* * * * *
By the time the Chandler sisters got home, it was nearly four in the afternoon, and Chan hadn’t checked her cell phone to see if anyone had texted or called her. When she did, she found four missed calls from Jeremy.
“Wow!” Soriya said behind Chan. “He must really worry about you.”
Chan didn’t know how to respond to that and started dialing back. A few seconds later, Jeremy picked up.
“Chan? Thank God! I was beginning to wonder,” he said, chuckling away.
“Sorry, Jeremy. I was visiting Grandma Su,” Chan said. “She’s a family friend and lives quite a way out of the city.”
“Ah, I see,” Jeremy replied. “I wanted to know if you got home okay this morning after last night.”
Chan blushed at the reminder. “Yes, I got home okay. Sam and Lilly dropped me off this morning.”
“Yeah, I went to their house, but no one was home. I thought I’d pick you up and drop you off… But I guess I was a bit late, eh?”
Chan giggled. “Yes, unfortunately. Thank you for your kind consideration.”
“Hey, I was wondering if you’d want to do dinner tonight?”
Chan thought for a moment. “I’m a bit tired today, Jeremy.”
“Damn. That’s too bad.”
Chan didn’t miss the disappointment she heard in his voice. “How about you come around to our place for dinner?”
“Really?” Jeremy laughed. He didn’t hesitate at the invitation. “Sure. I’ll be there around six.”
“Okay. See you then.”
“You betcha,” he said and then hung up.
“Jeremy is joining us for dinner?” Dara asked from the kitchen.
Chan nodded.
Soriya said, “Be careful, darling sis, or he’ll become a member of the family without you realizing it.”
Chan frowned. “What are you on about?”
Soriya shook her head. “You are so innocent, Chan. The man really likes you. Not to mention Sam.”
Chan blushed. “I know that.”
Dara chimed in. “So who do you like more?”
“I don’t think that is any of your concern, my dear sisters,” Chan said, walking out the door.
Alone in her room, Chan lay there on the bed, wondering if she was too open toward Jeremy. She wondered if her actions confused him where her heart was concerned. Sure, he was handsome, nice, and very funny, but she didn’t feel anything for him, and their relationship could never go any further than friendship.
Sam, on the other hand, was the one she wanted and ached for. The thought of him made her heart glow with delight, and she wondered if he felt the same way about her.
Of course he did. She scoffed at herself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kissed her, right?
Once again, her thoughts went to that morning when he’d kissed her, and her insides glowed with delight. She stayed there thinking about Sam and their kisses for a couple more minutes before she realized she had a deadline for her next book and needed to get a move on pronto.
She worked diligently and only took a five-minute break every hour or so. She really did make good progress on the manuscript and was quite happy about that.
It was exactly six when she heard the doorbell and knew it was Jeremy. She flipped her laptop shut and headed down the stairs.
“Hello, Chan,” Jeremy greeted the moment he saw her along the stairs.
“Hi, Jeremy,” Chan replied. “How’s your day?”
“Okay,” he said, shrugging. “And yours?”
“Good.” She came to land on the ground floor as Soriya rolled her eyes.
“Oh, the pleasantry.” She teased. “Right, Jeremy, you’re helping us cook.” On that note, she spirited Jeremy away into the kitchen.
Jeremy had a blast helping the sisters, and by the time they settled down for dinner, the kitchen was a messed. Good thing Jeremy offered to stay and help clean up after eating.
It was then the phone rang, and Chan picked up.
“Hello, this is the Chandler resident. Chandra speaking.”
“Chan.” Sam’s voice came through. “Hey.”
Chan felt her heart skip a beat. “Hi,” she said, smiling.
On the other side of the room, Soriya said, “Oh dear, Chan is smiling. I wonder who’s calling.”
Jeremy didn’t like the sound of that. When Chan said, “Lilly wants to talk to me?” he knew without a doubt it was Sam.
Wanting to make his territory as clear to his cousin as possible, he picked up a spoon filled with a soup he had made with Dara, and headed Chan’s way.
“Chan,” he said loudly so the other end of the line could hear him. “Try this. I’ve made it.”
Chan was a little confused and looked at it.
“Open wide,” he said.
Chan couldn’t do anything except open her mouth for him. When she did, he placed the spoon in, and Chan tasted the soup.
“How was it?” he asked playfully.
Chan swallowed. She nodded. “It’s nice. Thanks, Jeremy.”
“Right?” he said. “It’s my first time cooking.” He laughed. “Oh, and who’s on the line?”
Chan licked her lips and then said, “It’s Sam.”
“I see,” Jeremy said and then leaned in. “Hey, Sam. What’s up?”
On the other end of the line, Sam said, “Jeremy? What are you doing there?”
Jeremy couldn’t wait to tell his cousin. “Chan invited me for dinner.” He smiled cheekily. “What about you? Why are you calling?”
Chan moved away from Jeremy and frowned at him. “Jeremy? It’s Lilly. She wants to talk to me.”
Jeremy suddenly felt rather guilty. “Err, sorry.”
Soriya shook her head. “And so you should be, mister.”
On the phone, Chan said, “Sorry about that, Sam. Is Lilly still there?”
“Yes. Hold on. I’ll pass on the phone,” Sam said.
A moment later, Lilly’s voice came through, “Hi, Chan. I just want to tell you don’t forget to drop the books off tomorrow, okay?”
Chan chuckled. “Of course I won’t.”
“Promise?” Lilly asked.
“I promise,” Chan replied.
A short pause, and then Lilly said, “Is Uncle Jeremy at your house?”
Chan glanced at Jeremy, who was back in his seat, enjoying his meal with her sisters. “Yes. He is here having dinner with us.”
Chan heard a deep sigh, followed by a long pause from the other side, and instantly, she suspected something was bothering the little girl. “Is something the matter?”
“Hmm… No. Nothing,” Lilly said. “Bye, Chan.”
Chan chuckled. “Bye,” she said and then hung up.
When she got back to the table, Dara asked, “What’s the matter?”
Chan drifted her eyes to her sister. “Huh? What?”
“You have a worry look on your face,” Dara said. “What’s wrong?”
Chan shook her head. “No. It’s nothing.” Even as she said that, her mind was on Lilly, wondering what could possibly be bothering the little girl. Then again, the same could be said for Sam. The moment he’d heard Jeremy’s voice, there was a change in his tone, as though something was bothering him, though he tried to hide it. Sure, it could be just her imagination. Of course, being a writer, she was full of it. Then again, she was pretty sensitive to her surroundings, more especially to the people around her. And Sam’s voice indeed bothered her.
* * * * *
CHAPTER 33