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.
"Who's that?" Chan asked.
Jeremy glared at his cousin once again. "Just my stupid cousin."
"I didn't know you had a cousin. Well, most people have one, right?"
"Yeah," Jeremy replied, putting a hand to his lips, indicating Sam really should stop laughing at him now.
"Look, Jeremy, I'm really sorry about before."
Jeremy felt a flip in his stomach. Sam saw the look on his cousin's face and, without even thinking, took the phone from Jeremy.
"So, madam, why aren't you going out with my cousin?" The words came out of his mouth before Sam had the chance to think twice.
A long pause, and then came the voice that had haunted Sam for two months now. The voice that made him feel warm inside. The voice he couldn't stop thinking about.
"I'm sorry? Who is this?"
Sam felt his heart miss a beat, and his brain just froze. Instantly, in his mind's eye, he saw the girl named Chan from the Thursday market again. He suddenly remembered the softness of her body as he embraced her in his arms. And her scent, light and lovely, flowers in spring.
Jeremy frowned at his cousin and said, "Sam?"
Sam blinked. He jolted back to reality and wondered if he'd gone mad for suddenly remembering the young woman from the night market a few months ago.
"Sorry, this is Sam, Jeremy's cousin," he said. "Did you know he's moping like a kid? And I just can't handle that, young lady, because you're responsible."
Beautiful merry laughter followed Sam's outrageous accusation. The laughter affected Sam in the oddest way. He felt his heart warm. More importantly, his private parts were paying attention. Too much attention for a mere laugh, Sam thought hotly.
"What is this? I'm responsible? I've only just met him not too long ago, Mr. White. If that is your name."
Sam smiled. He couldn't help himself. Her voice sounded like sweet velvet to his ears. The longer he listened, the more he felt drawn to her. He wanted to see her. That realization knocked the wind out of him.
"That is not my name, young lady," Sam said teasingly.
"Young lady, huh? I have a name, Mr. White, and it's Chan."
Sam frowned as his heart raced. "Chan?"
She laughed. "Yes, Chan."
"Chan," Sam said, loving the way the sound rolled off his tongue. Could she be the same Chan he'd met at the night market? Could she?
He was about to ask if she was present at the market a few months back when Jeremy took the phone from him.
"Stop flirting with my future girlfriend," he whispered. Then into the phone, he said loudly, "Sorry about that, Chan. Sam has a weird way of helping out." At this point, he narrowed his eyes at his cousin.
Sam wasn't paying attention. He was too busy trying to sort out his mind.
"Helping out with what?"
"Ah, don't worry about that." Jeremy chuckled and got up from the seat because Sam was still watching him.
He wandered off into the corridor as he talked quietly into the phone. Sam, on the other hand, still couldn't get Chan's voice out of his mind.
It was a few minutes later when Jeremy returned to the dining room with a triumphant smile on his face. "She said yes," he announced.
Sam didn't look happy. In fact, he felt like he'd been crushed with a ton of steel. "Good for you," he said. Though, he did try his hardest to be happy for his cousin. "So… when's the date?"
"Sunday at the StarFish Café by the beach. We're lunching."
"Sounds good," Sam said, frowning. A moment later, he got up. "I'm done. I'm going back to work. See you later."
"Huh?" Jeremy was distracted. He was still grinning like an idiot. "Sorry. I was thinking about Chan. Yeah. Sure. See you later."
Sam nodded and headed out the door.
Alone, Jeremy continued to happily eat more sandwiches, oblivious to his cousin's change in mood.
Up in his office, Sam found himself lost, unable to concentrate on his job. All he could think about was Chan—her voice and her smile when she was with Lilly that Thursday.
"Shit!" he swore under his breath. "It's not her. It's not her," he told himself. Surely, the world couldn't be that small. Surely, there were a lot of people with the name Chan.
He laughed. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What the hell was wrong with him? He had important business to deal with. He had a beautiful daughter to love and look after—the center of his universe. He had a beautiful home. He had the wealth many envied, and that was an understatement. He had the lifestyle he wanted. So what more could he possibly need?
Chan. He needed Chan. He wanted Chan. He wanted to see her. He wanted to kiss her. Shit! He wanted to make hot, passionate love to her. And he wasn't lying to himself about that. He wanted her. He liked her. And Sam had never liked or wanted a woman this much before, not since Sarah.
He shut down his laptop and headed out the door. He needed a drive. He needed to clear his head. He needed to get Chan out of his mind because she, if she were indeed the Chan he'd met—Met? Seen, actually, because they hadn't officially met at the market—then he needed to forget about her. Because Chan was now dating Jeremy, and Sam would never steal his cousin's girl. Unless, of course, they mutually broke up and it was okay with Jeremy. But that had never happened before, and it wasn't about to happen now.