Billionaire Romance Boxed Set 1(125)

“So this is Brynn!” she cried, exclamation punctuating every word she said. She spoke nearly perfect English, her accent slightly British but otherwise unnoticeable. She pulled back and took me by both arms, examining me. I tried on my most convincing smile. “How darling. Eliot’s told me so much about you! And of course Otto is dying to meet you, as well.”

I wondered what Eliot had told her that promised so much of me, but I decided she must just be overly friendly. My jaw hurt from smiling broadly, and when she turned to Eliot for a hug I was glad for the chance to relax my face.

“Eliot, dear, why haven’t you come to visit us again? We’d love to have you for dinner. This time less of a party, yes? I’ll make sure Otto doesn’t go overboard.”

“I’ve been working,” Eliot said. “And if you can find a way to stop Otto from going overboard, you’re a more valiant person than me.”

“Oh, stop!” she cried, her tittering laughter filling the kitchen. The peace of the morning’s quiet had been shattered by her presence, but curiosity filled me up as I watched her move. This was Eliot’s sister-in-law? I wondered about the rest of his family. I wondered about the brother. Who would marry such an unstoppable force as this lady?#p#分页标题#e#

“Shall we go, then?” Marta was looking at me, her bright blue eyes framed by long lashes. “We have so much to do, I don’t want to stand around waiting.”

“Um, sure,” I said.

Eliot caught Marta by the arm as we went to leave. He spoke a few quick words in Hungarian. Marta’s eyes darted over to me, but quickly turned away. She spoke back in their native tongue, a kind tone to her words, and patted Eliot on the shoulder, kissing him twice alternately on the cheeks. She turned to me expectantly.

I had only read a little bit about Hungarian customs, and the two-pronged kiss hello and goodbye was completely unfamiliar to me. Not knowing what to do, I was startled when Eliot leaned forward and kissed me on the cheeks. His lips barely brushed my skin, his face pressing lightly against mine, but I felt the contact as piercingly as when he had touched my hand before. My body leaned forward of its own account, aching to be held.

“Goodbye, Brynn,” Eliot said softly. “I will see you later.”

“She’s in good hands,” Marta said, taking me by the arm and spinning me away toward the door. “I will show you all of Budapest!”

I had longed to see Budapest for ages, but now all I wanted was to stay with Eliot, to walk the grounds with him and work on math with him. I might be in good hands with Marta, but the only arms I wanted around me were not hers.





Marta drove a sleek sports car, bright orange and convertible, but when I asked her what kind it was, she just shrugged.

“Lamborghini,” she said. “I don’t know what kind. I think it is too slow on curves. Otto gave it to me last month to try.”

We took off with a roar, and despite her misgivings, I thought the car sped nicely along the roads. I couldn’t imagine having a husband who would buy me flashy, expensive cars just to try out for size, but Marta took it all in stride.

“We shall have to go to the opera sometime when you are here. I adore the opera, don’t you?”

“I’ve never been,” I said.

“Oh, you will love it!” Marta went on, gushing about all of the things in Budapest that I would admire. I believed her, but our mission today was only to find clothes, and I was disappointed that we would have to shop instead of seeing all of the magnificent culture that Marta went on and on about. Marta’s face lit up, though, when we pulled up directly in front of a crowded street of shopgoers. She parked the car on the side of the street in front of a chic boutique and jumped out.

“Are we…uh…should we park here?” I asked. The curb was painted red, and nobody else had parked anywhere near.

“Government plates, darling,” Marta said. “Don’t worry, I’ve never gotten a ticket.”

I felt strange leaving the car parked in an obviously illegal spot, but Marta didn’t care so I tried to ignore it. I hated breaking rules, but I was just a guest here, after all. A cold guest. The chill pierced me as soon as I got out of the car, so I hurried inside the door of the shop behind Marta.

Marta strode into the boutique and immediately began picking out clothes. One of the shopgirls seemed to recognize her and trotted eagerly behind, letting Marta pile her arms up with pretty things. I walked around the edge of the store, looking carefully at the winter coats they had hanging up. The prices seemed outrageous, and I did some mental calculations in my head just to make sure I wasn’t going crazy with the currency conversion. Some of the coats cost four figures in American dollars! I didn’t even want to touch the fabric, for fear of damaging it.