When Sakura next woke, it was to Akira calling her name. “Hey, sleepyhead,” she said, chuckling with amusement. “It’s time to get up. It’s nearly lunch.”
Sakura yawned and stretched her body. “Is it that late already?”
Akira nodded. “Have you packed yet?”
Sakura shook her head.
“Want me to help?”
Again, Sakura shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” She sat up and then slid out of bed. “I’ll just go and shower first.”
Akira nodded. Before Sakura disappeared into the bathroom, her friend said, “By the way, Sebastian came to see you last night.”
At this, Sakura raised her brows. “Sebastian?”
Had he wanted to see her because he intended to tell her of his decision regarding her confession, or was it about what Daddy James had told her this morning? She assumed it was the latter since it was very unlikely that he and Darcy had already made up their minds about her proposal.
Just to be sure, however, she asked, “Did he tell you what he wanted to talk to me about by any chance?”
Akira shook her head. “Nope. Although, he looked rather worried.”
Sakura nodded in understanding. It must have been about Mrs. Clark and Ray Woods indeed. “Thanks for telling me.”
“No problem.” Akira waved.
Inside the bathroom, Sakura gazed at herself long and hard in the mirror, her mind racing and her heart pounding in her chest.
Everything is going to be fine, she chanted in her head. Yes, everything is going to be fine. Mrs. Clark would not be able to get to St. Thomas Island, since it was privately owned. If she did, she’d be trespassing.
Sakura had no doubt that she would be safe there, especially since she was surrounded with family and friends, those who cared about her and would do anything to protect her.
She nodded at that sound conclusion and then headed into the shower. When she was done some fifteen minutes later, she felt a lot better, and once she had put on her makeup and dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a loose tank top, she headed out the door. Back in the bedroom, she noted that Akira had gone, probably to help with preparing lunch.
Alone, she started packing her belongings while she hummed. When she was just about finished, there was a series of knocks at the door, followed by, “Sakura, it’s me, Conrad. Are you in?”
Sakura chuckled. “Yes, I am. Come in, Conrad.”
At her permission, the door opened and Conrad walked in, along with Michael.
The boy jumped as he chuckled. “Surprise! It’s me!”
Sakura laughed. “Hello there, Michael. You’re coming to bring me down for lunch I assume?”
The boy nodded. “Yep. And then you’re riding with us to the harbor, and then we all will be sailing to St. Thomas Island.”
“Are you ready to go down?” Conrad asked.
Sakura said, “I’m just about done. Give me a second.”
Conrad waited while Sakura finished with her packing. Meanwhile, Michael continued telling her how awesome their trip was going to be.
Conrad interrupted the boy. “There’s going to be a mild tropical storm tonight, though, so I doubt we’ll get to do anything fun until tomorrow.”
“Really?” Michael asked, disappointed.
Sakura chuckled as she put her makeup bag into the luggage. “We probably can’t do anything outside, but I heard the great house has many rooms, so we can do a lot of stuff there, especially during a stormy night.” She winked at him.
Michael raised his brows in doubt. “Like…?”
Sakura cocked her head to one side. “Hmm? Like maybe hide-and-seek? Or we could all sleep in the darkest, scariest room in the house and tell each other ghost stories?”
Michael’s face brightened immediately. “Yeah, that sounds fun. We’ll do that. And Akira, too.”
Conrad raised a brow. “Only you, Sakura, and Akira? What about me and my brothers?”
Michael nodded in the affirmative. “Yep. Only me, Sakura, and Akira. You Princeton brothers are not invited. You’d spoil the fun.”
Conrad couldn’t help himself and pulled the boy into his arms and tousled Michael’s hair. “You cheeky bastard. You’re already cunning enough to hoard all the beautiful girls to yourself.”
Michael said, “Careful with the hair.”
Sakura couldn’t stop her smiling as she watched them. Finally, she said, “I’m done packing. Why don’t we go down for lunch?”
Conrad nodded while Michael said, “Let’s go!”
A few minutes later, they were in the living room, and Sakura asked in curiosity, “Where’s everyone?”
Conrad said, “Dad, Nicolas, and Sebastian are sorting things out at the hotel first, and then they’ll be leaving for the yacht straightaway to get it ready before we arrive. Tristan, Logan, Hayden, and Darcy already left for the island with Beth early this morning to get things ready there, too.
Darcy left for St. Thomas Island already? Was that why he had been up so early?
“I see,” Sakura said, disappointed that she didn’t get to see either Sebastian or Darcy. She had wanted to thank Darcy for making her feel better about her precarious situation early this morning. And of course, she simply wanted to see him.
The same went for Sebastian. She just wanted to see his face and feel his presence and maybe even get to hug and kiss him.
“Come on,” Michael said, pulling at her hand. “We’re having lunch outside.” He led her toward the back door.
Once outside, Sakura noticed that everyone was there, currently enjoying lunch. There was a long table set out under a series of trees, loaded with food and drinks.
As they were heading toward the crowd, Sakura felt her tummy grumble as the smell of mouthwatering sustenance reached her. She hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday evening, after all.
“Sakura.” It was Mary calling out to her. “You’re finally awake, Sleeping Beauty.”
Sakura waved back, chuckling. Sleeping Beauty, eh? It seemed she had indeed been sleeping a lot lately since she had arrived here in Hawaii.
A moment later, she, Conrad, and Michael joined everyone, and Sakura found that she enjoyed the outdoor picnic lunch thoroughly. After the hearty meal, there was a lot of hustle and bustle as everyone went about retrieving their luggage and getting ready to leave the holiday house. An hour later, they were set to go.
