Falling for Sakura: A Secret Proposal Part 1 (Sakura and the Princeton Brothers #3)

by Alexia Praks

  Ned led them into the living area and told the brothers to make themselves comfortable. The brothers took their preferred seats: Sebastian and Nicolas on the sofa near the window, Conrad and Darcy on the other one diagonal to that, Logan and Hayden on one cozy chair each, and Tristan leaning by the window.

  Ned closed the door. “That should be private enough.”

  Toby chose that moment to change his cozy couch by rushing out of Sebastian’s arms and into Logan’s. Logan petted him as Toby made himself comfortable.

  “How long have you and Sakura been here?” Conrad asked.

  “Since we left St. Joseph Island,” Ned said.

  “Why did she leave?” Conrad couldn’t help himself. “She didn’t even tell any of us. Just up and gone. And she was supposed to be in the hospital. She was supposed to be recovering from the accident.”

  Darcy fisted his hands at the mention of this and fired one of his own questions. “Did you know before that accident if she was leaving?”

  Ned nodded. “She had always planned to leave since before you boys returned to St. Joseph Island for Mary’s wedding. She wasn’t going to stay there forever.”

  Sebastian frowned at this. Of course, he remembered that time when he’d taken her for a ride on Hayden’s motorbike after Lauren’s birthday party. She’d mentioned something about leaving St. Joseph Island.

  “She was planning to find her biological mother,” Ned supplied. “Those few weeks you boys came to stay, I found out some background as to who her mother is.”

  “What’s her name?” Nicolas asked.

  “Haruka Tanaka,” Ned said. “That should make sense of what happened on Saturday.”

  Nicolas looked at Sebastian and then both nodded in understanding. “She thinks Ms. Ruka, whose real name is Haruka Tanaka, is her mother?”

  Conrad wanted to know. “Who’s Ms. Ruka?”

  Nicolas turned his attention to his other brothers, who looked a little confused, and said, “Ms. Ruka works for Mr. Tachibana. She’s his assistant.”

  “But she’s a transgender,” Tristan said from behind.

  “Sakura didn’t know that,” Nicolas said. “And thank goodness for that.”

  Logan started laughing then, loudly, in which case Hayden and then Conrad followed. Darcy couldn’t help but shake his head at the whole odd situation as well and smile. It was the first time Sebastian had seen his younger brother lighten up, and he himself laughed. It felt so good, and he rested his back against the sofa.

  Nicolas nudged his glasses up the bridge of his fine nose, as was his habit, and said, “I suppose there’s more than one Haruka Tanaka in the world.”

  Ned sighed. “Yes, and she went all the way to the hotel just to take a peek at the wrong woman. Mind you, I did tell her not to go. She knew fully well you boys would be there. But she just didn’t listen. And now look where it got her. Stuck in a muddle of mess.”

  Sebastian said, “We’re glad she didn’t listen to you.”

  “That’s our Sakura for you,” Logan said. “Our darling sister couldn’t wait to meet us.”

  The brothers understood the irony of Logan’s words and chuckled.

  “Why is she taking so long?” Conrad asked, flicking his eyes to the door.

  “Look,” Ned said, serious all of a sudden. “You boys know where she lives now and what she does. You knows she’s in good health and that she’s fine. You mightn’t like what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it anyway. She doesn’t want to see you boys yet. She needs time to come around. If you know what I mean.”

  Conrad didn’t like the sound of that. “What if she doesn’t come around?”

  “She will,” Ned said. “I know her better than you boys do. I’ve been with her since she was a little girl. Whilst you boys were running around trying to please Tara and Alaina and then gone off to your fancy private school, she was with me, learning how to cope with the bullies from school and at home.”

  At the reminder of their childhood, the brothers immediately fell quiet and tense with guilt.

  “So my suggestion is to leave her be for a while. You can trust me.”

  “We trust you, Ned,” Sebastian said. “How long do you think she needs?”

  “A while,” Ned replied. “Trust me. You can’t rush her. Her priority right now is to find her biological mother, and her seeing you boys again just doesn’t help.”

