Even at six in the evening, it was still extremely hot and humid in Hawaii. Sakura, in her flimsy, floral maxi dress, even with the cool breeze brushing nicely against her skin as the convertible sped along, felt stuffy and out of sorts. Of course, it was made worse by being squeezed in the back between Akira and Conrad, her two very strict bodyguards.
She sighed, wondering how much longer until they’d get to Princeton Hotel and Resort here in Honolulu. After all, she was exhausted, as was everyone else, from the eleven-hour flight from New York.
Beside her, Akira groaned as the woman continued to flutter a magazine about her, generating some sort of manmade fan to further help relieve herself of the intense heat.
“It’s so hot,” she groaned tiredly. “I don’t know how much longer I can take this.” She flopped her head back and closed her eyes, the wind fluttering her short hair about her face.
Jane, who was sitting in the front seat beside Sosuke, the driver, agreed with a nod of her head. “I’m so going to die of heat here.”
“I’m going to die first,” Akira protested, throwing her arms out. “This is, like, the hottest day I’ve ever experienced in my very long, entire life.”
“You haven’t lived that long, Akira,” Sosuke said seriously. “Besides, Tokyo in summer feels like a jungle. You should be used to this type of weather. Stop complaining.”
Akira raised her head immediately at the comment. She straightened and slapped the magazine on her brother’s shoulder. “Onii-chan! Don’t be so mean! I’m exhausted, so I’m allowed to complain.”
Sosuke gave Akira a good frown via the rearview mirror. He straightened his glasses with one hand as he continued to guide the car forward at a smooth pace.
Jane giggled and peeked at the handsome man beside her. Gosh, he really did look hot in just a T-shirt and jeans, she thought dreamily, and wondered if he were always so casual in summer while he had been living in Japan. Because he was so good-looking, she had no doubt that Japanese women must find him attractive.
Conrad leaned forward, his attention on Sakura. “Want a drink?” He handed her a bottle of water. “It’s not good to get dehydrated in this heat.”
“Thanks,” Sakura said. She took the bottle and sipped to her heart’s content. Once she was done, she sighed with pleasure. “How long have we got to go?”
“Not too long,” Conrad replied.
Sakura sighed at the thought that soon she’d get to relax and enjoy her free time, which of course wasn’t that long before the dreaded photo shoot began. Once again, she felt more than a little nervous about it.
A moment later, she narrowed her eyes and focused on the convertible ahead of them. Sebastian was driving that one, with Nicolas in the front seat and Tristan and Logan in the back. The other luxury car at the front had Hayden, Mr. Tachibana, and Ms. Ruka as the passengers, and Darcy was the driver.
Sakura glanced behind her and noted Daddy James was driving that car, with Luke in the front seat, Mom Brenda and her biological mother, Haruka, in the back.
To Sakura’s relief, it only took another fifteen minutes until they finally arrived at their destination. The cars, however, after passing through the entrance, did not stop at the hotel, where she thought they all would be staying. Instead, they continued farther and deeper to the remote estate.
“Where are we going?” she asked Conrad, in confusion.
Conrad said, “It was arranged that we stay at the mansion. Mom and Dad want privacy.”
Conrad didn’t tell her plans were changed because of Tara and Alaina, who were staying at the hotel. They hadn’t wanted any unwelcome incidents to occur. Furthermore, they still hadn’t figured out whether Tara was in contact with her supposedly deceased mother, now named Mrs. Clark. If she had been, then it was very likely the two might be working together; and they couldn’t afford to leave things to chance and risk Sakura’s life.
“Awesome.” Jane giggled with delight. “I like the mansion and privacy.”
Akira nodded in agreement.
Some ten minutes later, they arrived at a secluded estate not far from the hotel. The car came to a stop in front of the three-story mansion, and the occupants—Sakura, Conrad, Akira, Jane, and Sosuke—got out. The other Princeton brothers, who had arrived before them, were already in the house and beginning to unpack.
Sakura didn’t even get to sort out her belongings before she heard her name bellowed by a familiar young voice from across the small distance. She glanced over her shoulder and saw, to her delight, Michael running toward her. She laughed, and a moment later, the boy wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tight.
“Michael!” she greeted joyfully. “When did you get here?”
The boy lifted his head and grinned from ear to ear. “Yesterday. What took you so long?” he demanded. “I’ve been waiting for ages.”
“Sorry I’m late,” she said apologetically. “Where’re your mom and dad?”
“Inside,” the boy said, giving her a toothy grin. Then he hugged her tightly again as if he didn’t want to let her go. Sakura squeezed him fondly in her arms, all the while smiling.
“Hey, Michael!” Conrad’s loud voice came from behind Sakura. “What are you doing hugging Sakura?”
The boy turned to Conrad and gave him the same toothy grin. After greeting the youngest Princeton brother with a, “Hi, Conrad,” he proceeded to hug Sakura again, ignoring Conrad, who was still waiting for an answer.
It was then Mary came rushing out, along with her husband, Peter, their friend Katherine, and Katherine’s husband, Jim. After teasingly bullying Michael to step aside, Mary hugged her friend, of course minding her big belly, another life growing in there.
“Oh, my God.” Sakura chuckled. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me, too,” Mary said. “And just look at how big my belly is.”
Sakura laughed. “Hmm… You’re not exaggerating there.” She touched the very round, very large belly. “Wow!”
“Right?” Mary laughed. “I can feel him kicking sometimes.”
“I want to feel him kicking, too,” Sakura said eagerly, wondering if the baby was going to do a kick anytime soon while she was there.
Mary laughed. “Doesn’t look like he wants to greet you today, huh? But I’ll tell you when he does kick later on.”
Sakura nodded excitedly at that.
“Come on, Sakura,” Katherine said. “Introduce us to your friends.”
Sakura drew her attention from Mary’s very round tummy and straightened. “Sorry,” she said, and then introduced Sosuke, Akira, and Jane to everyone. Once the introductions were over with, everyone went inside the house.
In the foyer, Beth and the two maids, who were both middle-aged, greeted them. Sakura had never seen the maids before, so she assumed they must be the ones who were looking after this particular house for the Princeton family.
After having some much-needed ice-cold drinks, Beth then showed Sakura, Akira, and Jane to their shared room up on the third floor.
Sakura was quite pleased with the idea of having roommates, as it’d be just like when she had been in boarding school with Mary and Katherine, which had been great fun. Except, of course, this particular room was grander, with soft carpeting, luxurious mattresses, and lavish duvets and furnishings, compared to the boarding room of her high school years. Well, what did one expect? It was the Princetons, after all. They were billionaires, and every property they owned was extensively renovated and refurbished to the highest standards of taste and quality.
Here in this room, there were three single beds, arranged like those in a hotel room where the heads all faced in one direction and the beds were set apart evenly so there was private space for each individual. There were also bedside drawers and closets for use as well.
On the other side of the room was a door leading to the bathroom. Sakura couldn’t help herself, and peeked inside. As she expected, the room was grand and luxurious, with marble floors and basins. Beside the toilet, there was both a shower cubicle and bathtub, uniquely and modernly designed, all cleaned and ready for immediate use if one wanted to freshen up.
Back in the bedroom, Jane collapsed onto her chosen bed, which was the middle one, and groaned. “I think I’m just going to lie here for a while. I’m so tired.”
Akira groaned, weary, too. Then she sprawled onto her chosen bed, the one closest to the door, and shut her eyes. “Me, too,” she murmured weakly. “Just going to stay here until dinner.” Which, of course, wasn’t far off.
Sakura put her bags on the last bed, the one near the double French doors leading to the veranda, and started taking out her belongings.