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

by Alexia Praks

  Nicolas remarked. “Beautiful scenery. I can’t believe it’s in our backyard.”

  “Dad must have hired a new gardener,” Logan said. “As well as a new chef.”

  “That was the best meal ever!” Conrad shouted out into the night, stretching his arms out as if he were on top of the world.

  “You always eat too much,” Tristan commented, gazing off at the night stars above.

  “Speak for yourself.” Logan chuckled.

  “Speaking of which…,” Nicolas said suddenly. “Alaina and Tara haven’t arrived yet.” There was a note of concern in his voice that the brothers couldn’t miss.

  “Probably enjoying their time in town,” Logan said. “Not that there’s much in town here.”

  “Should probably shoot them a text or something.” Sebastian suggested.

  “Yeah,” Nicolas said and pulled out his phone.

  Logan came up and hooked his arm around Tristan’s neck. “So what happened to your girlfriend?”

  Tristan frowned at his brother and naturally told him to bugger off.

  “Come on,” Logan egged his brother on. “I’m your brother and best friend.”

  Tristan couldn’t deny that Logan was his brother as well as his best friend and therefore felt it only right he tell him what had happened. “We broke up.”

  “Is that why you chose to crash at my apartment and drink yourself stupid? To celebrate your single life again?” Sebastian asked none too gently.

  Tristan managed to look rather sorry for what he’d done. “Yeah. Really sorry about those paintings, bro.”

  Sebastian just shook his head since he didn’t have anything else to say.

  “She was hot,” Logan said.

  “She was too clingy,” Tristan muttered.

  “So… about that girl today,” Conrad blurted out.

  The brothers knew instantly whom he was talking about. It was hard to get the image of the young woman out of their minds, for God’s sake. Especially for Sebastian and Darcy since they’d been the ones who had the most interaction with her.

  “Hey, did you hear that?” Sebastian asked.

  “What?” Nicolas queried.

  “Listen.”

  The brothers went quiet, and then they heard it. It was a dog barking, and it was getting closer. They searched around them, and then out of the blue a little West Highland white terrier appeared.

  The dog ran up to the men’s feet and stopped. He dropped something onto the ground, stood on his hind legs, and stuck his tongue out at Logan.

  Logan crouched down and stroked the dog’s head. “Isn’t that…”

  He didn’t have to finish the sentence because they all knew what he meant, and instantly they circled around Toby, who seemed to be enjoying being the center of attention.

  Nicolas picked him up and chuckled. “What are you doing here at this time of the night?”

  “If he’s here…,” Conrad said.

  “Then his owner…” Tristan continued the sentence. On cue, the musical voice they expected to hear came.

  “Toby? Toby? Where are you? Come out now. You’re grounded, mister!”

  They waited expectedly for the owner of the dog to appear, but they didn’t expect her to appear like that.

  She was dressed in a lacy pink nightdress—flimsy and short—showing off her very fine figure. With her tresses down and wet and her feet bare, she looked like some sort of wood nymph that they happened upon in the night.

  The brothers couldn’t stop staring at her.

  Sakura didn’t expect her dog to be surrounded by seven men in the middle of the night and in the woods near the house too. She was too shocked to say anything. In fact, she was too shocked to do anything. Then, when she was aware they were staring at her and she was in a near-naked state, she hastily turned on her heel, intending to rush back. But because she was confused, shocked, nervous, and totally out of her wits, she stumbled and fell flat on her face.

  The brothers—except for Darcy—acted in accordance to their manly behavior. They rushed to save the damsel in distress. Since Sebastian was the closest to her, he got there first. He pulled her into his arms and asked her if she was all right. Sakura, however, was too shocked to reply. Logan helped her legs out of the vines, finally allowing Sebastian to lift her up.

  Sakura wanted to die rather than live through the humiliation of all seven brothers seeing her in such a state. Sebastian laid her down and Toby rushed to her, barking loudly.

