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CHAPTER 33
Lilly raised her eyes to her father after she’d hung up the cell phone. Sam knew his daughter was more than a little upset about the fact that Jeremy had been invited by Chan for dinner while they hadn’t. Goddammit! He was as well, just a little. But of course he couldn’t do anything about that, could he? There was no point in dwelling on it. He was a logical man, and he knew Jeremy was simply making the boundary clear where he and Chan were standing.
Sam sighed and wondered if he’d done something very stupid. Hadn’t he promised himself he wouldn’t take a woman his cousin was dating? It had been clear, however, that he’d liked Chan since the moment he’d first met her. What the heck could he do about that? One couldn’t really choose who one loved. It was just innate—a force of nature.
“Daddy?” Lilly’s voice reached him, terminating his confused thoughts. “How come Chan only invited Uncle Jeremy for dinner? I thought we showed her we like her more with our kisses?”
Sam gathered his daughter in his arms and made her sit on his lap. “Maybe she’ll invite us next time.”
That put a smile on her face, and her eyes brightened with glee. “You think so?” Suddenly, she was sad again. “What if she doesn’t? What if Uncle Jeremy showed her he likes her more by kissing her more? Daddy! You have to kiss Chan more and harder to tell her you like her more than Uncle Jeremy.”
Sam chuckled. He hugged her tight and kissed her on her forehead. “I love you, sweetheart. You know love is unconditional and uncountable, right?”
Lilly nodded. “But how do you show somebody you like them when you can’t count love?”
“Hmm…” Sam began. “You can do so through a variety of ways. Through kindness.”
Lilly screwed her face in disagreement. “You’re kind to Chan, but Uncle Jeremy still got invited to dinner. No.” She shook her head. “I think you need to kiss her more to tell her you like her more.”
Sam couldn’t help himself; he laughed and started tickling his daughter. “You’re such a smart little girl, Lilly. Maybe I should do just that.”
Lilly continued to laugh until her stomach hurt. When she managed to stop, she wiped her tears away and said, “Daddy, you should hurry ‘cause Uncle Jeremy might get her first.”
Sam cocked his head to one side. Perhaps he should get a move on and declare his feelings for Chan in a more unambiguous manner, he thought.
“Right. Come on, princess, time for dinner,” he said, lifting her up and carrying her over his shoulders toward the dining area. There, father and daughter sat down to have a simple meal of homemade pasta.
As they were eating, Sam’s mind wandered off to Chan, and he wondered what she, her sisters, and Jeremy were having for dinner. Suddenly, his heart ached. He ached to be with her. Shit! He ached to touch and kiss her. More importantly, he ached to find out what was holding her back. Why is she so afraid?
A couple hours later, after putting Lilly to bed, he still couldn’t sleep, his mind on Chan. When he did manage to fall asleep, it was fitful and short.
He awoke again at five in the morning. Restless and, oddly enough, very pissed—about what, he didn’t know—he headed out to the gym and did two full hours of workout. By the time he was done, he was exhausted, and his mood still wasn’t any better.
He was just heading upstairs when Marian came in.
“Good morning, Sam,” the woman greeted.
“Morning, Marian,” he replied.
“What do you want for breakfast?” she asked as she was heading toward the kitchen.
Sam was about to say pancakes when he caught himself on time. No. Not pancakes. Pancakes reminded him of Chan, and right now, he didn’t want that. Seeing and eating pancakes would only make him ache for Chandra even more. Instead, he said, “Scrambled eggs and bacon on toast would be fine, Marian.”
“Sure,” Marian said and then disappeared into the kitchen.
Sam headed upstairs to get ready.
Needless to say, Sam’s day didn’t go very well. After dropping his daughter off at school, he headed to the hotel to catch up with some work. There, however, his mind keep flicking back to that night a week ago when he’d brought Chan up here to treat her sprained ankle. He kept seeing the look on her face and that slender body of hers sitting there on that very couch, her skirt riding up her thighs… He was turned on once again.
He shut the laptop with a determined click, drawing his personal assistant Jim Mane’s attention.
“Is something the matter, sir?” Jim asked curiously. He didn’t miss the fact the boss was restless and uninterested in work since his arrival that morning.
“I’m leaving,” Sam said. “Continue work as usual,” he instructed.
“Yes, sir,” Jim said, nodding.
Sam took his jacket and headed out the door. He arrived home some half hour later. After greeting Marian, who wasn’t at all surprised he was home, he headed upstairs to the third floor where his office was located. There, he took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and threw himself onto the couch. He lay there and closed his eyes, wondering why he couldn’t stop thinking about Chan, why Jeremy there with her last night really bothered him, and why he felt so sexually frustrated all of a sudden. It wasn’t like him. His world had turned upside down because of Chan, and damn, but he wanted to see her again. He wanted to kiss her again, and shit, he wanted to do more than just kiss her.
It wasn’t long when his mind disappeared into darkness as he fell asleep there on the couch.
* * * * *
Nina was more than a little annoyed when Sam didn’t answer his phone or return her text messages. Once again, she rang the doorbell, wondering if Marian was there at work. When finally she saw the housekeeper coming a moment later, she gave the woman a good glare.
Marian opened the door, watching her with disinterest.
Nina snapped, “Is Sam home? I phoned him, but he didn’t answer.”
Marian sighed. Then she thought internally she wouldn’t answer the phone either if it were Nina who was calling her.
“He’s in his office,” she said, nodding toward the stairs.
Nina waved Marian away in dismissal. Then she herself headed toward the stairs. “Don’t disturb us,” she said over her shoulder at Marian, who was halfway toward the kitchen.
Marian pulled a face and then dismissed the rude woman from her mind as she began to wonder what she should prepare for Sam and Lilly for dinner tonight.
A few moments later, Nina came up onto the third level and headed straight to Sam’s room. She gave it a couple knocks before entering. There, she expected Sam to be in his seat behind the desk, working. Instead, she saw him lying on the couch, his eyes closed as though he were asleep.
Frowning, she silently made her way to him. She peered at him for a while, taking in his handsome features. Then slowly, she smiled. All these years, she thought. She still couldn’t stop herself from wanting him.
Gently, she sat beside him, gazing at him long and hard, thinking how off their timing was. If only Sarah hadn’t met him first. If only he wasn’t dating her. If only he and Sarah weren’t married, why then, he would have been Nina’s husband instead, and they would have lived happily together as a family. Because of Sarah, however, she couldn’t have him. That was until Sarah passed away in that accident.
Of course, Sam moving on with another woman so soon after his wife’s death would be suspicious and frowned upon, and Nina fully understood that. But heck, it had been three years, and now was a perfect time to restart his romantic life. She’d been helping him out ever since Sarah’s death, staying close to him, ensuring any woman who showed any sign of even crossing the invisible boundary she’d drawn and moving into her territory was banished.
Yes, Sam was hers, and from this day forward, she vowed she’d step up her game, ruthlessly eradicating any potential love interest that came Sam’s way, ensuring she was the only love interest available for Sam.
Lovingly, she stroked his hair, his cheekbone, and then moved down to his masculine jawline. She sighed as she lifted her head, dreaming about their future together.
It was then she saw a car parked across the street. Nina narrowed her eyes in suspicion and then she stood up. She walked across the room over to the side that had a view of the street. She folded her arms across her chest as she watched a young woman come out of the car, carrying containers and some books. It was Chandra Chandler. Nina gritted her teeth as she glared at the younger woman. Then she turned her eyes to Sam. Slowly, a sly smile formed on her lips, and her eyes sparked viciously.
* * * * *
