Chandra wasn’t used to sitting with a hot guy who kept gazing at her face. To be honest, she was a little embarrassed and couldn’t help but blush. This, of course, pleased Jeremy even more.
He laughed and said, “What’s wrong?”
Chan blurted out, “You keep staring at my face. Is there dirt or something on it?”
Jeremy shook his head. “Nope, no dirt, just—”
“Just what?” she asked.
Jeremy shook his head again. “Why don’t we order? What do you want to eat?”
Chan turned her attention to the menu and read through the short list. She cocked her head to one side, and all the while, Jeremy was watching her, smiling.
“I’ll have the pasta. I like pasta,” she said, nodding.
“Pasta, huh? I think I’ll have that, too,” Jeremy commented. Then he raised his hand to get the waitress’ attention.
“Are you both ready to order?” she asked.
“Yes,” Jeremy said. “Chan would like a mocha and pasta. And I would like a straight black and pasta as well.”
The waitress wrote down their order, said, “Thanks,” and then headed away.
With the order out of the way, Jeremy eagerly returned his attention to his date and began chatting. “So, Chan, tell me a bit more about yourself. What do you do? I mean, I don’t mean to pry into your life, but just, you know…” He left the sentence unfinished as he looked at her.
Chan took a sip of the cold water beside her and then said, “Well, as you know, my full name is Chandra Chandler. I’m a Kiwi. Well, half Cambodian half Kiwi.”
“Yes, I can tell from the accent. I like the Kiwi accent. And the half Cambodian part. I like that. So is your mom Cambodian or dad?”
“Mom,” Chan said.
Jeremy continued with his interview. “So why did you decided to move to Australia?”
Chan’s face suddenly paled and her eyes froze on his face. Jeremy noticed. He instantly knew he was stepping onto dangerous ground. Shit!
Chan lowered her eyes and suddenly felt her body shake a little and her stomach tighten. She frowned and told herself to calm down. She needed to get ahold of herself.
“Chan?” Jeremy called out softly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, um, bring that subject up. I mean, whatever reason or reasons you had to leave New Zealand, that’s none of my business. I’m really sorry to bring it up.”
Chan chuckled a little. Then she looked up at him and gave him a smile. “It’s okay, Jeremy. Don’t be silly. Don’t apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong. I mean, it’s all in the past for me. So yeah.” She paused and then changed the subject. “What about you? Tell me about yourself.”
Jeremy was relieved to see she was smiling again. He relaxed in his chair and began his tale. “Well,” he said, “I’m Jeremy Jason White.”
Chan laughed, which Jeremy really loved. He liked that she found him funny.
“Jeremy Jason White,” Chan repeated. “I like that. I like that a lot.”
“Why, thank you,” Jeremy replied. “Thank you very much. I really like my name, too. And you are not allowed to steal it, by the way.”
“What? Your name? Why would I want to steal your name?”
“You never know. When you have kids.” He came to a stop. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why the hell did he bring up the subject of kids on a first date? Shit! He totally messed up badly today. Within five minutes, he’d gone into two very inappropriate topics already. He must be mad. Usually, Jeremy was an expert flirt and a smooth talker. But today, he was a total mess.
“Kids?” Chan asked. “Well, actually…”
Oh shit! Jeremy thought in dread. Don’t tell me she has kids. This young? She can’t be over twenty-five, surely.
“I love kids,” she said. “I seem to bond with them really easily. Is that like a thing?”
Jeremy nodded, still wondering if she had children. No way. Surely she didn’t. She was living with her two younger sisters in the apartment. If there were kids, he would have met them by now. He sighed in relief because really, he just wasn’t ready for kids yet. Not in the least his date’s kid. Of course, he loved Lilly to bits. But Lilly wasn’t his daughter. She was Sam’s daughter, which meant she was his niece, and that was fine.
“Yeah, I think it is totally a thing,” Jeremy said. “In fact, my cousin Sam is very good with children. Especially with Lilly, his daughter. He loves her to bits.”
“Sam?” Chan asked, her head cocked to one side.
“Yeah, the guy you talked to on the phone the other day.”
Suddenly, the voice she couldn’t stop hearing or stop thinking about came back to her. Again, she thought he sounded oddly familiar. And the name Lilly? That sounded oddly familiar, too. But of course, Lilly was a very common name, but why did she have the feeling Sam’s voice had called out to Lilly before. Had he done that whilst Jeremy was talking to her that day? Was that why?
“Oh, him,” she said, nodding.
“So you love kids,” Jeremy said. “You’ve been with many?”
Chan chuckled. “Oh, yes.”
That got Jeremy worried again. “Really?”
“Yes.” Chan chuckled. “Don’t worry. I don’t have kids. Probably will never have them.”
Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief and then laughed. “I really didn’t mean it like that.”
“Well, you did look a little worried back there, but just so you know, I’ve spent lots of time with kids. I was a primary school teacher.”
“Ah,” Jeremy responded. “I see. You said was?”
“Yes. I was a primary school teacher. But just last year, I finished a couple of children’s books. I’m an author now. I do my own artwork and write my own stories.”
“Oh my God!” Jeremy spread his arms out in exaggeration. “I can’t believe this. I’m having lunch with an author. This is amazing. And an artist. That’s like double amazing.”
Chan laughed. “Don’t be so dramatic,” she said. “And be quiet about that. I’m not famous.”
“Ah, but you soon will be. I’m sure of it.” He leaned his face closer to her and narrowed his eyes as he gazed long and hard at her face.
“Eh, what are you doing?” Chan asked, controlling herself from laughing out loud.
“Shush! I’m reading your fortune, young lady.”
Chan blinked, for his words reminded her of Grandma Su’s reading not too long ago. Then she wondered if Grandma Su was right about her meeting a man like the sun. Sure, Jeremy was tall and big, just like Grandma said. And his personality was also like the sun, very warm and inviting and friendly. But if he was supposed to be her soul mate, why didn’t she feel like her world was turning upside down or like he was sweeping her off her feet? Maybe that was only in romance books, and this was real life.
“Ah, yes. You will be very famous, my lady. Very famous indeed.” He nodded.
Chan laughed. “Whoa, you’re very good at this fortune reading.” She teased. It was then that a waitress was by their table, announcing their lunch was ready. She placed two pasta dishes on the table, said, “Enjoy,” and left again.
Chan looked at her plate and smiled. “This looks great.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, and they both dug into their meals.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 11