CHAPTER 28
“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 Lilly. Chan grabbed for the container with her marinated satay meat. Once they were done, they headed toward the house.
“I can’t wait to see inside,” Dara said.
Soriya giggled. “Me, either. It’s going to be awesome.”
Dara nodded in agreement.
They were just entering the property through the gate when they saw Sam heading their way.
Chan felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him. He had his eyes on her, and his smile was handsome today.
“Good morning, ladies,” he greeted. “You got here okay?”
“Hi, Sam,” Soriya said. “We got lost a little. It’s all Dara’s fault. She said she knew where we were going.”
Dara snorted. “My sense of direction and navigation ability is top notch, thank you very much. It was your fault.” She turned to Sam at this point. She even did a dramatic eye roll as she continued. “She said to turn left at that intersection, and then we got lost.”
“But we got here in the end anyway.” Chan laughed. “Where’s Lilly?”
“Inside,” Sam replied, taking a step forward. His eyes shifted to the large plastic container in her hands. It looked heavy. He motioned to grab it from her as he said, “Let me help you with that.”
His hands brushed against her skin, and Chan felt tingles rushing through her body. Her throat felt dry all of a sudden, and she licked her lips.
“Err, thanks,” she said softly.
Dara and Soriya looked at each other, then smiled cheekily.
Soriya said, “I’m going in ahead to find Lilly. She’s going to be so excited when she sees these presents.”
Dara nodded. “I’ll find Marian. Need to put this salad in the fridge.”
“Lilly’s in the living room with her friends,” Sam said. “Marian’s in the kitchen.” He took the container from Chan and led them inside. “Come on in.”
The sisters followed him. Chan’s eyes widened with delight at the interior of Sam’s mansion. It was very modern, with contemporary furnishings, decoration, and art. As they entered the living area, Chan noted it was a very masculine house, with the color palette of dark brown and black mixed with beige and white.
The moment they stepped through the doorway of the living area, noises made by both kids and adults reached them. They saw Lilly with her friends, including Timothy and Jason, playing in one corner of the living area. Around the corner on the other side was Marian, alone in the kitchen, looking like she was doing one hundred and one things at once. Chan frowned and wondered if there was anyone helping out.
Sam headed toward the kitchen, and Chan was about to follow him when Soriya said loudly, “Hi, Lilly,” toward the group of little people.
In the middle of the group, Lilly stopped running around and turned her attention toward the door. She laughed with delight when she saw the sisters. She rushed toward them, her friends trailing along. There were at least ten of them, and they all looked so cute.
“Hi, Chan,” Lilly squealed. “Hi, Soriya.” Lastly, she turned to Dara. “Hi, Dara. These are my friends.”
Then one by one, she proceeded to introduce her friends to the sisters. By the time she finished, the sisters had already forgotten what the first one’s name was.
Soriya went with Lilly to play with the kids, while Chan and Dara headed toward the kitchen to help Marian. Sam was there as well, prepping the sandwiches.
“Hi, Marian,” Chan said. “Need some help?”
“Yes, dear, please do,” Marian said with what sounded like relief. “The catering company is running late, so I need all the help I can get until they arrive with the rest of the orders.”
“Me, too,” Dara said. “I’ll help.”
On that note, Marian instructed Chan to help out with the cupcakes and Dara with the cookies.
In his corner of the kitchen, Sam watched Chan diligently working on decorating the cupcakes, a smile on his face.
Marian nudged him on the shoulder, catching his attention. “There’s something over there you’re interested, eh?” Her eyes were twinkling. “The cupcakes?”
Sam laughed. “Yes. The cupcakes. Looks beautiful and damn delicious.”
Marian couldn’t stop smiling broadly. She hadn’t seen Sam smile this much or look so happy since the death of his wife Sarah. Despite everyone believing him happy and envying him for his success and lifestyle, they didn’t know the dark, solitary hours he spent alone. Women wanted him and had done their utmost to attract his attention. Of course, Marian had known Nina was one of those women, and she knew Sam wasn’t interested in her. Thank God.
Some fifteen minutes later, Jeremy arrived, carrying a huge box of present, along with a few men to set up a bouncy castle. After greeting Chan and the sisters, he led the men away.
