In the elevator, Chan succumbed to her inability to change Sam and her sisters’ minds and proceeded to sulk, waiting in dread for doom to come.They were outside the apartment building when Soriya said, “Wow! That’s a very nice car.”“Maserati,” Dara said. “Nice.”Sam chuckled as he clicked on the automatic button on his key. The doors unlocked, and he said, “Get in.”Dara opened the front door of the passenger side for him, and he gently placed Chan onto the leather seat. A few moments later, they were on their way.“So tell us about Lilly,” Dara said from the back seat. “Help us get some idea of what she wants for her presents.”Sam chuckled. “You can interrogate her when you see her.”Dara nodded. “Okay. We’ll do that.”Soriya rubbed her hands together and laughed out evilly. “Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha… We shall use rope. It needs to be in a dark room…”Chan rolled her eyes. “Your imagination is going haywire again.”“As if yours hasn’t,” Soriya said. “I heard the furious tapping of keys la
“Are you guys done?” Soriya asked after poking her head in the doorway.Sam nodded while Chan eyed Lilly watching her just behind Soriya. The little girl became shy suddenly, and Chan wondered why.Adam, after he’d finished wrapping the bandage around Chan’s ankle once again, said, “Yes. All done. Has Marian finished preparing lunch?” At Soriya’s nod, he got up from his spot. “In that case, I’ll go and help set the table.”Once he was out the door, Lilly took the opportunity and rushed in, straight to Chan. Behind her, Soriya rolled her eyes. “I knew it. I just knew it.” She turned to Sam. “See what I told you? Every kid likes her.”Sam chuckled. He’d admit it wasn’t just the kids. It was him as well.Lilly claimed a spot beside Chan on the couch and started telling the young woman about her school and friends, including Timothy and Jason. Then she went on about her birthday party coming up next Saturday.“Here,” she said, handing Chan a paper cut into a card.Chan took it and realize
Is Sam a single father? That realization hit Chan right in the gut. She hadn’t been kissing a married man after all. She hadn’t been liking a married man after all. Suddenly, she wanted to laugh in relief.“Is everything okay?” Holly asked.Chan jolted back to reality. “Yes. I’m fine.” She glanced to her right and saw Sam watching her, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Her heart skipped a beat in delight as she continued to gaze at him. Of course, the eye contact didn’t go unnoticed by the others around the table either.After lunch, Soriya and Dara helped clean up while Lilly, Timothy, and Jason spent time with Chan and Sam. Once the dishes were done, they were ready to depart.“Look!” Dara said at the door. “I don’t have to cook dinner tonight.” In her hands were leftovers in containers.Soriya said, “Thanks to Marian. She is awesome!”The two sisters did a high five. Lilly jumped up and down and begged to have one as well. The sisters happily obliged and gave her high fives.After
The moment Jeremy saw Chandra come in through the door, his eyes widened with delight. She was a sight to behold. Her hair was done up in a loose bun at the top of her head, and her cocktail dress fit perfectly about her slim frame. Her smile was radiant when she said, “Hi, Jeremy.”Sitting there, Jeremy’s throat felt rather dry. Opposite him were Dara and Soriya. They smiled at each other with delight at the reaction they’d received from Jeremy. Score! That was exactly what they wanted. A pleasant surprise of beauty showing up on a date. They could totally tell he was smitten with their sister.Jeremy cleared his throat at that point and then said, “Hi. You look beautiful.”Chan didn’t expect that. After all, she didn’t think she’d put that much effort into looking good for the date. She’d been told by her sisters The Twilight was a fancy restaurant and had urged her to dress up a little. And this was exactly what she’d ended up wearing. A nice cocktail dress, but nothing too fancy.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he got up from his seat and headed their way.Sam wasn’t surprised to see Chandra and Jeremy here in the restaurant. In fact, he’d known they were going to have their date here and had devised a meeting. Hence, this was not coincidental.He couldn’t take his eyes off Chan the moment he’d seen them upon the landing. She was beautiful tonight, dressed in a lovely cocktail dress and her hair done up. All he wanted to do was be with her. And hell, he wished this were his date with her, not hers with Jeremy.His eyes were locked on her as he came over to them. “Jeremy.”Jeremy chuckled. “I didn’t know you were having dinner here.”Sam was a bad liar, so he kept his mouth shut and simply nodded. He asked his cousin, though his eyes were on Chan, “I thought you were having a date today.”Chan didn’t miss the sarcastic tone beneath that deep, smooth voice of his. Nor the way he looked at her. God! Couldn’t he look at something else? Those warm brown eyes
“Are you sure it’s around here?” Chandra asked her sister as they drove along the streets, both sides lined with huge, breathtaking mansions accompanied by immaculate gardens.Dara nodded. “I’m sure it is. Here, turn left here.”Soriya said, “Man, this place is awesome. I bet only billionaires live around here.”“I think it’s quite a new development,” Dara said. “Most of the mansions here were only built within the last five years or so.”A few moments later, they found the house they were looking for. It was hard to miss since there were colorful balloons tied to the gate in front of the house, an indication of a birthday party for a child. Not to mention there were cars parked along this street. Chan was pretty sure those belonged to the people attending Lilly’s party.They found a spot at the end of the street a few moments later, and the sisters climbed out. Dara went ahead to get the container that held salad, while Soriya took the presents—three different sizes and shapes—for Li
It was nearer to lunch when Jayden, Alexandra, and of course, little Andy showed up, along with Alec and Ruby. Unfortunately, Chan’s other friends—Nikkita, Georgina, and Isabella—had all returned home. Nikkita back to South Australia and Georgina and Isabella to New Zealand.Chan greeted them with delight, and Dara and Soriya immediately went to kiss Andy. Jayden and Alec joined Sam, helping the man prepare the barbeque for lunch. By that time, more kids arrived along with their parents and, of course, Nina and her group of posh friends.Nina, dressed in a sexy black dress, her hair styled beautifully, came into the kitchen and told Marian in a condescending manner to start setting up lunch for the kids and adults outside because it was getting late. Marian rolled her eyes and wanted to slap the woman. But of course, she couldn’t. Her hands were deep in satay meat.Dara stared at the woman and said, “So you’re the one organizing this party?”Nina glared at Dara. “Yes? You have a probl
Lilly’s birthday party went great, starting from lunch until well after dinner in the evening. Drinks and food flowed freely as both adults and children enjoyed themselves tremendously. Chan was indeed happy she was a part of the celebration.Of course, as with any party, the people who helped out would always be tired by the end of the day, and this rang true for Chan. She and her sisters had been at Sam’s house at nine that morning and had helped out ever since. It was well after dinner; Lilly had blown out her seven candles and had opened all of her presents. The cake had been cut and shared, and now all there was for Chan to do was go home.Her dear friends, Alex and Ruby, and their respective partners had left straight after dinner, as they had an early start tomorrow. Alex, her husband Jayden, and their baby boy Andy were flying back to America, while Ruby and her fiancé Alec were returning to England. Chan hugged her friends goodbye, while Dara and Soriya sadly kissed Andy, pro