A Secret Kiss

by Alexia Praks

  Chapter 17

  Coffee, Coffee, & More Coffee

  “Aren’t you going to get that?” Logan asked Darcy, getting rather annoyed at the insistent ringing of the cell phone.

  Darcy shrugged his shoulders and said, “Not that important. Whoever it is will leave a message. I’m on holiday, after all.”

  “Good point,” Logan said. “Let’s just hope it’s not from the company.”

  “If it is,” Darcy said, “they’d contact Hayden. He’s the boss.”

  “The boss is on holiday, bro.” Hayden chuckled. “They won’t dare bother me. After all, I’ve already placed Tim in charge. He should take care of things just fine.”

  The ringing stopped, and Darcy sighed in relief. Oh, he knew very well it was Kate Anderson, his ex-girlfriend, who had called him insistently. That was why he wouldn’t pick up. She’d been texting him too, since the first night he’d arrived on the island, apologizing to him that she shouldn’t have been so rash to him back there and that she wanted to get back with him. She was full of bullshit, of course, and Darcy was frankly sick and tired of her insistent text messaging and ringing.

  He relaxed, resting his weight on his elbow as he stared off into the distance across the beach, enjoying the view.

  “We should go surfing,” Sebastian suggested.

  “It’ll have to be on the other side of the island, though,” Nicolas said. “St. Helena Beach, better waves there.”

  “Yeah, we could stay at the cabin in the woods,” Logan added. “For a couple of days.”

  “Good idea,” Darcy said. “I’m ready for a bit of solitude.”

  Yes, he thought. That was what he needed—solitude. More importantly, he needed to get away from Sakura. He needed to keep some distance between them, both for his peace of mind and for his heart.

  It was an hour later when Mary called out to them. “Hey!” she shouted from the top of the beach. “You guys hungry or not?”

  Conrad jumped up immediately. “Definitely!” He brushed the sand off his jeans and ran up to them. “Been waiting for ages.”

  The brothers got up as well and made their way to where the two girls were waiting for them.

  Sebastian noticed Sakura standing there with her long hair dancing in the wind and her floral skirt fluttering about her slender legs. She looked like a beautiful heroine standing by the cliff’s edge, waiting for the return of her lover who’d gone off to war. His heart skipped a beat. He gritted his teeth at that. She’s your adopted sister, he told himself. You can’t feel this way toward her. You simply can’t.

  They reached her, and Conrad quickly got to her side like a loyal pup. Sebastian couldn’t help himself either and walked behind her. He could smell her beautiful scent again, which he simply loved. Not to mention her long hair kept flirting with his face, which he also loved.

  They came to a small café a couple of blocks farther. It was facing the beach and had a very good view of the ocean. It was also jam-packed with costumers.

  “Jesus! I wonder if we’ll get a table,” Mary said. Then she thought to add, “Or two.” She glanced behind her at the seven brothers.

  Sebastian was impressed with the café. It was medium-sized with very nice, warm décor of earthy colors which made one feel immediately cozy. In fact, he was surprised there were so many tourists there right now. He wasn’t impressed, however, when a boy of about eight years old rushed up to Sakura and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her such a long and tight hug.

  “You’re back!” he said with a big grin on his face.

  Sakura tousled his dark hair and chuckled. “I haven’t been away that long at all. I didn’t know you’d miss me that much.”

  “I really missed you,” the boy said with the biggest, fattest grin on his face.

  “All right,” Sakura said. “Shall we find a table to sit?”

  “Yes,” the boy said, finally letting go. “Just you and me.”

  “And what about me?” Mary interrupted. “So you didn’t miss me?”

  The boy chuckled. “I missed you, Mary. Just not that much, though.”

  Mary laughed. “Well, if you must know, Michael, I didn’t miss you that much either.”

  The brothers, by this point, wanted to know who the boy was.

  “And us?” Nicolas asked the boy.

  The boy sucked in his breath and froze in his place as he stared up at Nicolas.

  “James?” he shrieked. “What have you done? You look so young.”

  The brothers took the opportunity to laugh at Nicolas. The eldest brother wasn’t pleased with their behavior and gave them a good scowl.

  “I’m Nicolas,” he said to the boy. “I’m James’s son, the oldest one.”

  Michael stared wide-eyed at the seven brothers. “All seven of you are here!” he said in awe. “Mom is going to be so pleased. Come on, I’ll find a table for us.”

  With that the boy led them by taking Sakura’s hand to the long table by the window that had a great view of the ocean beyond. The brothers took their seats around the table while Michael made sure Sakura sat next to him.

  Tristan said loudly, “You have competition, Conrad. Better work harder.”

  At this the brothers laughed again, and Conrad muttered something under his breath. Just then a pretty brown-haired and green-eyed young woman came to their table. Sakura got up and gave her a hug, which caused the brothers to wonder who this woman was.

  “Hey,” Sakura said.

  “Hey,” the woman replied. Then she moved over to hug Mary.

  “I’ll definitely come over tonight to try on that dress. Peter and Richard are arriving this afternoon, right?”

  Mary nodded. Then she turned to the brothers. “Boys,” she said, “this is Katherine Hodge. She’s my maid of honor, and Michael’s stepmom, by the way.”

  “She’s a great mom,” Michael said. “And I love her very much.”

  Sakura tousled his hair again. “Yes, she is a great mom.”

