by Alexia Praks
Chapter 16
Cake Flavor? Sakura, Please!
Baby-blue eyes glared at her accusingly, and that pretty face scrunched with disgust.
“You can’t steal Darcy from me!” nine-year-old Alaina hissed.
Ten-year-old Sakura looked down at Alaina’s small hands that were squeezing hers so tight it was painful. She wanted to tell the girl to stop hurting her and let her go, but Alaina only sneered at her.
“You want me to let you go?” Alaina asked sarcastically, her head cocked to one side, her eyes narrowed darkly.
“Let her go! Let her go!” Ten-year-old Tara’s voice echoed all around her, singing and laughing merrily. “Let her fall. Let her fall.”
“I’m letting you go,” Alaina said. “So go and die.”
Very slowly, Sakura watched in horror as Alaina unwrapped her hands. “No!” she screamed, watching Alaina as she slowly fell backward from the tree house, her small body flying down toward the ground as if she were falling from a cliff edge down to the angry sea below.
Sakura screamed, her eyes wide with fear, as Alaina was about to hit the hard ground below. Suddenly, it was Sakura who felt her own body falling—down, down, and down.
Splash!
The hungry water was everywhere around her, engulfing her, wanting to eat her alive. She struggled and tried to scream for help. She was dying, and she knew she couldn’t do anything about it.
Blue eyes. A pair of beautiful, sky-blue eyes were watching her. A boy’s hands were reaching out for her.
“Sakura!” he seemed to be shouting. His voice, however, was muffed by the water as his hands desperately reached out for her.
“Sebastian!”
Sakura woke up with a start, her body hot and sweating and her lips chanting Sebastian’s name. Her heart pounded hard within her chest, and her head was spinning out of control.
She closed her eyes again, told herself to calm down because it was only a dream. No! A nightmare. A long-ago nightmare she thought she’d forgotten, but in fact it had lain dormant deep within her mind.
She turned on her side and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. She kept seeing those blue eyes, wide with fear, as they stared at her.
“Sebastian,” she said under her breath as she gazed at the bright moon that shone through her opened curtain. She touched her hand to her chest where she felt the pounding of her heart. “Why?” she whispered. “Why would you sacrifice your life to save me?”
Soon she closed her eyes again and returned to sleep. This time though there was no nightmare.
The next morning, Sakura felt like a zombie. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t know she’d reached the dining room.
“Good morning.” Conrad greeted her the moment she stepped through the door. In fact, she didn’t even have time to take a seat when he instantly had his strong arms around her person and gave her a really tight hug.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked.
Sakura wanted to tell him of course not. She had a nightmare, if he wanted to know the details. But instead she watched in horror as Conrad moved his face toward her, his lips coming down fast toward her forehead. She closed her eyes, wondering what Conrad wanted to do, when she felt strong hands around her slender arms and then a hard, swift pull of her body, releasing her from Conrad’s hug.
She found herself in Darcy’s arms, his hands tight around her, her face only inches from his massive chest. She could feel his body heat radiating, causing her to feel warm and dizzy at the same time. She tilted her face to look at him and saw he was gazing down at her, his eyes deep and intense. She felt her tummy flutter and her head started to spin. Perhaps it resulted from her tiredness due to her lack of sleep last night. Well, at least she hoped that was the reason, not Darcy’s presence.
Without knowing it, her knees weakened and she lost her stance. Darcy swiftly tightened his hold on her, bringing her closer to him. His lips were warm near her forehead as he asked, “You’re unwell?”
“Sakura, are you all right?” Conrad queried with concern.
Sakura wanted to tell him she couldn’t sleep a wink because she’d been up all night thinking about many random things but especially about that nightmare and Sebastian and his kiss last night.
She managed to get hold of herself and shook her head to tell them she was fine. When she glanced over at the large dining table, she noted all the brothers were there, sporting rather concerned looks on their faces, which confused her. Shouldn’t they be pleased she was suffering?