Sakura found herself sitting in the back seat of the convertible with Michael and Conrad, who were on her right and left respectively. Meanwhile, Mary sat in the front seat, along with her husband, Peter, as the driver.
In another car in front of them were her biological mother, Haruka, her adoptive mother, Brenda, Akira, and Sosuke as the driver. Behind them was Katherine and her husband, Jim, in yet another car.
“Are we there yet?” Michael asked no one in particular as they headed along the road.
Sakura chuckled. “I’m sure we’ll be there soon, Michael.”
And indeed, it didn’t take long for them to arrive at Ala Wai Harbor where the yacht was moored. Once again, there was a lot of hustle and bustle as everyone got out of the cars, retrieved their luggage, and headed toward the vessel.
Sakura was getting her bags out of the trunk when Sebastian appeared behind her.
“Hello there,” he said with a handsome grin on his face.
Sakura looked over her shoulder and gave him a smile in return. “Hello,” she greeted, feeling just that little bit overwhelmed at seeing him unannounced so suddenly. As per usual, he looked dashingly handsome wearing a pair of jeans and T-shirt, while his pale-blond hair glittered like white gold under the hot afternoon sun and his azure eyes twinkled as he watched her.
He came close, and Sakura felt weak, basking in his presence and his scent that was so unique to him. She simply wanted to walk into his arms and bury her face against his chest while enjoying being embraced.
“How about I take care of that for you?”
Pushing her desire from her mind, Sakura obliged and took a step back, a beautiful smile on her face. “Be my guest.”
As Sebastian took over and grabbed her luggage out of the car, Michael came around and said, “Hi, Sebastian.”
“Hey, Michael.” Sebastian returned the greeting. “I see you’ve been looking after Sakura well when I’m not around, like I asked you to.”
Michael beamed with delight. “Of course I have. I’m her bodyguard when you’re not around.” He chuckled merrily.
Sebastian tousled Michael’s hair as he winked at Sakura, which made her stomach flutter deliciously in response. Yes, the man knew how to flirt, which was why it was so hard not to be charmed by him.
A moment later, they headed toward the yacht, along with the others. Since they were the last two along the line and no one would likely watch them, Sebastian took the opportunity and wrapped his arm around Sakura’s waist, pulling her close to him.
Sakura felt the intimate contact and became self-conscious. She raised her gaze to him and asked, “Were you busy this morning?”
He nodded. “A few things to do before we left,” he said, his eyes roaming over her pretty face. Since she wore very little makeup, he didn’t miss the slightly pale complexion or the dark circles under her eyes. “And you? Did you sleep well last night?”
Sakura nodded. “Unexpectedly, yes. Akira told me you came up to see me.”
He nodded.
She licked her lips nervously. “Why did you want to see me?”
Sebastian said, “It was about Mrs. Clark. Dad told me this morning he already talked to you about it.”
She nodded. “Yes. He did.” Then she asked, her voice weak and her eyes straying from his, “You have nothing else to tell me, then?”
Sebastian chuckled with amusement. “Apart from that, no.” When he noted her cheeks blushing and her slender body quivering delicately in his arms, he said, “Well, not yet anyway.” He leaned close and whispered hotly into her ear, “Tomorrow evening. Come to the beach house at six. Darcy and I will tell you our answers then.”
Sakura felt her stomach fluttering at this enticing invitation. Still avoiding his eyes, she nodded. “All right. The beach house at six tomorrow evening.” Then because she was so conscious of the way he was intensely looking at her and the seductive heat exuding from his being, she hastily moved out of his arms and rushed up ahead, which didn’t surprise Sebastian.
Sakura caught up to Michael and started chatting to the boy as they boarded the yacht. Behind them, Sebastian watched, a wide smile on his face.
It wasn’t long after when they set sail, and while this was happening, Sakura and the excited Michael explored the vessel with Conrad as their tour guide.
It was half an hour later when Michael finally left Sakura’s side to join Nicolas and his dad, Jim, in the cockpit. Meanwhile, Sakura enjoyed her time as she watched the picturesque sights pass by. It was such a beautiful day with the bright sunlight, hot temperature, warm breeze, and the deep blueness of the ocean that it was hard to imagine there was going to be a storm that night.
“You look more relaxed today,” Haruka said, appearing beside her.
Sakura smiled at her biological mother. “Did I seem unsettled before?”
Haruka nodded. “To me, you looked rather worried about something.” The woman paused for a moment and then asked, “Is there something that’s troubling you? You can always consult me.” She smiled. “I’m your mother, after all.”
Sakura thought about this for a moment and then said, “I am worried about some things.” She chuckled nervously.
Haruka asked, “What is it?”
Sakura sighed heavily. “Mrs. Clark.”
“Oh. That woman.”
Sakura nodded.
Haruka gave Sakura a tight hug as she said, “Don’t worry. You’re safe here with everyone around. I know the Princetons will take care of everything.”
When her mother moved back, Sakura asked, “The Princetons, eh?”
Haruka nodded. “They love you, after all.”
Sakura chuckled. She had to admit they did indeed love her, especially the brothers, which pleased her tremendously every time she thought about it. Of course, it was a totally different story when they were young. To receive any sort of love from them back then had been unimaginable, considering what had happened. Now, however, that had changed. Now she was loved and cherished. Now she was surrounded by family and friends, and she’d never felt happier in her life.
Well, she must admit she’d be even happier once both Sebastian and Darcy accepted her professed love for them, once they agreed to get into a relationship with her openly, mutually, and with complete trust. Yes, she was selfish and greedy in that regard, but what was wrong with that? She only had one life, after all, and life must be lived to the fullest and with happiness. If both men agreed to mutually love her and share her in return, then that would be her happiness.
“Yes, they do love me,” she said softly, a smile playing about her face.