  “I’m fine, Toby. I’m fine,” she said. Then she glanced up at Sebastian, who looked rather concerned about her well-being. She turned to Nicolas.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “How did you get here?” Logan queried.

  Darcy stood rigid, watching the scene before him, his heart thumping too hard for his liking. He bloody well didn’t like the fact that his brothers were showing too much concern and interest in the girl before them. He had the urge to barge in, scoop her up in his arms, and take her far away. It was a stupid notion, of course, and Darcy had never been stupid.

  Sakura, on the other side, felt her heart beating way too fast for her liking to be surrounded by the brothers again. She hugged Toby even tighter against her chest and bit her lip. Oh God! She needed to get out of here. Now!

  She hastily got up and said, “Thanks for finding my dog,” and ran back the way she came.

  They watched her go, unable to hide their disappointment.

  “We didn’t ask for her name,” Conrad said.

  “How did she get here wearing that?” Hayden asked no one in particular.

  “She lives in the cottage just down the road, remember?” Nicolas reasoned. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t be wearing…” He left the sentence unfinished because, to be honest, he couldn’t come up with an explanation himself.

  The brothers decided they’d had enough for the day and started to wander back to the house. Conrad picked up the thing Toby had dropped and found it was a memory stick.

  “I think this belongs to her,” he said to his brothers.

  “We’ll have to give it back,” Sebastian suggested.

  “Yeah.” Conrad nodded, smiling broadly.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER 8

  Elusive Dream

  Darce! Darce! Laughter. Darcy could hear beautiful laughter singing and echoing all around him, calling out to him. The voice was soft and musical, and it sent a nice, warm sensation throughout his body. In his state of haziness, he could see long, black hair dancing in the wind, the strands brushing gently on his face. He could feel warm, small hands within his grasp, tightening as if the owner of that lovely hand was afraid he’d disappear.

  He was in a dream, Darcy realized, and he was lying down on the ground, his long, lean body across and his head resting on someone’s lap. It was a very comfortable lap. Above him, he could see millions of cherry blossom petals raining down on him from a massive tree of pink cloud. Some landed on his face. They were feathery soft and cool on his skin. He could smell the light, beautiful scent, and it reminded him of spring. Oddly enough, he felt at peace. He felt happy. And there was something else, too. Yes, he felt loved. So much love.

  He turned to look at the girl who was now stroking his hair. He frowned, for he couldn’t see her face. The harder he looked, the darker her face seemed to become. Who was she? Why did she make him feel like this? Why did she make him feel so much warmth and so much love?

  “Snow? Why do cherry blossoms fall?” The words came out of his mouth before he knew it. He gazed long and hard at her, trying to make out her features, but it was to no avail. She was faceless to him.

  She turned to look at him. Though he couldn’t see her, he knew she was beautiful. He could also sense she was smiling at him. It was as though she were amused at his stupid question, and rather than annoyed, she was pleased.

  “They are the tears of spring, Darce, the tears of spring,” she replied as she gazed up at the swirling flowers surrounding th
em.

  Darcy felt satisfied. He nodded and closed his eyes, intending to return to his slumber. Then he sensed it, her face slowly descending toward him. A second later, he felt her warm breath fanning over his skin, and he knew she was smiling. He waited longingly, his nerves jumping in anticipation. He felt her soft, warm lips pressing against his cheek, causing tingling sensations to rush through his being and his world to burst with bright neon colors.

  Darcy flashed his eyes open. He came to see only darkness. There wasn’t any cherry tree around nor was there a girl near him. For a moment he panicked. I’ve lost her, he thought with dread. Where did she go? He felt his heart thumping loud and hard within his chest.

  He sat up, frowning, confused, and then he realized it was merely a dream—an elusive dream he could not grasp. Gently, he touched his finger to his cheek, and his frown darkened.

  Snow! The word kept echoing within his head. Snow! What is snow? Why snow?

  Then something struck him, and he rushed out of bed. He went into the walk-in closet and raided his luggage. A moment later, he found what he was looking for. It was a poster he had made a couple of months ago. And why he had brought it along with him to St. Joseph Island was beyond him.

