As Sakura clapped and cheered for Michael and the rest of the participants, Darcy placed her on an empty seat beside Daddy James before heading over to the bar.
James turned his attention to her then. He took the opportunity and pulled her into his arms as he kissed her forehead.
“Afternoon, sweetheart,” he said. “Heard you were unwell last night. Are you feeling better?”
Sakura nodded. “Yes. Much better.” She grinned brightly to tell him he needn’t worry about her.
Once she was out of James’s arms again, Michael ran up to her. He asked excitedly, “Did you see me, Sakura? I won the race. Was I awesome?”
Sakura couldn’t help but chuckle with delight at the boy’s enthusiasm. “Yes. I saw. You were very awesome, Michael. Now then, what’s the next game? I’ll be cheering you on again.”
Michael cocked his head to one side as he said, “I think it’s a three-legged race.”
“That sounds fun,” she said. “Is Nicolas going to be your partner for that game, too?”
She wondered how the two were going to manage, because of their height and body size difference. Michael was a slim boy with a head that barely reached to Nicolas’s chest, while Nicolas himself was above six feet, with a muscular build. Surely, if they were to be in a three-legged race, Nicolas would just be dragging little Michael about.
Michael nodded in the affirmative. “Yep. And you know what? We’re going to win again. We’ve won every game so far.” He boasted, even puffing out his chest to indicate how proud he was of himself and Nicolas.
It was then that a loud throat-clearing noise came from behind the little boy. Sakura raised her eyes to see the Princeton brothers. Hayden, the one who did the throat clearing to gain her attention, was standing right behind Michael. Beside Hayden, to the left, was Logan. To Hayden’s right were Sebastian and Conrad, and behind were Nicolas and Tristan.
Hayden chuckled heartily as he pulled little Michael into his arms and tousled the boy’s hair roughly. “What did you say, you little rascal? You and that strict guardian prince have won every race so far? Really?”
Michael went bright red. He stammered defensively, “I said almost.”
Sakura chuckled. It seemed Michael wanted to brag to her how awesome he was by claiming he won almost every game but omitting the almostpart.
When Hayden finally let the boy go, it was Conrad’s turn to teach the boy a little lesson. He hooked his arm over Michael’s small shoulder and said, “It’s uncool to lie, Michael. And Sakura doesn’t like men who lie.” He turned his attention to her and asked, “Isn’t that right, Sakura?”
Sakura, noting Michael was very red in the face because of the teasing, decided to comfort the boy by saying, “But Michael didn’t lie, did he?”
Akira and Jane appeared behind Sakura’s seat then.
Akira said, “That’s right. He just forgot to add in the word almost.”
Jane nodded in agreement. “Also, winning almost all the games is almost the same as winning all the games, right?”
At Jane’s conclusion, everyone decided to agree on that one and let Michael off the hook.
Michael turned to Conrad and said, “See, I didn’t say or do anything wrong.”
Conrad chuckled. “I got it.”
“All right, everyone.” Mr. Tachibana’s loud voice drew everyone’s attention to him. “I hope you all are having a good time.”
At everyone’s confirming nods, he continued. “Now, it’s a fifteen-minute break. After that, it’s a three-legged race, our last game of the day, and then it’ll be another barbeque party this evening, which will be followed by a disco right here in the garden. Tonight, there will be guests joining us, so, you Princeton brothers, do behave yourselves.” He looked pointedly at both Tristan and Logan.
The two brothers, of course, took the warning in stride and hooted loudly.
“Yeah, disco!” Tristan exclaimed.
Logan asked, “By guests, you mean super-hot models?”
Mr. Tachibana shook his head. “Important hotel guests and my staff,” he reiterated. “Please behave yourselves, Princeton brothers.”
At that, everyone started laughing because they all knew both Tristan and Logan would never behave at a party. Indeed, they’d be stirring things up to make it even more entertaining, preferably to their liking.
Then it was Ruka’s turn to speak. “Everyone, please don’t forget to rehydrate yourself before the next game. We don’t want anyone to collapse on us. It’s extremely hot today, too.”
