Read Online The Expat Diaries: Misfortune Cookie (Single in the City Book 2) by Michele Gorman - Free Book Online

miss you so much when I’m away. I’d much rather stay here, but I’ve taken this job and this is the assignment. I don’t have a choice unless I quit. I’ve thought about that, believe me, because this isn’t what I want. Living out of a suitcase isn’t exactly my ideal. But I can’t quit. At least not till I’ve given it a chance, and put in my time. You understand that, don’t you?’
    ‘Yes.’ No, not really.
    ‘Darlin’, I’ll be back again soon, in just a couple weeks. And we’ve got a few days before I go. We’ll make the most of it. How ’bout we take Stacy sightseeing tomorrow, maybe to see the Ten Thousand Buddhas in Sha Tin? It’s a monastery, she’ll love it, and I’ll spring for lunch.’
    A monastery is no substitute for a boyfriend. ‘Okay, that’ll be nice–’ sniffle ‘–But Sam, I’m already thinking about Sunday. I’m going to miss you so much!’ I hate it when I blubber. I don’t cry daintily; I effuse copious amounts of bodily fluids.
    ‘Oh, please don’t worry about that now. It’s not Sunday yet. And of course I’ll miss you too. But we can talk every day. We do now, don’t we?’
    ‘I suppose.’
    ‘Besides, you’ve got Stacy here, and you’re going to need to find an apartment, and start your job. You’ll be so busy that you won’t even notice I’m gone.’
    Why do men say stupid things like this? I had a boyfriend once tell me that I shouldn’t worry about him meeting his foxy ex (his words, admittedly in a different conversation) because even though she was still in love with him, he’d made a commitment to me. How is that supposed to make a girl feel better?
    ‘Should we get the bill?’ I suggest. If I’m going to make the most of our few days together, we need to skip the coffees.
    ‘Sure,’ he says, making the universal check-please hand signal to a passing waiter. ‘It’s a nice night. What do you say we walk back to your place from the tram?’
    ‘I, erm…’ I say that’s a terrible idea. Stacy is sleeping a meter from my bed. And he can’t have failed to notice my footwear. ‘Why don’t we take a taxi to your apartment?’
    ‘I didn’t think you’d want to stay on Stacy’s first night.’
    This is going to get very awkward if I have to spell it out. ‘I don’t plan to stay…’
    ‘A quickie?’ He’s grinning. ‘But I’d feel so used.’
    ‘Are you upset to know you’re wanted for your body?’
    ‘I’ve never been so proud in my life. Come on.’ He grabs my hand and hurries me, as fast as my shoes will allow, towards the tram. I don’t care that we’re making a spectacle of ourselves as we navigate the stairs in a pre-coital embrace. And Stacy will have to forgive me if I’m a little late.
     
    I’m very late.
    ‘Have fun?’ Her words cut through me as I gently close the front door. I guess there’s a small chance that they’ve been sharpened by my guilt rather than her anger.
    ‘It was a magical night, Stace. I’ve missed him so much! It seems like forever since we’ve seen each other, even though I know it’s only been a few weeks. And it was amazing to catch up, and finally get to spend time together here. It was like we’d never been apart, I guess that’s a sign isn’t it, to be so connected? And this was our first time together in Hong Kong, our christening I guess you’d call it, and it was fun , we went to The Peak for dinner, I’ll take you there, it’s got an incredible view, though different from Kowloon, sort of the opposite view if you know what I mean, and the food’s good, but we can just go to see it too, and go somewhere else to eat…’ Maybe hyper-babbling will stave off the inevitable conversation.
    ‘Good.’ She’s still mad.
    ‘Are you tired?’
    ‘No. I feel rough though.’
    Stacy is one of life’s beautiful women, with sleek blonde hair and flawless skin that always looks tanned despite her bat-like aversion to sunshine. For her, feeling rough translates into slight