CHAPTER FIFTEEN
When Kh?i left the banquet room with a drink and a book in his hands, the lobster in Esme’s mouth turned to chalk. It was the best lobster she’d ever eaten, the ideal blend of salty and sweet balanced with the freshness of ginger, but she was no longer hungry. He was abandoning her. Again. She swallowed with effort before wiping her hands clean and sitting back in her chair.
Quan took the seat next to her as servers cleared the table of dinner plates and placed fluffy slices of cake in front of everyone. She picked up her fork and considered her slice from different angles, trying to muster the enthusiasm to eat.
“What are you looking for?” Quan asked.
“It is too pretty to eat.” The frosting flowers looked like they’d been painted with an airbrush. Roses, hibiscus, a lotus blossom, seeds, all colors. Normally, she’d be excited to stuff them in her mouth, but not now.
Quan laughed and pushed his plate toward her. “I already made mine ugly. You can share with me.”
His offer brought a smile to her face despite her mood. He was one of the nicest people she’d ever met, and she was unspeakably glad he was sitting next to her. “Wasting food is bad. I will eat it.” She pierced her cake’s perfect surface with the tines of her fork.
As she took her first bite of airy vanilla cake, lightly sweet frosting, and strawberries, Quan leaned toward her and asked, “How are things with you and my brother?”
The cake went bland on her tongue. When she tried to wash it back with water, she found her glass empty and had to steal Kh?i’s. “Fine.”
“Really.”
She poked at her cake with the tip of her fork and lifted a shoulder, saying nothing.
“The dancing starts soon,” he said. “Want to dance with me?”
Her eyes jumped to his face. “You want to dance? With me?”
“Yeah, I want to dance with you.” His lips curved into a smile, transforming his face from severe and dangerous to wildly handsome. Oh, this man.
“I, um …” She put her fork down, sensing this was important. “It looks bad if—Why?”
“I don’t care what people think. It’s just a dance, Esme,” he said with a careless grin.
But it wasn’t just a dance. It was more than that. She was in this for marriage, and people would be vicious if they saw her flitting between brothers. C? Nga would be disappointed. Quan had to know that. Unless …
Was he interested in marrying her? No, he’d just met her. He couldn’t possibly want to marry her already.
Right?
She began to rub her face, but the scent of lobster gave her pause. “I need to wash my hands. I will be right back,” she said before rushing away from the table.
In the bathroom, she took the far back stall. It was funny, but bathrooms soothed her. Probably because they felt familiar, she’d cleaned so many. But she couldn’t stay in here all night. She had a decision to make.
“You know she’s after him for his money and a green card,” a woman in one of the other stalls said.
“Of course she is,” a second woman replied.
Esme released a measured breath. They had to be talking about her and Kh?i. She’d known these kinds of conversations would take place. It was surprising she hadn’t heard talk like this until now.
“To be honest, if he wasn’t family, I’d be after him for his money,” the first woman said with a laugh.
“Well, me, too, actually.” Both women laughed at the same time.
Were they talking about Kh?i? They made it sound like he was a billionaire, when Esme was certain he wasn’t rich. She supposed it was perfectly possible these two women were worse off than he was. An old beat-up house was better than no house.