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Tristan asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “I’m very sure.” She moved away from Darcy’s arms and came to sit down at the end of the table as far away from the brothers as possible. Conrad would have none of it, however, and dragged her around the table to sit next to him and Darcy.
“What would you like, my dear sister?” Conrad asked, and Tristan nearly fell off his chair. Sebastian flashed Conrad a watch what you’re saying look. Though Conrad had seen it, he decided to ignore it and hid a smile. Tristan laughed, and Nicolas, Logan, and Hayden watched the scene before them with interest.
“It’s okay. I can take care of myself,” Sakura said, somewhat confused as to why the brothers didn’t seem to mind her presence all of a sudden.
What she’d just said didn’t please the brothers one bit. They didn’t like the fact that she thought she could take care of herself. Yes, of course she could take care of herself on most things, but certainly not one thing. She couldn’t protect herself against Mark Chatsworth, whom the brothers had agreed was a wolf and out to snaffle Sakura away.
Sakura grabbed some toast and proceed to spread some strawberry jam on it, wondering where Daddy James and Mom Brenda had gone off to.
“Mom and Dad are already out,” Conrad volunteered as if sensing her questioning look.
“They’re early,” she said.
“So,” Tristan started, “what are your plans for the day, Sakura?”
She blinked and then took a bite of the toast.
“Well?” he prompted.
“She’s going to be busy today, boys,” Mary announced at the door. “Smells good,” she said as she came in to sit beside Conrad. “Hmm, I’m hungry this morning.”
Sakura smiled the moment she saw her friend. “Here, eat your fill, my bride-to-be, ’cause it’s going to be a day filled with chores,” she said, grabbing another toast and giving it to Mary across Conrad.
“Why thank you, my dear Sakura,” Mary said politely. “How nice you put it. I shall indeed eat my fill afore you condemn me to an eternity of labor.” Then they both laughed.
The brothers were interested in their odd behavior. It looked as though Sakura and Mary were very close friends.
“What labor are you talking about?” Logan asked, then sipped his standard coffee.
“We’re going out today to do bride-to-be stuff,” Mary said.
“Which is?” Hayden put in.
“Confirm the bouquets for me, the bride-to-be, the maid of honor, Katherine, and of course, the very lovely bridesmaid Sakura.”
“You’re going to be a bridesmaid?” Darcy asked. His tone of voice indicated that he was none too pleased.
Sakura was taken aback. “She’s one of my best friends. Of course I’m going to be her bridesmaid.”
The brothers nodded. But of course they didn’t know the girls were best friends nor that Sakura was going to be a bridesmaid. Hence, they wondered who the groomsmen were and wondered if the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to dance together.
“Who are the groomsmen?” Nicolas asked, as if sensing what all his brothers were thinking.
“My brother Richard, and of course Peter’s best friend Jack,” Mary said.
The brothers seemed to sigh with relief. They knew Jack Donaldson was already married, and therefore, Sakura wasn’t in danger there. And of course, Richard was Mary’s older brother and was a family member, whi
ch meant no danger there either.
“Why are you all so tense?” Mary asked. Then she thought to add, “I didn’t know any of you wanted to be Peter’s groomsmen.”
This was followed by guilty looks and an uncomfortable cough from Tristan.
“Aha!” Mary slammed her palm on the tabletop, causing all eyes to turn on her. “You feel guilty, don’t you?” she said. “You’re all guilty you haven’t helped out. With my wedding, I mean.”
Conrad laughed uneasily. “Kind of,” he said. “We haven’t really done anything, have we?”
“Of course not,” Mary said, folding her arms across her chest. “It’s a bit too late now.”
“So,” Logan said. “What’s the flavor of your cake?”
Mary cocked her head to one side. “Ah, that.” It was her turn to laugh uncomfortably. “I haven’t chosen it yet.”
“What?” Conrad and Logan shouted out in unison.
“You left it until this late?” Nicolas asked.
