Falling For Sakura (Falling For Sakura Trilogy, #1) (14 page)

“What the hell for?” Conrad shouted.

Sebastian didn’t bother to explain to young Conrad that it was because of what had happened back in their childhood days. The other brothers, however, understood perfectly.

“Then I should go and
apologize as well,” Tristan said. “I was awful to her.”

Nicolas came to put his arm around his brot
her’s shoulder. “I am too partly to blame. As the eldest brother, I should have done something, but instead I stood by and ignored the whole thing.”

“That means all of us ha
ve hurt her in some way. There’s no denying that,” Logan said. “I was utterly cold toward her.”

Conrad had enough. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Sakura!” the brothers said in unison.

“Well.
” Conrad folded his arms across his chest. “If everyone of you hurt her and wants to apologize, why the hell didn’t you do something about it?”

“Like what?” Logan asked.

“Like, I don’t know,” Conrad muttered. “If it were me, I’d take her shopping. Girls like shopping, right? And presents.” Then he cocked his head to one side. “Shoes? Bags? Clothes?”

“I’ll just go and
apologize to her right now,” Tristan announced. “And give her a peace offering—
a hug and a kiss
.”

He was about to walk out the door when Sebastian jumped up from his seat and pulled his brother back by the collar of his shirt. “Now?” he asked. “It’s bloody midnight. She’s probably asleep.”

“Sebastian’s right,” Nicolas said. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning.”

Sebastian saw the look in Nicolas’s eyes and said, “You’re not going to give her kisses, are you?”

“Why not?” Tristan put in. “You kissed her.”

“On the forehead,” Sebastian said through gritted teeth. “It was a brotherly kiss. I am, after all, her adopted brother.”

“Yes.” Tristan teased him. “We shall give Sakura brotherly kisses and hugs tomorrow.”

“Like hell you will!
” Sebastian snapped. “Now get out of my room.”

“Night, bro.
” Tristan chuckled. And one by one, the brothers left his room, leaving Sebastian alone and wondering how the hell he was going to keep his brothers away from Sakura. How the hell was he going to protect her from them? And then he wondered at just how the hell he was going to protect her from himself.

C
ake 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.

“L
et her go! Let her go!” Ten-year-old Tara’s voice echoed all around her, singing and laughing merrily. “Let her fall. Let her die.”

“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.

“Sebastia
n,” 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, brin
ging 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 a
sked, 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 fi
ll, 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 take
n 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 gr
oomsmen?” 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, which meant no danger there either.

“Why are you al
l 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 other
s, 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.

“H
mm, 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 goss
ip?”

“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. “B
ut 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 gir
l 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.”