At five thirty in the morning, Sakura nearly fell off her Jimmy Choo pumps the moment she stepped out of the limo and sighted the plane before them. She had known they’d be traveling to Hawaii on a private jet. But this? This was beyond her expectations. The plane was the size of an Airbus that could hold several hundred people. From what Conrad had told her the night before, she had thought the aircraft would be a small one that would hold about fifteen to twenty people at most. Not to mention the fact that there was an array of staff involved. There were at least six air hostesses alone, all dressed in an immaculate uniform of a light blue formal shirt, a darker shade of blue pencil skirt, and black heels.
Though the plane was unexpectedly on the larger side, which meant less claustrophobia for her, Sakura still felt more than a little unsettled. She had never liked flying, and instantly the thought brought forward a feeling of nausea. She was still staring at the plane and the beautiful air hostesses as panic once again seized her; then she felt Tristan’s presence beside her.
“Princeton Air,” he said.
“It’s been a while since we traveled on this beauty,” Logan said. “Hmm… Wonder if lovely Marissa is still with us.” He scanned the air hostesses before them, his eyes appreciating each beauty in turn, until he spotted a blonde bombshell at the end of the line. He chuckled delightedly. “Still here,” he said.
Tristan nodded. “It’ll be a fun ride with Marissa around.” Turning his attention to Sakura, he said, “Come along now, darling sis. Time to board the plane.”
“Time to travel in style,” Logan said, nodding.
With both men on either side, Sakura was escorted toward the awaiting aircraft. Of course, any objection from her was futile since their grip on her was indeed firm.
“What about the bags?” she asked.
“Don’t worry. Sebastian and Darcy can deal with those,” Tristan teased lightly.
“We’re not your servants, Tristan,” Sebastian said loudly from behind them.
Sakura glanced over her shoulder and saw Sebastian shaking his head in aggravation. Darcy, who was standing beside Sebastian, was watching her. In the background, she also noted that two chauffeurs were taking care of the bags.
In front of her, Conrad chuckled, which drew her attention. “It’s going to be a lovely long journey. Don’t you agree, Sakura?” he asked.
Sakura wasn’t sure about the lovely part, where the long journey on a plane was concerned. After all, it was going to be about eleven hours long, and she didn’t know if she could survive the flight, considering her claustrophobia problem.
Conrad took the opportunity and grabbed Sakura’s hand. He then pulled her to him, which surprised Sakura, causing her to stumble forward. She landed smack in his arms, and he embraced her tightly and laughed loudly.
Sakura blushed. “Sorry, Conrad. It seems I’m a bit clumsy today.”
Conrad, oblivious to her anxiety, simply brushed it off and tightened his arms around her even further.
Logan and Tristan glared at their youngest brother in annoyance. They were obviously jealous Conrad got to hold Sakura.
Tristan said loudly, “You definitely did that on purpose, you rascal!”
“Sakura, darling,” Logan said. “If you want to stumble and fall, please stumble and fall on me.”
Sakura raised her head and knew Logan was teasing her. “I will not be stumbling and falling on anyone, thank you very much.”
“Feisty.” Tristan chuckled, pleased with her comeback.
Ignoring his brother, Conrad turned his attention to Sakura. “Shall we?”
“Huh?” Sakura was confused.
“Come on,” he said and, without her any the wiser, led her up the stairs.
Tristan and Logan weren’t far behind. They knew Conrad was going to make Sakura sit next to him, and they wouldn’t let that happen if they could help it.
On his way up, Logan managed to give Marissa a wink, which surprised the beauty and caused her to blush profusely.
Behind them, Sebastian simply shook his head in aggravation at his brothers’ flirty behavior. A moment later, he climbed the stairs, followed by Darcy and Hayden, who were continuously talking about work and their upcoming character design for a new game. Nicolas was beside Akira, who kept asking him about St. Thomas Island. Jane kept close to Sosuke, whilst Haruka was with Brenda and James. Luke, Mr. Tachibana, and Ms. Ruka weren’t far behind as they headed toward the stairs.
As they boarded the plane, the hostesses couldn’t help but gawk at the Princeton brothers. They wondered who the two young women were and how they had managed to capture the Princeton brothers’ interest so completely. Girls flocked to them and dreamt of one day receiving an invitation to travel with them in luxury, such as this trip. Now, it seemed these two young women were the first to have gotten that far.
“Hey, Marissa, that girl, the one with Conrad, is she his girlfriend?” one of the air hostesses asked, as they started arrangements for takeoff.
Marissa shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Don’t you think Sebastian is still one of the handsomest?” another asked.
“I think Darcy. That man is so hot,” yet another whispered.
“I’m surprised none of them have a girlfriend,” another said.
“How do you know?” Marissa asked. “They all probably already have girlfriends.”
“Oh?”
“Nicolas and that Asian chick seem like a pair,” she said.
The three air hostesses poked their heads around the corner and stared at Nicolas. Sure enough, the handsome man was sitting next to Akira.
“Oh, so dreamy. They look perfect together,” one murmured.
The other nodded in agreement.
“And that other one,” Marissa said, nodding toward Sakura.
Three pairs of eyes were directed to that area of the plane, and noted Conrad sitting next to her. In front of them were Tristan and Logan.
“Whoa, she can really capture their interest, can’t she?” one mentioned with envy.
“Conrad, Tristan, and Logan,” another said. “All three? Really? It just isn’t fair!”
“But which one is her boyfriend?” yet another asked.
“Conrad?” one queried.
“No, I think it’s Logan,” another said.
“Don’t be silly. He winked at our dear Marissa,” the other said. At that, Marissa blushed once again.
“Tristan?”
“No. He’s only interested in a one-night stand,” Marissa said.
“Then who?”
Marissa wasn’t blind. Both Sebastian and Darcy took the seats behind Sakura, their backs to her. It was the way the seats were designed. Groups of four very comfortable seats facing each other with a table between. She noted Sebastian turning his body slightly and playing with the young woman’s hair.
A pang of jealousy erupted within Marissa’s being, and she frowned darkly. She watched as the woman giggled, and at that, Conrad snapped, “Go away, Sebastian. You had her all evening yesterday. Now it’s my turn to look after her.”
“I got it. I got it,” Sebastian replied, and turned back in his seat.
Beside Sebastian and behind Conrad, Darcy turned to look at the woman. Too long, Marissa thought in agitation. Way too long that stare. There was something in the expression on his broodingly handsome features that felt like a knife slicing at her heart. Then it hit her.
“Two men?” she whispered.
“Huh? What two men?” one of her friends asked.
“Shit! I still don’t know which brother is her boyfriend,” another said.
“Oh, well, maybe they’re just very good friends. Who knows?”
It was then the head air hostess grabbed their attention. “Okay, girls, let’s get things ready.”
At that, the girls returned their attention to their work. A few moments later, Marissa came over to the brothers, asking if they needed anything.
Sitting with the brothers, Sakura didn’t miss the sharp glance from the air hostess before the woman turned away to address Tristan. Oddly enough, Sakura wasn’t affected by the woman’s glare. Actually, she had a more pressing problem to deal with at the moment. She needed to get away from the Princeton brothers. She needed to find a lone seat so she wouldn’t embarrass herself during takeoff and, of course, thereafter.