“Well, not that late. I just need to choose the flavor. Can’t decide. That’s why Sakura is coming with me today to help choose. Mrs. Waterhouse is baking us some to try.”
“I’ll be too happy to help you choose,” Tristan said from across the table.
All his brothers eyed him with suspicion.
“I’ll help, too,” Conrad said. “I love cake. Nothing better than free cakes.”
“Hum,” Logan said, “maybe I should help, too.”
“Count me in,” Nicolas said. “Chocolate is my favorite.”
Sakura wasn’t pleased with the way things were going. She glanced from one brother to the others, wondering why they wanted to help out, and tasting cake of all things.
“Hold on,” Sakura said. “There isn’t enough room in my car.”
“I’ll drive.” Sebastian offered.
“Huh?” Sakura blinked several times.
“Hold on! Wait a minute!” Mary intervened, half-standing. She looked from one brother to the others and said, “You all want to help me taste and choose my wedding cake?”
The brothers nodded in unison.
Sakura could only stare at them. Say no! Please say no! Mary, please!
Mary laughed. “That’s great! Let’s all go to The Dessert Room and eat cakes!”
Sakura’s shoulders slumped. This was going to be a long day.
Not long after that, she found herself in the driver’s seat with Conrad’s long leg pushing behind her seat and his face close behind her neck. Mary was next to her, going through the cake list in the brochure she had earlier, and Logan was sitting next to Conrad on the back seat.
“Chocolate,” Mary said. “I like chocolate, but I’m not sure if everyone else will like it.”
“What else is there?” Logan asked from behind.
“Hmm, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry,” she said. “All the berries you could think of.”
“Vanilla?” Conrad asked. “I like vanilla.”
Mary put the pamphlet down and turned to look at Conrad behind her. “Okay, Conrad. What’s the gossip?”
Conrad raised his brows in confusion. “What gossip?”
“Oh, come on. Tell us about your brothers. I can’t believe none of them are bringing their girlfriends to my wedding. There’s something fishy about that.”
Conrad laughed. “Nothing fishy,” he said. “Tristan, Hayden, and Darcy all got dumped by their respective girlfriends.”
Logan laughed. “Serves them right.”
“And Nicolas, Sebastian, Logan, and I,” he emphasized, “are still single. No strings attached.” As he said this, he looked at Sakura, who was too busy looking at the road ahead.
“That is so bizarre,” Mary commented. “You’re all still single. Seven hot men in one house, all single.” She turned to look at the scenery, wondering. “I wonder if they’re gay.”
Conrad heard her and shouted, “I’m not gay!”
Logan nodded. “FYI, Mary, we like our freedom.”
Conrad nodded too. “But unlike my brothers,” he said, again looking at Sakura, “I’ll only be too happy to settle down the moment I meet the right girl.”
Logan noted the meaning in Conrad’s words and frowned at his brother severely. “Take it slow, puppy boy. What have you got to offer this girl you’re interested in? You’re still in college. Where’s your plan for the future?”
Conrad scratched his head. “I’ll work on one.”
Mary turned to look at Logan and Conrad behind her again. “Are you sure you’re not gay?” She teased.
Conrad folded his arms across his chest. “I’m positive.”
It was Logan’s turn to speak. “Sakura, my sweet sister.”
This welcomed a surprised, weird stare from Mary, and she laughed. She said, “Sweet sister? I think Sakura is anything but sweet.”
Sakura tightened her hands on the steering wheel. It wasn’t what Mary had just said that bothered her. It was because Logan had called her my sweet sister.
“Are you bringing that… what’s his name?” Logan cocked his head to one side, pretending to search his brain for Mark Chatsworth’s name. “That doctor at the lab.”
“Mark?” Mary volunteered excitedly.
“Yes,” Logan said. “Are you bringing him to the wedding?”
“Naturally,” Mary said. “Of course.”
Conrad couldn’t help himself and asked, “What? So are you guys like dating or something?”
Mary laughed. “I wish. I’ve been working on it for so long and so damn hard. I know in my guts that Mark likes Sakura, but she won’t budge—the beam pool.”
