Chapter 34

Chan jolted straight.

Wait! What?

Her heart proceeded to race. Surely, she was daydreaming, right? Surely, she hadn't heard the voice of Sam Harrington in her own living room.

She didn't want to find out. She didn't want to face reality. What if he really was here? What if the query wasn't in her imagination?

She licked her lips and then turned to her right. The moment she saw him, she wanted to die.

Oh my God! Sam Harrington was really in her apartment, looking as comfortable as ever, sitting there sipping coffee.

Shit! His eyes were intense on her person.

Suddenly, she felt conscious of her disheveled self. She knew she must look a mess. Then, of course, she couldn't do anything except gaze at him, dumbfounded.

"Hello," he greeted her with a radiant smile.

Chan licked her lips again and blinked several times. A blush creeped up her cheeks as she watched him set down his cup of coffee. Then he proceeded to make his way toward her.

In response, she staggered back and found herself cornered against the wall.

Sam came and stood inches before her, towering her with his great height.

Oh God! She wasn't really dreaming at all. She could feel him—as warm as the sun and hard as a rock. She could smell him, too. The masculine scent of… Sam Harrington. She quivered in response, as his nearness was affecting her in the most seductive way.

They were halfway to the sofa when Dara appeared at the door. She stopped short in her spot and simply stared at them. Then she smiled brightly and said, "Hello, sister." She shifted her gaze to Sam and continued. "Hello, sister's savior."

As if it were only natural, Dara continued toward the kitchen, and Sam continued carrying Chandra toward the sofa. This, of course, both amazed as well as shocked Chan.

What? Her sister just acted as though this sort of thing happened to her on a daily basis. And this man? He acted as though she were his girlfriend or something. What would his wife think if she saw them now? More importantly, why the hell was he here of all places? Did he not have a wife and child to go home to?

After he'd made sure she was comfortable, Sam took a seat beside her.

Dara said, "Want something to drink, sis?"

Chan, still watching Sam with interest, said, "Yes, please. Hot chocolate. Oh, and can you please get me some aspirin as well? My head and ankle are killing me."

"Sure thing," Dara replied and then turned back to prepare the hot drink.

Chan wondered suddenly if it were Dara who had allowed Sam into the house. Actually, come to think of it, how did he know where they lived?

"I'm back," Soriya announced at the door. When she saw her sister on the sofa with their guest, she said, "Hello, Chan. How's your ankle doing? Look who's visiting." She nodded in Sam's direction.

Chan glared at her. "Yes, I can see that."

She heard Sam chuckling beside her, and she knew he was amused at her shocked reaction.

"I let him in," Soriya said. "You promised to come and check up on Chan, didn't you, Sam?"

Sam nodded with a smile. "I did."

Chan wondered when that conversation had taken place. If it had really taken place, she was sure she wasn't involved.

Soriya's next statement confirmed her suspicion. "He asked me about you when your friends were fussing over you last night. Remember? In Sam's very cool office? I even got to sit in his posh chair. Oh my God! The view is just so spectacular. So anyway, I told him our address and also gave him my phone number."

Chan said, "You're pretty quick at giving away your phone number, aren't you?"

Soriya laughed. "It's Sam Harrington." She smiled gleefully. "Why not? Connection, my love. Connection." On that note, she happily came and sat on the chair opposite them and placed a bundle of books on the coffee table.

"There you go," she stated.

Chan stared at the bundle of paperbacks and blushed profusely. Sam picked up the first one and caressed the cover. Chan bit her lip and glanced at her sister.

"What are they for?" she asked.

"Sam said he has a daughter who loves to read," Soriya explained. "So I'm lending her some of ours."

At that point, Dara joined them as well. She placed a mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table in front of Chan, along with two tablets of aspirin.

"They're good children's books," she said, nudging the mug toward Chan to get her attention.

Chan flicked her gaze to the hot chocolate and quickly grabbed it. The aspirin as well. She popped the pills into her mouth and sipped the hot chocolate.

"Thanks," Sam said. "Lilly will love these."

"Aww… so adorable," Soriya said, smiling. "How old is she?"

"She'll be seven this Saturday," Sam said.

"Aww… so cute," Soriya said, still smiling. "She'd love Chan."

Dara snorted. "All the kids love Chan."

Chan was just taking another sip of her hot chocolate when Soriya said, "Chan, do you know we're invited to Lilly's birthday party this Saturday?"

Chan nearly spit the hot drink back out but managed to swallow it somehow. She wiped her mouth and just stared at her sister. "We are?"

At Soriya's nod, Chan went pale. She'd planned not to get any more involved with Sam and his family, and now what? She and her sisters were invited to their house for a birthday party?

Not good.

"You don't want to come?" Sam asked, watching her with interest.

God, this man is blunt, Chan thought.

"No, that's not it. It's just that I might be busy that day." Of course, she was just making excuses.

Soriya said loudly, "Oh, that's right! Your date!"

"Huh?" Chan stared at her sister, wondering what she was going on about now.

"With Jeremy. Isn't it today? But your ankle…"

"Don't worry. I've already phoned him. It's canceled. But he insisted on coming over tonight anyway. The date for dinner has changed, though."

"Ahh… So now it's next Saturday." Soriya nodded, understanding what her sister meant. "He still insisted on coming over tonight? Man, he must really worry about you and want to make sure you're okay. Dara's cooking by the way. He could help her if he wants to stay for dinner."

Chan didn't offer to explain about the rearrangement of her next date with Jeremy. She kept her mouth shut. After all, it was better they got the wrong idea and not make her go to the party. Because then she'd surely be able to cut ties with the man sitting beside her, the man who was watching her intensely.

Honestly, couldn't he look at something else? Her sisters, for example, because they were talking to him, and maybe even her children's books, the ones she had written under the pen name Anna Chan. Of course, she'd been surprised when Soriya brought them out and offered to lend them to him. She couldn't believe he was touching her books, her creations, and his daughter would be reading them.

"How's your ankle doing, Chan?" the man she was thinking about asked, making her jump in surprise.