  “I’m so sorry, guys, but we’ve been flat out today, and we’re also short staffed.”

  “No worries,” Mary said, putting her hand up. “I’ll help.” With that, she got up and headed toward the kitchen as if she knew what she was doing.

  “Thanks, Mary. You don’t have to,” Katherine said, running after her friend.

  Sakura saw no other option once they were left alone. No one was going to take their orders, so she stood up and asked the brothers what they wanted.

  “Are you going to be our waitress?” Darcy asked. There was a surprised look in his eyes that Sakura couldn’t quite miss.

  “Yes, I am,” she replied nicely. “Why?”

  “Nothing,” he said, looking away.

  “Are you going to wear one of those cute uniforms like the rest of them?” Tristan asked cheekily.

  Sakura chuckled. “I usually do,” she said. “But not today. I don’t have it with me.”

  This totally shocked the brothers, and they, especially Tristan and Logan, grinned cheekily. Sebastian knew his brothers’ minds were wandering off into their fantasy worlds involving Sakura and a sexy uniform and expressed an “Oi!” loudly to get their attention. This managed to retrieve his brothers back from la-la land.

  Logan had the courtesy to cough to hide his sneaky smile. Tristan sighed with a happy expression on his face. Hayden chuckled. Conrad blushed. Darcy shook his head as though they were beyond help. And Nicolas managed to laugh uncomfortably. He couldn’t believe that he too had managed to lose himself to such an imagination with a simple suggestion.

  “Cappuccino for me,” Sebastian said. “And an open steak sandwich.”

  “Yes,” Nicolas said, clearing his throat. “A cappuccino for me and an open steak sandwich as well, thank you.”

  Conrad was about to tell her his order when Michael interrupted him loudly. “I want hot chocolate and some hot chips please. Oh, and I want a cute teddy bear on my hot chocolate please.”

&n
bsp; Sakura chuckled. “Indeed, you may have that cute teddy bear.” Then she turned to Conrad, who was riling and frowning at eight-year-old Michael. “A mochaccino and pasta, thanks,” he said.

  Sakura nodded, and one by one the brothers told her what they wanted. They were very surprised to see that she didn’t write their orders down and went straight to the point-of-sale machine behind the counter to order everything herself, as if she owned the place. They were even more surprised when she went to the coffee machine and expertly began making their hot drinks. When fifteen minutes later she returned, it was with two silver trays carrying their orders.

  “Cappuccino for Nicolas and Sebastian,” she said, expertly placing their drinks before them. “Mochaccino for Conrad.”

  “Thanks,” Conrad said, giving her a bright smile. He took a good sip of his and smiled contently afterward.

  One by one, Sakura gave the others their drinks they’d ordered. “And last but not least,” she said, coming to sit beside Michael, “hot chocolate for my dearest Michael.” She placed a cute cup in front of him.

  “Oh look! It’s a bear!” Michael shouted and bragged to the brothers by shoving his cup to them, pointing at the picture of a bear on his hot chocolate.

  “How come mine doesn’t have art on it?” Conrad asked.

  “Neither does mine,” Logan added sourly.

  “That’s because you didn’t ask for it,” Sakura said.

  “What’s in yours?” Michael asked, taking a peek at Sakura’s cup.

  “A swan,” Sakura said.

  “I think you look like a swan. You’re pretty.” Michael praised. “I like pretty girls.”

  Sakura chuckled. “Don’t all boys?” she asked, looking at the brothers, remembering when they’d been children and how they always preferred pretty Tara over her—the quiet, shy, ugly Sakura who no one wanted to be friends with.

  “So you made us coffee?” Nicolas asked.

  She nodded. “I did.”

  “Is it any good?” Darcy asked, wondering if she’d deliberately sabotaged their drinks. After all, how could she know how to make proper coffee?

  “James only drinks Sakura’s coffee when he comes here,” Michael said abruptly. “’Cause she’s really good at making it.”

  “No, he doesn’t,” Sakura said. “He drinks Beth’s coffee back at home too.”

  Michael blinked and frowned at her. “You didn’t make coffee for him at home? That’s mean.”

  Sakura chuckled. “Only sometimes.” She turned to the brothers and noted they looked as if they were afraid to drink their coffees, except for Conrad, who was enjoying his tremendously. She wondered if she should have put salt in their drink just for the fun of it. But then again, she wasn’t that mean.

  “Well?” she said. “Drink up before it gets cold.”

  The brothers, excluding Conrad, looked down at their cup of coffee as if there were poison in it. Nicolas picked his up and slowly, while all his brothers had their eyes on him, took a sip. The brothers waited, watching him. Nicolas closed his eyes. He tasted the smooth blend of the coffee bean. It was beautiful, amazingly delightful in his mouth. He flashed his eyes open and took another sip.

  “Good?” Logan asked.

  Nicolas nodded. Logan, knowing if it had passed Nicolas’s stamp of approval it had to be very good, quickly drank his. “Whoa! This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.” Then he proceeded to drink some more.

  One by one the brothers drank theirs and sighed with pleasure. They all agreed it was one of the best coffees they’d ever had.

  “Now I know why Dad doesn’t like Beth’s standard coffee,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “After this I don’t think I’ll ever go back to standard coffee again.”

  “Me, too,” Logan said, and the brothers laughed.