Sakura said, “I’m not ready for a relationship, Mary. I told you already. I’ve got other plans. And I’m not a freakin’ beam pool.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Mary waved. “We know you’ve got super-hot breasts, Sakura. But you know romance doesn’t come your way every day, and besides, finding the perfect man in your life isn’t that easy either.” She turned to Logan and Conrad. “How about we work together?”
Conrad was momentarily daydreaming about Sakura’s super-hot breasts. He wondered what they looked like and—
“Conrad?” Mary shouted.
He jolted back to reality. “What?”
“To get this friend of mine and Mark together?”
Logan frowned darkly, and Conrad said, “No!”
Mary harrumphed. “Fine. I’ll work on it myself, then.”
A few minutes later, they arrived in town. It was a picture-perfect little place with beautiful old buildings dating back to the eighteenth century. Most of the shops and eateries were set up by the waterfront. Hence they had an excellent view of the beach and the blue ocean beyond. In the far distance, one could almost see New York to the west if one had a good imagination.
Sakura parked the car along the side of the road, and they all got out. Logan stretched out his long legs and arms and inhaled the fresh air.
“Ah. It’s so good,” he said.
“Come on, Logan,” Mary said, pulling him by the arm. “We don’t have much time. We still have to go and see the florist.”
“Such fun,” Logan responded.
Conrad rushed up to walk beside Sakura when he saw that his brothers were getting out of the other car parked not too far away and knew soon they’d be onto them. He had to take quick action, he decided.
“So,” he said to Sakura. “It’s nice today.”
“Yes,” Sakura replied.
“I suppose it’ll be lunchtime by the time we finish.”
“Yes,” Sakura said, looking up at him, wondering what he was on about.
“I know a nice place,” he said. “I thought maybe you and I could go. We could get to know each other a bit more.”
Sakura smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling. She wondered if he wanted to be friends with her and perhaps get to know her a bit better as adopted siblings. Or perhaps she wondered if he was playing tricks on her. But then again, why would he? He was a grown adult.
No one had time for that sort of bull now, and to be frankly honest, neither did she.
“Well,” she said.
“Please come,” he almost begged her, his eyes large as he waited expectantly.
Sakura thought he reminded her of Toby and couldn’t help chuckling. “All right,” she agreed. “But I know a place where we should definitely go. You’ll like it.”
“Yes!” Conrad yelled out excitedly as though a girl had just accepted a date with him.
“Yes what?” Sebastian asked from behind.
By that time, all the brothers had caught up with them. Sakura turned around to have a look. Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed at the brothers, and it did a triple skip once her eyes met Sebastian’s. Oh, God! Why was her heart beating so hard? Why was she finding it so difficult to breathe properly? Not to mention her stomach kept flipping.
She glanced away and looked at all of them instead. They were an awesome sight, she thought. They looked like they were advertising for Levi’s or something, with their long legs and tall frames. Oh my God! If she had her camera, she’d take photos of them and post them up for sale. Lots of commercial companies would buy them for their advertisements.
“Going out to lunch after this, are we?” Tristan said. “Good, I’m almost starving.”
Conrad widened his eyes in surprise. “What?” he shouted. “No!”
“Actually, I’m slightly hungry already,” Logan put in.
“Me too,” Hayden said.
“We only just had breakfast,” Darcy interjected.
“I’m still growing,” Tristan replied easily.
“At twenty-six?” Nicolas asked teasingly.
“It’s decided then,” Sebastian put in matter-of-factly. “We’re all going to lunch after this.”
“What?” Conrad growled. “No!”
Mary laughed and shook her head. “You guys are hilarious!” she said through tears. “It’s so much fun with you guys.”
“What’s so hilarious?” Darcy frowned at Mary. “These guys are a bore.”
Sakura sighed, wondering why they were fighting about lunch and who was going or not. Surely they were all going, right?