  “What if we come to visit once a week?” Conrad asked. “I mean like casually? Or coffee?”

  Ned laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “So you’ll try to make her come around?” Darcy asked.

  “Yes,” Ned said. “But it will take time.”

  Nicolas stood. “I’ll give you a call sometime this week.”

  Ned couldn’t help but laugh again. “With reports? Sure.” In which case, he opened the door, ushering them out.

  When Logan put Toby down on the floor, the dog groaned in displeasure.

  “Can we come and take Toby home sometime?” Conrad asked Ned as they came down the stairs.

  “Why not? I usually take him out for long walks while Sakura works,” Ned replied. At this offer, Conrad couldn’t stop smiling.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER 16

  An Unexpected Contract

  “Do you realize, darling, you’ve completely ruined my masterpiece, yes?” Mr. Tachibana said, eyeing Sakura with a dark look.

  Sakura nodded. “I really, sincerely apologize, Mr. Tachibana. I’ll pay for the repairs.”

  The designer just gave her a look and then laughed loudly, almost insanely. “Darling, are you kidding me? Not just anybody can fix this! Only I can fix this because it is my masterpiece and I don’t want anyone to ruin it, again!”

  Sakura jumped a little in her seat at the exclamation. Jane, who was sitting on the sofa beside Sosuke, jumped as well.

  Sosuke said in Japanese to Mr. Tachibana, “Tachibana-sensei, you’re frightening her. If you must know, she’s Mr. Princeton’s adoptive daughter.”

  Mr. Tachibana widened his eyes at Sosuke with a questioning look. “What?” he replied in Japanese.

  “Yes, or haven’t you seen how the Princeton brothers were chasing after her backstage on Saturday night after the show?”

  “Really? Yes, but I thought they were chasing her because she was stealing your aunt’s necklace and my gown.”

  Sosuke couldn’t help himself and laughed, which drew Jane’s undivided attention. She was in awe of his laughter and simply stared at him with delight. She also loved the way he spoke Japanese, and she couldn’t stop herself from gazing at him.

  Sakura could only understood a little Japanese, so she couldn’t quite make out what Sosuke was talking about. Though, she did know it was something to do with the Princeton brothers.

  When Sosuke managed to calm down, he said, “She’s their missing sister, and that night was literally the first time they’ve seen her since a year ago.”

  Mr. Tachibana turned his eyes to Sakura and looked at her closely, as if he were scrutinizing her. Sakura blinked, wondering why he was staring at her the way he did all of a sudden.

  “Then why did she run away from them?” he asked Sosuke.

  Sosuke nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, “I think she wants to run away from them.”

  That was, of course, a very obvious statement, and to be honest, Sosuke hadn’t a clue as to why either. For that, they’d had to ask Sakura herself. But of course, none of them was going to do that.

  When Sosuke looked up to Mr. Tachibana again, he saw the glint within the man’s dark-brown eyes and thought, Shit! The man was up to something. Sosuke panicked and was about to ask when Mr. Tachibana said to Sakura, “Do you think, darling, that I have time to fix that ruined gown when I need time to design more beautiful gowns that could sell in the hundreds of thousands?”

  When Sakura was about to utter something, he stopped her and continued, shaking his head adamantly. “And even i
f I do, do you know how much I’d charge you to fix my own gown?”

  Sakura held her breath because she knew he was going to tell her any moment now.

  Mr. Tachibana took a deep sigh and said, “At least eighty thousand US dollars, darling.”

  Sakura hung her mouth open, quite shocked.

  Jane shot up. “Eighty thousand? Who has that type of money to pay you to fix your own gown, Mr. Tachibana?”

  Mr. Tachibana raised his brows at Jane and said arrogantly, “Well, my dear, that gown alone took me at least three years to design. On the market and with my label on it, it’d cost at least nine hundred thousand.”

  Sakura swallowed at this news. Sosuke didn’t like the sound of that and said in Japanese, “Tachibana-sensei, what are you up to?”

  Mr. Tachibana gave Sosuke a grin before turning his attention to Sakura. “If you don’t have money to pay, how about paying me by becoming my model?”

  At this proposal, Sakura’s brows shot up. “Your model?”