  He unfolded the large paper and laid it out on his bed. There it was, a digital artwork of a dark knight and a maiden. She was a beautiful creature all right—with blackest hair, palest skin, and reddest lips. She was Snow White.

  Darcy didn’t understand the connection between the dream he’d just had and this artwork he’d created a few months ago. Perhaps it really meant nothing at all, and he decided to brush it aside. Perhaps it was just seeing the cherry trees here on St. Joseph Island that had triggered the dream. After all, there was that massive cherry tree in full bloom of pink flowers in the background of the poster. Yes, that was probably it. And the girl in his dream? She must be Snow White from the poster. Of course it had to be, and that made total sense.

  But why did he feel so lost when he’d woken up to find Snow gone? Why did he feel as though he were missing half of his soul?

  He stood, picked up the poster, and hung it on the wall opposite his bed. He had just finished and was getting back into bed when he heard noises from outside along the corridor. It was Alaina and Tara, who had just returned from their nightclubbing.

  Only for two weeks, he thought, he had to endure Tara’s presence. After the wedding, he’d be out of here and back to his loft in New York, spending his precious time working on his game design. He glanced up at the poster again before closing his eyes, the image of the dark knight and Snow bright in his mind.

  * * * * *

  The two people Sakura didn’t want to see most, Tara and Alaina, finally arrived at half past four the next morning, waking Sakura from her very weird dream. In the dream, she was surrounded by seven faceless men. Of course, these people were always faceless in dreams, though her gut instinct seemed to know who they were.

  Her stomach flipped and she sighed. She couldn’t believe she had to dream about the brothers. What was wrong with her? Not to mention the fact that one of them had kissed her. She thought it must have been Sebastian. Or was it Darcy? Conrad?

  That is totally stupid, she told herself firmly. It didn’t matter, however, because it was only a dream, and she was determined not to think about it any further.

  She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep when she heard Tara and Alaina giggling across the hallway and singing loudly before finally getting into their own rooms. Sakura was pretty sure the two women must be pretty drunk since they both loved to drink. Once the house was quiet again, she was able to slip back to sleep. This time there was no dream, and she was glad.

  About two hours later, Sakura found herself lying there in her double bed, staring up at the chandelier, her stomach flipping and her heart racing uncomfortably. Soon, she’d have to actually face the brothers, since Daddy James had made sure of that. He’d found her in the library at just before midnight last night, once everyone had retired. He scolded her that she should have been out there having dinner with her grandparents and brothers, not feigning sickness. Damn him, she thought. He had known all along.

  Ah! Brothers? Brothers, her backside! Brothers who didn’t remember her. Brothers who didn’t recognize her when they were that close to her?

  Her stomach flipped again at the thought of what happened yesterday afternoon. She couldn’t believe she had to meet them that way. Then she remembered how Darcy had looked at her, remembered his eyes boring into hers. She shivered at the image and shook her head.

  She sat up, and Toby jumped onto her lap. “What will happen today, Toby? What am I going to do?”

  The dog barked at her excitedly. Then the door flung open, and Mary marched right in.

  “Heard you weren’t well,” she said, almost in a sheer panic. “I didn’t want to bother you last night, but it’s morning now so I thought it should be fine. Oh shit! You’re going to be all right for Laura’s birthday party, right? Mark will be there so you have to come. You have to look pretty.”

  “Mary,” Sakura said, “just because he’s your brother’s friend and he had a crush on you years ago and now you’re getting married to another man, you don’t have to feel that you need to match him with me.”

  “No. No, he really likes you,” Mary said adamantly. “He really does. Now get up and shower because I’m going to make you look pretty.”

  “I’ll be fine. You should make yourself look pretty since you’re going to be the center of attention soon.”

  “Jesus, woman, it’s not my wedding yet. It’s Laura’s birthday party, Mr. Mayor’s daughter, who’s turning the ripe old age of eighteen. Besides, you don’t want to embarrass the Princeton family. A lot of important people are coming.”

