“Shit!” Sam swore under his breath and slammed his laptop shut with a snap. He had been irritated and restless since he’d gotten up at five this morning. Even a two-hour full workout in his private gym in the mansion didn’t help. Now he was pissed. In fact, he was really pissed. The problem was he didn’t know who he was pissed with or what he was pissed about.
“What’s wrong, Sam?” Nina called out from the other side of the living area.
Sam didn’t reply.
Nina Pearson frowned darkly. Come on, Sam, she wanted to yell at him. Share your problems with me. That’s why I’m here. I want you to notice me. I want to be yours. I want to be a part of your family. That’s why I’m here on a Sunday, slaving my way into your life. Wasting my time with your daughter who doesn’t like me, so you’ll notice me.
She ignored the sulking Lilly beside her and got up from the sofa to sit beside Sam. “Lilly is doing great with her math. I bet she’s the best in her class.”
Sam turned his attention to Nina. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what she was talking about, which wasn’t like him. Nina had been in his life since before Sarah’s death. And after that, she’d been a tremendous help to him during the course of his depression. He thanked her for being there for Lilly. She’d been a good influence on his daughter and a good role model for her to look up to.
“Sorry, I was just frustrated with work.” He lied.
“Then why don’t you take some time out and we go out for lunch?” Nina suggested. Like a date? she wanted to add.
“Lunch,” Sam said, his mind flicking to a café by the beach. “Lunch,” he repeated.
Lilly chose that moment to jump up from her spot on the floor and run to her dad. “Can we go to the beach, Dad? Please?”
Sam didn’t need any further encouragement. He laughed, his agitation suddenly gone. “Of course, darling. StarFish Café?”
“Yes, I like StarFish,” Lilly said, and with that, she ran out the door. “Come on. Let’s go.”
They arrived some twenty minutes later at the café, and the instant they walked through the door, Sam scanned the place for a familiar face. He spotted Jeremy at the counter, paying the bill. But nowhere in sight was his date. He frowned, wondering if this girl Chan had ditched Jeremy.
When Jeremy turned, however, he looked too happy for Sam’s liking. Chan didn’t ditch him after all, but where was the girl? He was scanning the café again, hoping to see the woman with long hair, the woman he’d seen at the Thursday market.
“Sam, Nina, and little Lilly!” Jeremy chuckled in surprise. “You guys are out lunching?”
“Hi, Uncle Jeremy,” Lilly said.
Jeremy bent down and gave his niece a kiss. “Hey, Princess, how’s your Sunday going so far?”
Lilly clamped her lips shut and blinked. She tried very hard not to look so sad, but couldn’t help herself. The little girl had hoped it would just be her and her dad coming out to lunch. When she found Nina tagging along with them too, she was very disappointed.
She didn’t like Nina very much because the woman was only nice to her when her dad was around. When they were alone, Nina would tell her she wasn’t her mother and she should just grow up and behave herself like an adult. Most of the time, Nina would ignore her, which was okay with Lilly. But she didn’t like it when Nina made nasty comments about her friends Jason and Timothy.
What was wrong with playing with Jason and Timothy? They were Marian’s grandsons and her age. Why wasn’t she allowed to play with them? Nina even told her today that Jason and Timothy weren’t invited to her birthday party next month because they weren’t in their “circle.” Lilly didn’t understand what that meant. She just knew it wasn’t fair. It wouldn’t be fun without her friends. Thus, she sulked.
Jeremy raised his brows. “What’s wrong?”
Lilly shook her head.
Nina frowned at the little girl and knew she was about to tell her uncle she’d been a bitch to her this morning. She roughly pulled Lilly by the arm and brought the girl close to her. In doing so, Lilly’s head bumped against Nina’s hip. Her carefully bound hair fell loose in the process, and the beautiful bow of flowers on the side came undone, falling to the floor. Nina accidentally stepped on it and, to Lilly’s irritation, made no apology for it.
Lilly wanted to cry but tried very hard not to.
Sam saw his daughter’s teary eyes and quickly got down to his knees. He gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Come on. Let me fix that hair for you.”
Lilly turned and, with teary eyes, she said, “Daddy, I need to pee.”
Nina took the opportunity to redeem herself. “I’ll take her.”
Lilly shook her head and said quickly, “No. I can go by myself. I need to be an adult!” She made Sam let her go by thrusting her puny hands against his massive chest. Sam frowned, wondering what had gotten into his daughter. Knowing it was best to let her have her way this time, he released her.
Lilly turned on her heel and then ran toward the restroom as fast as she could.
Nina laughed uncomfortably. “Why don’t we find a seat?”
Sam nodded and was about to go after her when he turned and asked Jeremy, “How’s your date?”
“Great,” Jeremy said, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s great. Anyway, enjoy lunch and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” Sam said, watching Jeremy walking out the front door. Suddenly, he felt utter disappointment and didn’t feel like having lunch anymore. But he went with Nina nonetheless and started scanning over the menu.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 12