Chapter 15

"Shit!" Sam swore softly under his breath as he stared unseeingly at the laptop screen. He had been feeling irritated and restless since he'd gotten up at five this morning. Even a two-hour workout didn't help.

He was pissed, though he hadn't a clue with who or what.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Nina's voice drew his attention.

Sam shifted his gaze to her, though he didn't reply.

Nina Pearson frowned darkly at Sam for a moment and then, ignoring Lilly beside her, she got up from her seat and came to sit beside Sam. She said, "Lilly is doing great with her math. I bet she's the best in her class."

For a moment, Sam wasn't sure what she was talking about, which wasn't like him. Nina had been in his life since before Sarah's death. After that, she'd been a tremendous help to him. He was indeed grateful to her for being there for Lilly. She'd been a wonderful influence on his daughter and a great role model, someone for Lilly to depend on and look up to.

"Sorry, I was just frustrated with work." He made the excuse.

"Then why don't you take some time out and we go out for lunch?" Nina suggested.

"Lunch," Sam said, his mind flicking to a café by the beach.

Lilly chose that moment to jump up from her spot on the floor and ran to her dad. "Can we go to the beach, Dad? Please?"

Sam didn't need further encouragement. He laughed, his agitation suddenly gone. "Of course, darling. StarFish Café?"

"Yes, I like StarFish Café," Lilly said, and with that, she ran out the door. "Come on. Let's go."

They arrived some twenty minutes later at the café, and the instant they walked in through the door, Sam scanned the place for a familiar face. He spotted Jeremy at the counter, paying the bill. But nowhere in sight was Jeremy's date. He frowned, wondering if this girl Chan had ditched his cousin.

When Jeremy turned, however, he looked too damn jolly for Sam's taste, which told him that Chan hadn't ditch Jeremy after all. But where was the girl?

He looked around the café again, hoping to catch sight of the woman.

"Sam, Nina, and little Lilly!" Jeremy chuckled in surprise. "You guys are out lunching?"

"Hi, Uncle Jeremy," Lilly said.

Jeremy bent down and gave the little girl a kiss. "Hey, Princess, how's your Sunday going so far?"

Lilly proceeded to give the puppy dog eyes. Of course, the little girl had hoped that it would be just her and her dad coming out to lunch, but Nina had tagged along, which upset Lilly.

The little girl didn't like Nina much since the woman wasn't very nice to her. Nina was only nice to her when her dad was around. When they were alone, Nina would tell her she wasn't her mother and she should behave herself. Of course, most of the time, Nina would ignore her, which was fine with Lilly. But she didn't like it when Nina made nasty comments about her friends Jason and Timothy.

What was wrong with playing with Jason and Timothy? Why wasn't she allowed to play with them? Nina even told her only this morning that Jason and Timothy weren't invited to her birthday party next month because they weren't in their 'circle.' Lilly didn't understand what that meant. She just knew it wasn't fair. It wouldn't be fun without her friends.

Jeremy raised his brows. "What's wrong?"

Lilly didn't reply. She simply shook her head as if to say that there was nothing wrong.

Nina suddenly pulled Lilly by the arm and brought the girl close to her. In doing so, Lilly's head bumped against Nina's hip. Her carefully bound hair fell loose in the process, and the beautiful bow of flowers on the side came undone, falling to the floor. Nina accidentally stepped on it and, to Lilly's irritation, made no apology for it.

Lilly suddenly wanted to burst out crying but worked hard on controlling herself.

Sam saw his daughter's teary eyes and got down to his knees. He gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. "Come on. Let me fix that hair for you."

Lilly turned and said, "Daddy, I need to do number one."

Nina took the opportunity to redeem herself. "I'll take her."

Lilly shook her head and said quickly, "No. I can go by myself." She made Sam let her go by pushing her puny hands against his chest.

Sam wondered what had gotten into his daughter. Knowing it was best to let her have her way this time, he released her.

Lilly turned on her heel and then rushed toward the restroom.

Nina laughed uncomfortably. "Why don't we find a seat?"

Sam nodded and was about to go after her when he turned and asked Jeremy, "How's your date?"

"Great," Jeremy said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's great. Anyway, enjoy lunch and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," Sam said, watching Jeremy walking out the front door.