  “Oh crap! Important people, eh?” Sakura asked cheekily.

  “Of course,” Mary said. “Now shower!”

  “All right. All right.” Sakura chuckled. “I’m going to shower. Be back in a minute.”

  “Don’t worry. Take your time,” Mary said.

  Ten minutes later, Sakura was back and Mary began blow-drying her long hair and then curled it.

  “You know it’s only a lunch thing,” Sakura said. “And besides, we don’t want to look prettier than the birthday girl, do we?”

  “Of course not,” Mary replied. “Just want you to look good for Mark.” Then she silently added with a smile on her face, Good enough to eat.

  Sakura chuckled. “It’s a good thing I’m going.” Of course she didn’t hear the last bit.

  “Right you are,” Mary said, tossing back Sakura’s long curls.

  What Sakura really meant was that she didn’t have to see the brothers again today after all, since the birthday party would probably last until late evening, and then after that, she’d make some excuses to go and stay in town for a few nights with Katherine. Her friend’s husband Jim, after all, was away to New York on his business trip and wouldn’t be back until Friday, so it wouldn’t be that inconvenient. And little Michael would just love to have her around.

  Hmm? What kind of excuse, though? The café is short-handed and they need her help? Yes, that sounded rather good. That meant she’d have to give Katherine, her co-owner of the café, a call and tell her to play along.

  Fifteen minutes later, she was done. Sakura looked at herself in the mirror one last time before heading out.

  “You look amazing,” Mary said. “Mark is so going to like you in that.”

  Sakura admitted she did look rather nice with her hair in big, loose curls, and the pretty lilac cotton and lace dress fit her body to perfection though she thought it showed a bit too much of her skin.

  Mary cocked her head to one side as she studied Sakura’s chest. “I can’t believe I haven’t noticed you have the most amazing breasts ever. Do you realize most celebrities would kill just to have those? I mean, they have to go under the knife at least three or four times to get them to that perfect.”

>   Sakura chuckled. She wasn’t really aware that her breasts were ever perfect. Her mind had always been too occupied with other interesting things.

  “All right. Time to go down,” Mary said, heading out the door, pulling Sakura along by the hand.

  They both came into the kitchen, and Brenda greeted them with an, “Oh my! You girls look great.”

  “Morning,” Sakura said, giving Brenda a peck on the cheek.

  “Good morning, my sweet girls,” Brenda said, hugging Sakura tightly. Then she moved over to hug Mary. “Don’t you think she looks pretty?”

  Mary nodded. “Mark,” she whispered.

  Brenda smiled and nodded. “Oh. Of course.”

  “What are you two on about?” Sakura couldn’t help but ask after she’d noted they looked as though they were conspiring about something.

  “Nothing,” Brenda said.

  “Ah, Sakura, Mr. Princeton is looking for you,” Beth said. “Have you had your breakfast yet?”

  “Nope. Thought I’d eat here first before heading out,” she said and poured herself a cup of tea.

  “I’m going to phone Peter,” Mary announced.

  Sakura waved to her friend to leave. She knew Mary was missing her fiancé already. It must be nice to be in love, she thought with a smile. She grabbed a scone and began to munch. But maybe not as nice as this delicious scone.

  “I’m hoping to see at least one of my grandchildren getting married soon, you know,” Molly said as she came into the kitchen. Sakura nearly choked on her pastry.

  “Molly,” Sakura said. “Good morning. When did you get here?”

  “We stayed the night, naturally,” Molly replied. “Since Dale really wanted that coffee.” She was teasing of course. They had finished very late last night, James and Dale, talking about investments. Hence the elderly couple decided to stay the night rather than drive back into town. She came to hug Sakura and looked at her properly. “My, you do look fine this morning. Are you sure you were unwell last night?”

  Sakura laughed uncomfortably. “Dale wants coffee, does he?” she asked. “I’ll make him one.”