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at her over the phone yesterday: You have two hours to get everyone to Hong Kong<br />
airport or I’m leaving without you! My special friend is doing us a very special favor by<br />
lending us his very special plane, you know! And for God’s sake please pack some decent<br />
clothes and jewelry this time! I don’t want you to be mistaken for a Mainland tourist<br />
when I’m with you in Singapore! Last time we got such bad service at Crystal Jade<br />
Palace because of the way you looked!<br />
“How did you all fly down?” Eddie asked, wondering what kind of private jet the<br />
Aakaras had these days.<br />
“Well, Thai Airways was running a special just for today. If you buy three economy<br />
tickets, the fourth person flies for free. So it was quite a savings for our whole lot. But<br />
then when we got to the airport and they realized it was your uncle Taksin, they upgraded<br />
us to first class.”<br />
Eddie couldn’t believe his ears. The Aakaras never flew commercial—not since Uncle<br />
Taksin had become a special attaché to the Thai Air Force back in the 1970s. Just then,<br />
Eddie spied his uncle entering the drawing room alongside his father. It had been years<br />
since he had last seen his uncle, but he appeared not to have aged one bit—he was older<br />
than his father but looked about a decade younger. His perpetually tan face was wrinklefree,<br />
and he still had that ramrod-straight posture and robust gait of a man accustomed to<br />
seeing and being seen. If only his dad wasn’t getting so stooped, and if only he dressed<br />
more like Uncle Taksin!<br />
Eddie had always admired his uncle’s dapper style, and on visits to Bangkok during his<br />
teens, he made a point of sneaking into his uncle’s closet and checking out all the labels<br />
on his clothes—no small feat when there were so many pesky servants lurking<br />
everywhere. Today Uncle Taksin was decked out in an impeccably tailored pale orange<br />
dress shirt—judging from the Sea Island cotton it was most likely Ede & Ravenscroft—<br />
worn with a pair of navy blue chinos and a highly polished pair of monk strap loafers.<br />
Were they Gaziano & Girling or Edward Green? He would have to ask him later. And most<br />
important, what watch was Uncle Taksin sporting today? He glanced at his sleeve cuff,<br />
expecting to see a Patek, Vacheron, or Breguet, but was horrified to see an Apple Watch<br />
strapped to his wrist. Dear God, how the mighty had fallen!<br />
Behind Taksin came his son Adam, whom Eddie didn’t know all that well because he<br />
was more than a decade younger. The baby of the family, Adam was slightly built and had<br />
delicately chiseled, almost feline features. He looked like one of those Thai pop idols, and<br />
seemed to dress the part in his skinny jeans and a vintage Hawaiian shirt. Eddie was not<br />
impressed. But wait a minute, who was this sexy thing that he would definitely swipe<br />
right for? Sauntering up the stairs was a girl with alabaster skin and waist-length black<br />
hair. Here at last was someone with style—the girl was wearing a sleeveless ice-blue<br />
Emilia Wickstead jumpsuit, blue suede ankle boots, and casually slung on her shoulder<br />
was the sort of handbag that Eddie was sure had a three-year waiting list. This must be<br />
Adam’s new wife, Princess Piya, whom his mother couldn’t stop gushing about after she<br />
attended their wedding last year. *4<br />
“Uncle Taksin! So good to see you! And Adam—long time no see!” Eddie patted his
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