Her Singapore Fling by Kelly Hunter Page A

asked.
    â€˜Can you be ready to leave by five? I have to be back here for a class at about a quarter to six.’
    â€˜I can be ready by five.’
    He nodded. ‘We should go out later tonight. For a meal or a show. Somewhere high profile, where we’ll be seen.’
    â€˜My uncle has a table reserved for a charity function this evening. That might suit. In fact, Zhi could well be there. Shall I secure us some seats?’
    â€˜Okay.’
    â€˜Okay.’ They seemed to have run out of conversation. ‘So I’ll see you at five, then?’ He nodded.
    â€˜And I won’t kiss you good morning.’
    â€˜Wise move,’ he murmured.
    â€˜May I kiss you goodnight?’
    â€˜Depends,’ he said as he headed for the door.
    â€˜On what?’
    â€˜Whether you want to sleep.’
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    Sleep was overrated, decided Jianne as she readied herself for the evening. People could exist on a lot less than seven or eight hours of slumber a night. People could quite conceivably exist on three.
    For a while.
    After a while a person’s psyche got a little frail, their comprehension of events a little shaky. Take tonight’s charity ball, for instance. It shouldn’t really have taken this long to get ready for it. Her floor-length blood-red gown was a classic and a favourite and did not require ironing. Her hair had taken five minutes to redo and only required dressing with pearls to be complete. The application of make-up had been a problem seeing as Jacob had a shaving mirror the size of an orange and no other reflective surface in the dojo whatsoever. A harried call to Madeline, and ten minutes later Luke had arrived with a wall mirror under one arm, and what might well have been a car spotlight under the other.
    â€˜You’re very kind,’ she told him by way of thank you. ‘May you have five children—all of them girls.’
    â€˜You don’t scare me.’ Luke grinned at her, completely unfazed. ‘Maddy figured you might need a car for the evening as well. It’s black, it purrs, it’s parked in old man Chin’s loading zone, and I’m really looking forward to seeing who out of you and Jake gets to drive it.’
    â€˜I don’t have a Singapore driver’s licence yet.’
    â€˜There’s no justice in this world,’ muttered Luke darkly. ‘None.’
    â€˜Oh, I don’t know,’ said Jianne soothingly. ‘Maybe your sixth child will be a son.’
    Luke had left the room in search of his brother shortly after that and Jianne had turned to the application of a radiant complexion. Fifteen minutes later she was ready to go but for a decision on what jewellery to wear. Her grandmother’s diamond and ruby choker for her throat, and matching earrings for her ears, but what about rings? More specifically, should she wear her engagement and wedding rings? They weren’t showy—a small solitare diamond set in a wave of platinum, and a wedding ring that linked to it.
    Jacob’s wedding band had been of the same wavy pattern and twice as wide and he certainly didn’t wear it nowadays. These days Jacob wore no jewellery whatsoever, not even a watch.
    She closed her eyes, opened the door, and called down for Po. Within moments the boy was at her door. ‘I need your help,’ she said, and told him what she needed to know.
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    Dressing up in full black-tie regalia to attend a charity dinner with wealthy strangers wasn’t Jacob’s idea of a good night out. The thought that he might finally come face to face with Jianne’s aggressive suitor helped sweeten the deal a little but, overall, his general mindset was not one of enthusiasm. His middle brother, the eternal optimist, wasn’t exactly helping matters with his inside scoop on Jianne’s aunt and uncle. Apparently Jianne’s aunt was practically Shanghai royalty, Jianne’suncle held a similar status here in Singapore,