As they watched Jeremy out in the backyard, Dara said to Chan, “Honestly, I never thought the world was that small. I mean, Jeremy is actually related to Sam? I truly didn’t believe you yesterday when you told us. I thought you were playing a prank or something. But then again, it’s not like you to play a prank on us.”
Soon, the catering company finally arrived, setting out food and drinks for the guests who slowly started trickling in.
It wasn’t long before Marian realized there wasn’t enough staff to help out, nor was there enough food to go around for both lunch and dinner. In frustration, she called Nina, intending to tell her off and to immediately do something about it. But the woman wouldn’t pick up her phone, and Marian was at a loss as to what to do.
The Chandler sisters stepped in and devised an emergency party plan. Dara was a natural-born organizer and leader and opted to be the team captain. With Sam, Jeremy, Marian, and the four staff from the catering company involved, they implemented a strategy.
Chan suggested they do satay meat because that way, they could have satay kebabs as well as charred satay with peanut sauce to go with steamed rice and satay-filled rolls with fresh salad and, of course, have the satay meat in rice paper. The charred satay could be cooked on the barbeque, as well the kebabs. It also contained lots of vegetables, so it would be delicious as well as healthy for the kids. While the rice paper rolls would do perfectly for female adults watching their diets, as it was very healthy. The satay kebabs and satay rolls targeted both adults and children alike.
Everyone agreed with that idea; hence, Soriya and Jeremy would go out and buy more meat—beef, lamb, chicken, and pork—all precut into bite-size chunks.
Chan and two of the four staff from the catering company would go back to the company’s base and get more rolls as well as rice paper and prepare the three different types of marinades while the other two helped Marian prepare more appetizers for the guests.
Sam would go about greeting his guests normally and pretend nothing was out of order.
When Chan finally returned over an hour later, along with loads of marinade, peanut sauce, rolls, and rice paper, with the staff, Jeremy and Soriya were also back with their loads of meat. Hence, ev
eryone started lending a hand by marinating the meat and then skewering it. While that was being done, Chan started the vegetarian rice rolls, and once some of the satay meat was cooked, she started the satay rice rolls as well.
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 problem with that?”
Soriya chuckled sarcastically. “Of course we do,” she said. “Can’t you see you’ve misjudged the number of staff as well as food to go around?”
Ruby couldn’t help chiming in. “Wow! I wouldn’t hire you if you had a party planning business. You really suck at this.”
Nina was flabbergasted. How dare they? She stood there fuming when Jeremy said, “Don’t worry, Nina. We’ve saved the party… No, that’s not true. The Chandler sisters did. You’re off the hook.” He even winked at her to rile her up. Then he picked up one of Chan’s rice paper rolls and took a bite. “Hmm… Delicious. Chan, you’re a goddess. How did you think of all this in such a short time?”
Soriya giggled. “Because the Chandlers are awesome.”
Nina wanted to murder these people for embarrassing her in front of her friends. She gritted her teeth and turned on her heel. “Come on,” she said to her group and then led them toward the backyard where the main event was taking place.
Chandra, on the other hand, had so much fun working with her friends as they chatted and laughed. When it was time to serve lunch, Ruby and Dara were coordinating where things should go, while Alexandra and Chan did the manual stuff. When Holly and her husband Adam showed up, Holly came in to help as well. Soriya’s job was to keep the kids entertained with the hired magician while the food was set up.
A couple hours later, Chan managed to be alone in the kitchen. She was leaning on the bench-top, sipping a glass of ice-cold Coke as she stared into space. In the distance, she could hear sounds of laughter and conversation. Everyone was outside, having a wonderful barbeque.
She smiled. God, she hadn’t had a party like this for ages, since her mom had passed away in fact. Today had been great thus far, and she felt simply elated to be a part of this joyful time, to be with her sisters and friends, to be with… Sam and Lilly and Jeremy.
There, she admitted it. She was happy to be a part of Sam’s family.
Chan was so deep in her own thoughts she didn’t hear someone coming in through the door and heading her way. The manly body leaned forward over her and whispered, “So this is where you are.”
Chan jumped at the voice caressing her ear. Warmth enveloped her whole being, and she felt weak with delight. She blinked, her heart racing. She slowly turned round and found herself trapped between the bench and the handsome man before her, only inches from her. God, she could feel his warm breath on her skin, and their faces were so close they could be kissing.
