Chapter 11

Jeremy was in a sour mood when he came into Sam's house. Sam saw the depressed look on his cousin's face and chuckled, knowing Jeremy's day hadn't gone well.

He said, "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

Jeremy, who'd been glaring into space for a good fifteen minutes since he'd walked in, looked up at Sam, more than a little confused as to what his cousin meant. "What?"

Sam knew Jeremy sulked when personal ambitions didn't go his way. He had no doubt this was about women.

"You haven't had lunch yet, have you?" Sam changed the subject. He came over to his cousin and slapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go."

Jeremy still looked confused. "Where?"

"Lunch," Sam said. "It's pretty late. I haven't had mine either. Was too busy with work. Or don't you want any?"

"Lunch?" Jeremy asked. "Yeah, sure. Why not? I'm actually starving."

"Normally, you'd complain about it," Sam said, cocking his head to one side. ��What's on your mind?"

Jeremy didn't hesitate to begin sharing his woes. "You remember I told you about Chandra, don't you?" he asked as they headed toward the casual dining area, which had a spectacular view of the sea.

"Yes," Sam replied, remembering that Friday two months ago when Jeremy had returned with sparks in his eyes.

The cousins took their seats and relaxed.

"Yes, I remember, too," Marian, Sam's housekeeper, chimed in from the kitchen. "When are you bringing her over?"

Jeremy looked pained at that question.

"About time." Marian continued. "You're always talking about her. I want to put the name to the face. Don't you feel the same, Sam?"

Sam didn't reply. Instead, he said, "Lunch?"

Marian laughed. "Bit late for lunch, but I'll make you boys something to eat anyway."

"What you got?" Jeremy asked. "I haven't had anything to eat since last night."

Marian shook her head. "That's why you need to find yourself a nice girl and settle down. And this Chandra sounds like theone."

Again, Jeremy looked pained at Marian's statement. He said under his breath, "She'd be if I could get her to go on a date with me."

Sam overheard. "She turned you down?"

Jeremy sighed and then gave Sam a depressed nod. "Yeah, she turned me down."

"What?" Marian uttered. "She turned you down? That's just not possible."

In this case, however, it was possible. Chandra Chandler did just turn down Jeremy, and it was eating at him. He just couldn't believe it. Most females begged him to go out on a date with them.

"Maybe she wasn't ready yet," Marian said, nodding her head as she prepped the sandwiches.

"Ready for what?" Jeremy asked. "It's only one date."

Marian looked up and shrugged. "I don't know."

The cousins were silent as Marian continued preparing the sandwiches. When she was done, she brought the tray over and placed it on the table before them. "Here, enjoy your very late lunch. Ah, Sam, about Lilly's birthday party…"

"Yes?"

"I heard Nina is planning it this year."

Sam picked up on the disapproval within Marian's voice. He wondered if his agreement to let Nina take charge in planning his daughter's birthday party had upset Marian. She had always been the one planning Lilly's birthday celebration since his wife Sarah's death three years ago. Before that, it was she and Sarah who had done it together.

But now that Nina had put her hand up as volunteer, Marian didn't look one bit pleased with the idea. Sam knew Marian didn't like Nina much, but he couldn't understand why. Nina had been Sarah's best friend and was a perfectly nice woman to be around. She was pleasant, beautiful, and most of all loved Lilly to bits.

"I was thinking of a barbeque this year," Marian said. "I'd bring my grandsons along, too. Lilly likes spending time with them. But I'm not sure if Nina approves."

Sam frowned. Why did Marian need Nina's approval to bring her grandsons over? He said, "Bring Jason and Timothy over, Marian. Lilly would love that."

Marian seemed to sigh with relief at that. "Well then," she said, "I'll make sure they come, along with presents, of course." She laughed. Then she turned her attention to Jeremy, who was slowly chewing away at his food. "She might be playing hard to get, you know."

Jeremy raised his brows, challenging her statement. "She turned me down flat, Marian. That's not playing hard to get. That's a flat no."

Sam laughed. "Come on, Jeremy. Cheer up. It's not like she's the only woman in the world. It's not like you can't live without her."

"Well, it sure does feel like that at the moment," he said sourly. "And it sucks, Sam. It really sucks."

Sam understood. Hadn't he felt exactly like that after Sarah's death? Only it had been worse. Hadn't he wanted so badly to be with Sarah in the afterlife? The pain. The loneliness. The depression. The suffering. At the time, it had been unbearable. Sometimes, tears just flowed without him noticing. But then he'd caught himself, reminding himself that he had his beloved Lilly to live for. Only then did the pain begin to slowly ease.

Jeremy was just biting into another sandwich when his cell rang. He nearly choked on the food the moment he saw the name flashing on the display screen.

Sam noticed his cousin's hands shaking when he picked up the phone, and he knew who it was from. Was she phoning to torment Jeremy? Or had she changed her mind?

"Hey," Jeremy said into the phone, eyeing Sam.

Sam gave Jeremy a look, asking the cousin to tell him who it was to confirm his suspicion. Jeremy said softly and quietly so the person on the other end of the line couldn't overhear him, "It's her."

"Oh," Sam responded.

"Hi, Jeremy, it's Chan."

Jeremy chuckled, pleased suddenly. "Yes, so, um, how are you?" he asked stupidly.

Sam tried to hide his smile at his cousin���s reaction. Surely, this wasn't the same Jeremy he was so used to. The Jeremy he knew was very comfortable in front of women. The Jeremy he knew was the serial dater who could sweet-talk women into anything and everything. But this one looked like a nervous sixteen-year-old speaking to his first girlfriend. Of course, Sam couldn't help himself and laughed out loud.

Jeremy glared at him to shut up. Sam wouldn't and continued laughing until his stomach began to hurt.