Finally they reached The Dessert Room, and Sakura was very glad indeed that they didn’t have to argue about lunch anymore. However, she wasn’t so glad two hours later when the brothers all stood before her and practically begged her to taste their choices of cakes—not that they were much different since they were mostly chocolate.
“I thought this was supposed to be Mary’s choice, not mine or yours,” she said.
“But we’re helping her,” Conrad said. “Isn’t that right, Mary?”
Mary nodded. “My choice is chocolate.”
“Me too,” Tristan said. “Speaking of which…” He moved and stood so close to Sakura that he could be kissing her. “Chocolate is similar to the color of your eyes. Deep, dark, and dangerously delicious.”
Sebastian wasn’t pleased with his brother’s use of alliteration to describe chocolate and Sakura’s brown eyes. For sure, the man was flirting with her. He grabbed Tristan’s arm and yanked him away from Sakura, who blushed intensely.
“Stop flirting around,” he muttered.
“All right, all right,” Mary said finally. “Look, we’re here for almost two hours now. Surely we’ve reached some type of conclusion. I want chocolate.” She turned to Nicolas and asked him. “You?”
“Chocolate,” Nicolas said.
Mary turned to Darcy, who said, “Chocolate.”
Next was Hayden. “Definitely chocolate.”
Logan said, “Of course chocolate. What else?”
“Chocolate, the color of Sakura’s eyes,” Tristan said, winking at her.
Sebastian said, “Chocolate.” He eyed Sakura, who at that moment decided to lick the last of the white, fluffy cream by popping her finger into her mouth and sucking. All the brothers were watching her, their eyes fixed on her sensuous lips and the slender finger that slowly moved out of her mouth.
Her innocent action was so erotic that the brothers were actually panting, and their bodies were heating up knowingly.
Mary, with her head still down and jotting notes, finally asked the youngest brother, “And you, Conrad?”
“Sakura,” he said softly. “I like Sakura. I want Sakura.”
All the brothers felt the same way and couldn’t help but look at her like little pups who wanted to be petted.
“No,” Mary said, jotting down notes furiously. “You can’t have Sakura. Sakura is not on the menu. It’s a Japanese flower and you can’t eat it anyway.”
Sakura blinked and turned to look at Conrad. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Conrad blinked. “Err, yes.” He chuckled uncomfortably.
Nicolas was the first to regain his wit and coughed loudly to distract his other brothers from the trance. Sebastian managed to get himself out too and cleared his throat. “So chocolate it is, then, Mary?” he said.
“Yes, it is,” Mary replied, finally looking up and giving them a big smile. “Thanks so much for your help, guys. Now then, off to the florist we go.”
“I’m no good with flowers,” Sebastian said, feeling rather awkward all of a sudden.
There was something in his voice that Sakura noted that didn’t quite sit well within her. Actually, all the brothers were acting a bit weird all of a sudden. What was wrong with them?
“I’m going to wait out at the beach. Come get me when you’re done,” he said, heading to the door.
“Me, too.” Nicolas chuckled. “Not good with flowers.” Then he headed after Sebastian. They both walked out the door side by side.
“Flowers aren’t my thing either,” Darcy said, frowning darkly. He gave Sakura a quick glance and then walked out the door.
Sakura noticed him looking at her. She thought there was something in his eyes—something secretive and almost painful.
“I’m good with flowers,” Tristan said happily.
“That’s because you sent too many of them to your women,” Logan teased. “Come on, we better leave the ladies to this.” And he practically dragged Tristan out the door.
Hayden shook his head. “This turned out to be no fun and game. If I keep going, I’m going to fall really hard,” he said, and before leaving the shop, he dragged Conrad out with him by hooking his arms around his little brother’s neck. “Let’s go join our bros,” he said. “Come get us when you’re done and ready for that lunch.” Then they were out the door as Conrad protested wholeheartedly.
Sakura cocked her head to one side, wondering what the heck was wrong with them.
“Boys,” Mary said. “They run away when they lose interest.”