“Hi,” she said and then licked her lips. Her gaze was on his face, switching between his warm brown eyes and his lips. Oh God! She had the sudden urge to kiss him. What was wrong with her?
“What are you doing here?” Sam couldn’t keep the smile away. Damn, he’d been seeking time alone with her since she’d arrived this morning. Now was that perfect time. He wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
Chan licked her lips again. “I was just…” Shit! She couldn’t think. What was wrong with her? “I was just… taking time out.”
“Thanks for helping,” he said. “You don’t know how much it means to me and Lilly.”
“No problem,” she said, moving back a bit. Her backside hit the bench.
Sam moved forward, refusing to leave any spare space between them. They were nose to nose and almost lips to lips when he said, “The satay was delicious.”
Chan smiled. “I…” She licked her lips again.
Sam’s attention was drawn there, and he thought, Yes, they look delicious all right.
“I made up the recipe myself,” she said. “You know, just altered a bit from the traditional.”
“That’s very creative,” he said, his eyes turning dark with desire the longer he gazed at her lips. “And did I tell you it was delicious?”
Chan nodded. “Yes, you—”
She didn’t finish. Sam cut her short by pressing his lips against hers.
The moment he started kissing her, Chan felt herself melting into him. She groaned out in pleasure.
“Mmm…” Her heart fluttered with wonderful sensations, while her whole body buzzed with delight.
Sam expertly slipped his tongue between her lips and invaded her mouth.
Chan groaned and shuddered.
Sam continued his exploration of her mouth, his tongue wildly and passionately caressing and stroking her, making her tremble in longing and her core ache in wonder.
She clutched him for dear life as he went wilder, making her mindless. In her mind’s eyes, she was in heaven. In her mind’s eyes, she was in paradise with Sam Harrington.
Suddenly, something dark and ominous broke into her beautiful moment. It was a face. Handsome. Brown hair. Hazel eyes. Dave Moore.
Chan felt sick to her stomach. She pulled back, terminating the kiss, her whole body trembling.
Sam, caught off guard, stood there cupping Chan’s face. He thought he’d gone too far. Damn him. He must have scared the shit out of her with his passion for her.
“I’m sorry I did that,” he whispered softly, his forehead against hers. “Did I scare you?”
Chan stared at his muscular chest, her body still shaking from the unexpected appearance of Dave’s face.
“Yes… I mean, no…. It’s not you…. It’s something else.” She licked her lips. “I’m sorry… I… I’ve never done this before.”
Sam pulled her into his arms, his hands cupping the back of her head, his fingers intertwining with her hair.
Chan rested her face in the crook of his neck, her mind reeling with fear. No. Not again. Why? Why now? She’d gone three months without seeing his face. It had been nice, peaceful. So why now?
She clutched onto Sam, feeling relief and safe in his warm, strong arms. Yes, this man made her feel safe and protected, and she was elated about that.
Slowly, she raised her face to look up at him. She bit her lip, then said, “Sorry about that.”
Sam gave her an understanding smile. “Don’t worry about it. You okay?”
She nodded. Then, of course, she couldn’t help herself. She touched his face and stood on tiptoes, kissing him gently on the lips.
Sam didn’t need any more encouragement. He responded and kissed her back, gently and softly. It was pleasant, but he wanted to go further, deeper—wilder and more passionate. But it couldn’t go there, not yet, not until she trusted him more. Not until he knew she was ready to go there.
When he moved back, terminating their kiss, Chan was flushed and radiant. God, she was beautiful, and the sight of her now knocked the wind out of him.
“Err…” A voice interrupted them.
Chan jolted in her spot, while Sam turned to the door. Dara and Soriya were standing there watching them.
“Hi, ladies,” he said, a smile on his lips.
The sisters laughed uncomfortably.
“Sorry,” Dara said. “We’re just here to get more drinks.”
Soriya nodded. “You kids get back to whatever it was you were doing. Don’t mind us.”
With that, the duo headed to the cupboard to retrieve more bottles of soft drinks and juices.
Chan felt like she wanted to die. Her own sisters had seen her kissing Sam. Oh my God! But the man in question, however, didn’t seem to be affected by the unexpected encounter at all. He looked as calm and relaxed as ever. He didn’t even bother to move back out of her way. He just stood glued to her like a longtime lover.
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