  Jane said, “Mr. Tachibana, you’re not thinking of casting Sakura as your female model for the upcoming photoshoot in Hawaii, are you?”

  With Mr. Tachibana’s grin, Jane continued. “But I thought you already have the females cast. Akira is one of them, right?”

  “Yes,” Mr. Tachibana said. “But I need a female main.” He turned to Sakura. “And you’re perfect, darling. Besides, you have no choice in the matter. Either model for me or pay the eighty thousand.”

  “Sakura,” Jane said. “I saw the casting file. Tara and Alaina are models as well.”

  Sakura straightened her spine at this and said, “I’ll do the modeling, Mr. Tachibana.”

  “Ah, marvelous,” Mr. Tachibana shrieked with delight. He rushed over the table, came around to Sakura, hauled her into his arms, and hugged her tight. “Thank you, darling. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” When he finally released her, he instructed, “Now, Ms. Ruka and Jane will be preparing the photo shoot, and Jane will brief you in the process.”

  Sakura nodded and before she could ask the question that was burning in her mind, Mr. Tachibana hugged her tightly again. When he let her go, Sakura said, “However, I will have to ask Lady Suzuki first before going off to Hawaii.”

  “Don’t worry, Sakura,” Sosuke said from behind. “Oba-chan and I will be going as well. It was decided a month ago when Akira agreed to model for Tachibana-sensei.”

  “Oh,” Sakura replied.

  As they were walking out the door, Mr. Tachibana said to Sosuke, “And what about you, Sosuke-kun? Have you decided yet if you’d like to model for me?” At this, Mr. Tachibana glanced briefly at Sakura and back again at Sosuke.

  “I’d be terrible at it, but yes, I’ll do it,” he said with a grin.

  Jane blinked. “You’re going to be one of the male models?”

  Mr. Tachibana laughed merrily. Once he managed to stop, he said, “Real business billionaire, darling. I want real, young, hot business billionaires.”

  Jane couldn’t deny the fact that Sosuke was indeed a billionaire, young, and hot. In fact, he’d burn the pages of the magazine with his hotness. But it was going to be a lot of hard work for Jane because she didn’t know whether she could handle ogling at the handsome Asian man while he posed in expensive suits and, yes, shirtless on the beach. She’d die for sure.

  Once Sakura managed to escape another of Mr. Tachibana’s suffocating hugs, she turned to Sosuke and said, “Thank you so much for the ride, Sosuke. We can take the taxi home from here.”

  Sosuke grinned as he said, “No problem at all. Please get in, Sakura. I did promise Oba-chan to take you home.”

  “Get in, Sakura,” Jane said, nudging her friend toward the back door. “The man offers.”

  “All right.” Sakura chuckled.

  It was half past six when they arrived at the gallery, which was now closed. Sakura instructed Sosuke to take Jane home and then thanked him again for the ride. She watched the car leave, with Jane opting to sit in the front seat instead of the back. She noted the grin on Jane’s face and knew the woman had a crush on Sosuke.

  As she unlocked the door and then walked into the gallery, she wondered if she should play cupid and match Sosuke and Jane.

  Toby greeted her the moment she was on the second floor where their living area was located. She picked the dog up and stroked him lovingly. Her nose twitched, and she frowned.

  “You smell different, Toby.” She cocked her head to one side and sniffed again. “Colognes?” As she came around the corner and walked past the living area, she paused. Again, she smelled cologne. Expensive ones. There was a mixture of them. She frowned at this as she came into the kitchen. “Ned? Did we have visitors?”

  Ned looked up from his spot at the stove. “Yes, a few boys.”

  “Boys?” Sakura put her bag down on the dining table and taking a seat. “That explains the colognes I smell in the living room.”

  “You can smell them?” Ned asked curiously. At Sakura’s nod, he said, “I can’t.”

  Sakura laughed. “Your sense of taste and smell are getting worse, darling.”

  Ned raised a brow and shot back, “And you’re losing your sense of logic of reality, my dear.”

