Six #2
“My favorite part?” It had been a while since she lived there, her mother making it hard to breathe in the cramped space.
“There was a little window in the kitchen leading to the fire escape. I had a planter packed with fresh herbs. In the winter I’d move it to the sill, but in the summer I’d hang it outside.
It was my own little farm. I could reach right through the curtains and pluck fresh basil right off the vine. ”
“You like cooking, don’t you?”
“It depends. You have so many boxed meals here. It’s easy, but cooking from scratch is a labor of love. That’s all we do at home.”
“Do you miss home?”
The hollow longing she lived with for nearly a decade seemed to hiccup inside of her. “Yes, but I’m happier here. This is my home now. I think I’d miss America more if I left.”
“Do you ever visit?”
“I’ve been gone so long I feel like if I returned the ache might get sharper when I had to leave again. But my aunt…” Her eyes blinked as the sharp awareness of time fleeting by pinched her heart. “My aunt was home to me and soon she’ll be gone. It’s very sad.”
The gentle weight of his fingers pressed to her knee. “I’m sorry. She must be very special to you.”
Nodding, she let out a breath, shoving away the heavy emotions. “She is. I was closer to my aunts than either of my parents and soon I’ll have lost them both.”
“You should visit her before it’s too late.”
Her chest tightened. She wished there was some possible way that could happen. But under her current circumstances, there wasn’t. “It’s very expensive.”
“Let me buy the ticket.”
Her head jerked up and she frowned. “What?”
“I’ll buy you a round trip ticket and you can have the closure you deserve.”
“Elliot, no.” Was he insane?
“Why not?” He shrugged. “It couldn’t be more than a thousand dollars round trip. You should be able to say goodbye to the woman who raised you, Nadia.”
“I can’t let you do that. Besides, I have obligations here. I have classes and—”
“This is your aunt. You could be back in a matter of days. How much would it really interfere with your work?”
“It’s a twenty-four-hour flight.”
“Not if you don’t stop for layovers,” he argued. “You could get there in under sixteen hours, stay for a few days, and be back by the weekend.”
It scared her how simple he made it seem. So tempting. “Thank you, but no.”
Going home would complicate things. She wasn’t ready to see all those memories in living color, face everything she left behind to transport her entire life to the States with nothing to show for her time away.
“I appreciate the offer—so much—but Elliot, I can’t accept.”
He frowned, appearing genuinely disappointed she couldn’t accept. Maybe he was looking for a way to ship her out of his house.
“Is it because of the cost? If that bothers you we can call it an IOU. You can pay me back down the line when you’re back on your feet.”
Damn him. He had a way of breaking down everything into manageable little pieces. “I would absolutely pay you back regardless, but the answer’s still no. You’ve already offered me too much.”
His expression blanked as he stared at the tray for a moment. When his head lifted there was a calculating glint in his eyes. “What if I told you I was going to Budapest on business and my colleagues backed out, leaving me with a non-refundable ticket?”
“I’d say you are a liar and a terrible one at that. What business do you have in Budapest?” She tossed her napkin at him. “You have too much of an honest face to fib, mister.”
“It’s true,” he insisted, not convincing her. “We have shareholders there.”
Pursing her lips, she arched a brow. “What shareholders?”
“Time Warner, Noki, and the developers from other platforms we collaborate with.”
Maybe he was telling a half-truth, but she knew there was no trip. He was trying to manipulate her into accepting his offer. “And you weren’t planning on going because…?”
He shrugged, his gaze flicking about the room as if the lie made his eyeballs skittish. “I, uh, was planning on postponing until one of the guys could join me. But this actually works out. You’d be much more helpful, sort of like a translator.”
He didn’t speak Hungarian, so she could see why he’d need a translator. He’d done so much to help her. If he needed something in return she couldn’t let him down. If he would be making the trip eventually anyway…
She was wavering. “It would help you?”
“Definitely. I wouldn’t have to postpone any meetings and we’d be able to close the deal we’ve been negotiating. I’d have meetings most days so you’d have plenty of time with your aunt and relatives.”
It sounded too perfect, too simple, and smelled a bit too much like bullshit. “When is your trip?”
His eyes skittered to the right and she detected more fibs. “It was actually supposed to be this week. I think we were scheduled to leave on Saturday, but I have to check. It was booked months ago. I almost forgot, because once the guys said they couldn’t make it, I assumed we’d postpone.”
He was either getting better at lying or he was really telling the truth. “Okay, no more, Elliot.” She didn’t want him to lie because he was too good for that. “Look me in the eye and swear this is the truth.”
His face blanked as he met her stare head-on. “I swear I want you to come to Budapest with me so I can meet with our foreign associates.”
She pursed her lips. He had to be telling the truth. No one learned to lie that quickly. “Fine, I’ll go. But I’m paying you back for my ticket.”
His face lit with a satisfied grin. “Great. Perfect. You’re really helping me out.”
She narrowed her eyes, still not fully trusting this story but finding it impossible to disappoint him. “Then we shall go.”