At that, the crowd dissipated, with some heading to the bar area where various cool drinks and snacks were offered.
Meanwhile, Sebastian came up to Sakura and took the seat James had just vacated. Sakura grinned as Sebastian leaned toward her and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. “Hmm…still a little feverish.”
When he moved his hand back, Sakura touched her own forehead, frowning. “That’s because it’s hot out here,” she said.
“Then maybe it’s best if you stay inside?” He was smiling.
She pulled a face. “I’ll be fine, thank you very much. I’m not a five-year-old.”
Sebastian chuckled. “No, you’re not. But I’ll be damned if I let you fall ill again. You know your health isn’t great.”
“I know.” She wished she were sturdier, like Akira or Jane, health wise.
Suddenly, Sebastian pulled her into his arms and embraced her tightly.
Sakura was surprised at first, but then smiled as he moved his face toward hers.
She asked, “What are you doing? We’re in the middle of a crowded place and everyone—and I mean everyone—can see us.”
He chuckled with amusement. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything that will embarrass you.” He moved his lips to her forehead and gave her a little peck there.
Sakura noted it was the exact spot Darcy had kissed her earlier before they came down.
When he moved back, she noted that everyone was watching them, including Darcy, and she groaned in despair.
Glaring at the handsome man before her, she said, “You said you wouldn’t do anything that’d embarrass me. Now look. Everyone is watching.”
His azure eyes twinkled as he said, “A perfect opportunity, don’t you think? To show the world what you are to me and how much you mean to me.”
Sakura could only stare. Once again, Sebastian Princeton had managed to turn something so mundane into point scoring and scaring away his competitors. There was no denying the fact that this man was too smart and ingenious for his own good.
It wasn’t long before the fifteen-minute break was over, and everyone started gathering for the last game, the three-legged race. On cue, the spectators returned to their seats along the sidelines. It seemed none of them wanted to miss out on all the fun. Meanwhile, the participants assembled around Mr. Tachibana and Ms. Ruka.
“Wahoo! The last game!” Tristan shouted.
“Tachibana-sensei,” Hayden called out. “Since it’s the last game, why don’t we make it more exciting?”
“That’s right,” Logan chimed in. “Let’s make it more interesting. Let’s change a three-legged race to a four-legged race.”
Sosuke said, “That sounds hard.”
“And fun,” Conrad added.
Mr. Tachibana thought about the suggestion for a moment and then nodded in agreement. “All right, everyone. That sounds like it’ll be a fun game, this four-legged race. And I’ve come up with a solution to make our last game even more exciting.”
He smiled with glee, and his dark eyes twinkled mischievously as he continued. “First off, it will be a four-legged race, as suggested by Logan. That means there will be five teams of three per team. And Ms. Ruka will be joining the game, too, to even out the team members.”
Ms. Ruka clasped her hands together in anticipation.
At this point, Michael took the opportunity and eyed all the participants that surrounded him.
Sakura, who was watching from behind, noticed, and had no doubt the boy was gauging which person to pick to join his and Nicolas’s team to make them even stronger. How crafty of him indeed, she thought with a smile.
Mr. Tachibana said, “The members of each team will be picked randomly by placing names in a hat.”
Michael didn’t quite contain his disappointment at this announcement and shouted, “What? No way!”
Everyone laughed at his reaction, while Sebastian said, “Sounds fair enough.”
Hayden chuckled and said, “After all, we can’t let only certainpeople win the games, can we now, Michael?” He was teasing the boy, of course.
Michael replied by poking out his tongue at the man, which caused everyone to chuckle.
Mr. Tachibana continued. “Okay. Let us start picking team members.”
A moment later, Ms. Ruka presented Mr. Tachibana a hat that contained the participants’ names. Then it began.
“Team one,” Mr. Tachibana said as he dipped his hand into the hat. “The first name is…Tristan.”
“Yeah. All right,” Tristan said, all pumped up and ready for some action. “Let’s see who my teammates are.”
“Joining Tristan on team one is…Logan,” Mr. Tachibana announced.
Tristan and Logan high-fived as they said, “Score,” in unison.
“And the third member to join team one is…Ms. Ruka!”