  Sakura didn’t reply, and Ned continued as he stirred his bolognese sauce. “Did you know one can smell her soulmate from a distance? And after he’s gone, she can still smell his scent wherever he’s been?”

  Sakura raised her brows and laughed. “What nonsense is this, Ned?”

  Ned returned his attention to his sauce and hummed.

  “I’m going to shower.” She grabbed her bag and headed to the door.

  “Don’t be too long. Dinner is ready in a minute,” Ned said over his shoulder.

  “Okay.” Then she was gone.

  It was just before midnight when Ned poked his head in Sakura’s bedroom door to tell her he’d be out early the next morning, and he saw her packing up.

  “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

  “I’m moving. Oh Shit! I forgot to tell you, Ned. I’ve been so busy today and got a bit tired during dinner.”

  Ned came into the room and folded his arms across his chest. Whatever she was going to tell, he wasn’t going to like it.

  “Do you remember the necklace?”

  “Yes?”

  “Lady Suzuki offered me a job in replacement to paying her…”

  “Yes, go on,” Ned said.

  “I’m going to be her personal companion slash assistant. I won’t get paid, but—”

  “Good, that’s good. I don’t doubt it’ll cost at least a couple hundred thousand to replace that pink diamond.”

  Sakura chuckled. “Yeah. So I’m starting tomorrow.”

  “Yes, good. I’m happy it worked out for you. So where is this apartment?”

  Sakura clamped her mouth shut. She returned to her drawer and took out clothes instead.

  “Sakura? Are you planning to keep the whereabouts of the apartment from me?”

  Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. “Oh, Ned. Please understand that I can’t tell you. I mean, what if the brothers found out you live here with me. What if they interrogate you about me and my address? It’d be easier for you not to know.”

  Ned thought it was too late about the brothers and their interrogation now. He straightened and headed out the door. “Just text me your new address when you’re ready to tell me. And don’t you dare avoid my phone calls, understand?”

  Sakura sighed in relief. She couldn’t help herself and ran up to him and hugged him tight. “Thank you, Ned dear, for understanding.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and said, “Don’t thank me just yet, you stubborn darling. Now I’m off to bed. Got to be up early next morning for a business trip.”

  Sakura unwrapped her arms from him. “Good night, Ned dear.”

  “Good night, Sakura. Sleep well,” he said and left her.

  * * * * *

  It was to the brothers’ surprise that
Mr. Tachibana appeared at their doorstep, along, of course, with Ms. Ruka. Beth ushered them in. As he requested it, the brothers all made their appearances.

  Mr. Tachibana couldn’t help himself and counted the number.

  “One, two, three, four,” he said, now looking at Conrad. Then, “Five, six, and seven.” He ended with Darcy, standing farther away from them with a dark scowl on his face.

  “What’s this about?” Darcy asked the designer, coming down the few steps that separated the dining from the living area.

  Mr. Tachibana shuffled himself in his seat to make himself comfortable, of course. Then he cleared his throat and began. “Did you call me earlier today, Nicolas-kun?”

  At Nicolas’s nod, Mr. Tachibana asked, “What did you want me for?”

  “I was going to ask you if a certain young woman was there to see you about the gown.”

  At this, Mr. Tachibana laughed. “Of course she did. And might I say what a lovely young lady she is.”

  “Mr. Tachibana,” Sebastian said suspiciously. “You’re here for something else. Spit it out.”

  Ms. Ruka, who was sitting beside Logan, chuckled and said, “Sebastian-kun, you see right through my sensei.” Of course, she couldn’t help not touching the handsome Logan, who was frowning at her darkly. She was stroking the man’s arm.

  Logan felt a little weird and quickly moved to the side, a little away from Ms. Ruka. She wouldn’t have any of it, of course, and came after him. She touched his arm and gave him a big grin. Logan looked heavenward and wondered why he was the one who ended up being Ms. Ruka’s pet.

  Mr. Tachibana relaxed back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. He said, “My request for you brothers to become my models still stands.”

  Logan chuckled, slapping Ms. Ruka’s hand away from his thigh. “More like begging.”

  “No. No. Not begging, Logan-kun. This time not begging. This time really is a request because I am sure you will not turn me down.”