Chan changed the subject, hopeful it'd be successful. "I'm hungry. Let's eat." She ignored her sisters' curious gazes and started scooping out rice into small bowls.
"Hmm, as always, your cooking is awesome," she said, smiling brightly.
Dara chuckled. "Your compliment on my cooking isn't going to get you out of telling us who this dude is."
Chan sighed. Of course, it was unsuccessful. What had she hoped for? She'd known they wouldn't let her off that easily.
Soriya pointed her chopsticks at Chan and said, "Come out with it. What does he look like? Where did you meet him?"
"We can totally tell you're thinking about him since you got back."
"All right! All right!" Chan said, knowing it was better she got it over and done with. Otherwise, it'd drag on for ages, and she didn't want that. "I saw him at the night market, okay. He's hot. At least I think he's hot."
"What do you mean you think he's hot?" Soriya asked.
"I didn't see his face."
"Why not?"
"I didn't look at his face. I was…" She paused and blushed. "Anyway, he has the most beautiful daughter ever."
"He's married?" Soriya shouted, flabbergasted.
"With a kid." Dara chimed in sourly.
Soriya felt the need to add, "Or kids!"
Chan had been thinking about that, and she knew the odds of him being a single parent was slim. Surely, a woman wouldn't leave a guy like him for another man, right? Then again, she didn't know him or his circumstances. She shouldn't judge and jump to conclusions.
Yes, he was married with a child. Or children. So why did she have the hots for him? She'd never had the hots for any guy before. The thought of going into a relationship freaked her out. But why did the thought of this particular one married to another woman make her heart ache with regret?
She took a deep breath and said, "Yes. That's why it's what's the point, right? Why bother telling you guys about him if he's married with kids?" She took a sip of her green tea as her sisters nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry. Plenty of hot singles out there," Soriya said.
"Besides." Chan continued. "I have no time for that right now. So moving on with the house."
"This Mr. Wakefield is coming tomorrow, right?" Dara asked.
Chan nodded her head.
"Well," Soriya said. "There's not much to miss if we were to leave. Not to mention we'll probably have a very grand and noisy resort and hotel next door if we don't sell."
Dara nodded in agreement. "I don't think I'd survive living here while construction goes on for the next six to eight months." She looked heavenward and sighed. "I'd die of the noise."
"Me, too," Soriya said. As always, her demeanor changed within a flick of an eye. She jumped up with excitement. "Oh! If we get a new place, we can have Alex and her husband around for dinner when they arrive next month."
Chan nodded, never forgetting her childhood friend Alexandra and her husband Jayden were coming to the Gold Coast for a vacation.
Gosh, she missed Alexandra, the backbone of their little group back when they were children.
"Yeah, haven't seen her for ages," Chan said, thinking back to a year ago when she'd gotten the invitation to the wedding in New York City, when she and her sisters had been going through hell. Of course, she'd politely declined Alex and told her she and her sisters couldn't attend.
They'd been busy all right—going through a lawsuit regarding their dad's assets. Not to mention they had to deal with the blackmailing and threatening from both Amie and Dave.
"And little Andy," Soriya said, drawing Chan's attention to the present. She noted her sister's eyes were large with adoration at the mentioning of Alex's little son.
"I'd actually get to hold him and kiss him for real. And not just gaze at his photos on Facebook."
"So true," Chan said, nodding her head.
Once dinner was over, Chan cleaned the dishes and then headed back to her own room to continue with her work. This time, it was the children's book. Thank God she managed to write the story, and once she got started, she kept going.
It was a bit later when Dara and Soriya knocked on the door and then barged in. As usual, she didn't even get to say, "Come in," as common courtesy.
Soriya lounged herself comfortably on Chan's aging mattress, her long legs spread across the floor. Dara sat on the edge of the thing, cross-legged. She picked up Chan's notebook that had scribbles of background information about plots, characters, and settings for the story and scanned through them.
"How's the series going?" Dara asked, flicking her gaze to Chan.
"Okay," Chan replied.
"You know," Soriya said, "it's time you get yourself a nice, comfortable bed."
"Can't afford one yet," Chan said absentmindedly. She raised her head and smiled. "Speak for yourself. You're sleeping on a mattress as well."
Actually, none of them had a bed and were sleeping on mattresses. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but they made do with what they had. Their dad hadn't left them much. Except, of course, this old house. Everything else, Amie had managed to steal from them because she'd been their dad's wife and had the rights to it, according to his will. His retirement fund, his life insurance, and the many assets back in New Zealand.
Chan and her sisters had wanted some things back, but they'd gotten tired of fighting for it. They'd spent five years fighting and still hadn't gained any result. The lawyer fees weren't something to laugh about either. At times, Chan felt like the lawyer was just scamming them for their money and not actually doing anything.
Soriya pursed her lips as she looked at Chan. "Maybe we'll get some nice beds once we've sold the house."
Chan nodded. She was looking forward to that as well. She was also looking forward to her royalty check from the publishing house she wrote for. She was told it'd be a large sum, and she couldn't wait for it. It would be amazing to not have to worry about money for a while.
Dara got up and headed to the door. "All right, good night, Chan. Don't work too hard."
"You, too," Chan said, noting Soriya getting up as well.
She said good night to both her younger sisters and then continued with her work. She didn't go to bed until after midnight, and when she shut her eyes, she didn't have her usual nightmares of Dave chasing her and doing horrible, unmentionable things to her. This time, she dreamed of a man who was as warm as the sun on a spring day, kissing her.