsick about a girl he was seeing in Paris, and she thought this might help him. She wrote a note to Ben that she thought would encourage him. I was looking at it when the air in the room got bad, and somehow, I hung on to it through everything. Every time I look at it, I feel like I kept it for a reason—Ben needs to have it."

"I can give it to him when he gets back."

"I'd really like to do that myself. When will he be home?"

"I don't know. He's having a difficult time dealing with Jasmine's kidnapping. The two of them have become very close. He went to stay with friends."

"Do you know anything about this girl he was seeing in Paris?"

"He hasn't talked to me about her, but I heard him on the phone with Jasmine, and he said the name Sara. He dated a girl named Sara when he was sixteen. I'm pretty sure it's the same girl. Judging from what I overheard, they reconnected in Paris, but things didn't end well. When he came home early from his study program, I was relieved, because there had been an explosion in the city, not far from his hotel, and I didn't like him being so far away from me." She let out a breath. "Not that there's any place that's really safe anymore."

"That's true," she murmured.

"Since he returned, Ben has been depressed. I thought the engagement party would take his mind off things. He adores Jasmine. He was so upset, he tore his room apart, broke a lamp, almost broke a few fingers hitting the wall with his fist. Neil told me not to worry, that he was just blowing off steam, but I'm his mother—how can I not worry?"

Hearing Elizabeth talk about Ben's reaction to Jasmine's kidnapping brought forth mixed emotions.Was Ben just torn up about his good friend being abducted, or was he somehow a part of it, maybe even a reluctant participant?

"Do you have Ben's number?" she asked. "I'd really like to text him, see if we could meet up, so I could give him the book, and maybe my telling him what Jasmine said to me would make him feel better."

"I guess that would be all right," Elizabeth said slowly. "Maybe it would give him a reason to come home." She stood up. "Let me get my phone. Ben just got a new number, and I don't have it memorized."

As Elizabeth left the room, Parisa glanced at Jared. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think she knows much of anything."

"I don't, either. But her motherly instinct has her worrying about her son. She knows something is off with him. And so do we." She pulled her hand away from Jared's. "By the way, that was quite a story you told her about our first meeting. Did you just pull that out of your hat? Or did it happen with some other woman?"

---