Darcy said, “Sakura, remember the night you confessed to us?”
Slowly, Sakura nodded.
“You told us you’d either have both of us or none at all,” Sebastian said.
Sakura jumped at the sound of his voice. She didn’t realize he was standing behind her, so close to her in fact that she could feel the heat of his body warming her against the coolness of the night.
She nodded again. “Yes, I did say that, and I meant it. I can’t…” She sighed, her heart now racing furiously. “I can’t live with the knowledge that I picked one of you and not the other. That I’d be living with one and not the other. That I’d be showering my love on one and not the other when I love you both. It just isn’t fair.” Her body and hands were shaking now, even her voice, quivering softly under the two men’s scrutiny.
“I won’t be able to handle the guilt, the pain of not having both of you in my life. I know I’m greedy. I know… It’s weird to love two men and want both in my life…living like a family like it’s nothing.” She blinked, tears in her eyes now. God, she was always emotional when she thought about her love for them.
“I know I don’t deserve you both, but…” She laughed brokenly as if she found she was beyond help. “But I simply don’t care. I want you both, loving me and cherishing me and pampering me, like I never wanted anything in my life. To be honest, you two are the only things I’ve ever wanted so badly in my life. I know I sound like a broken record, but that’s the truth. That’s why it’s either both or none at all. That’s my choice.
“I want you two to know that I’m greedy where you and my love for you are concerned because up until now, until you brothers came back into my life, love was something I never had. Well, Mom Brenda and Daddy James and Beth and Ned, my father, they loved me, but there had always been this deep hollow, you know? Like something special was missing. Until you brothers came back and made a big fuss over me. I admit I didn’t like it at first, you invading my life and demanding my attention. That was annoying and…
“When that incident happened with Kate, I just didn’t want any of you in my life anymore because it was hard. If I were to be with you again, it’d be just like when we were kids. Bad things happened, and I just didn’t want to hurt you all. I didn’t want your family to become estranged because of me, and yes, I blamed myself for that. But then when you brothers came once again, marching into my life and…” She took a deep breath, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Darcy wiped them away with his thumb, soothing her with his soft, gentle kiss. Sebastian, behind her, was hugging her tight, his chin resting on top of her head and his warmth enveloping her.
Sakura continued. “And wanting me back regardless of what happened, it both scared and pleased me. It made me so happy, but at the same time, I was afraid that if we were to be together, bad things would happen again. And I was right.
“But when I nearly lost you, Darcy, I thought, Oh my god, I can’t lose you. Not now when I just started to understand my own feelings for you. When I wanted you in my life. When I wanted to shower you with my love. I’d die if I lost you.
“And then the thought that if I were to lose Sebastian, too. I…” She sniffed and tears flowed down her flushed cheeks. “I don’t want it to be too late for us. I simply don’t care if bad things are going to happen to us when I’m with you both. I just want to cherish my time with you both. So yes, I’m greedy. So what? If you despise me for this I—”
“Shh…” Darcy planted his finger on her lips to quiet her.
God, she knew she was rambling on about her greed for them both to be in her life, but she couldn’t help herself. She had enough living without love, with the pain of loneliness, deluding herself into thinking she was fine when she wasn’t, when in fact she needed these brothers and their love for her.
Sebastian said, “We want you to be greedy, Sakura.”
“And who said you don’t deserve us?” Darcy said. “Rather, we’re the ones who don’t deserve you, especially after what we did to you when we were children. Yet we’d do anything to get you, to have your heart, to make you ours.”
Sebastian nodded. “In a way, we’re greedy, too. Don’t you agree?”
Sakura listened to their words quietly, absorbing their meaning. Then something nagged at her.
Yet we’d do anything to get you, to have your heart, to make you ours.
To make you ours?
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused, staring at Darcy.
Once again, he silenced her with a finger on her lips. “Shh…” He grinned. “You’ve made your confession. Now it’s our turn.”
“Confession? You’re going to confess?” she asked.
He nodded. “That night you confessed to us, you told us to think about it.”
At Sakura nodding, Sebastian said, “Well, we haven’t.”
Sakura blinked. “Oh? You haven’t? After all that’s happened?” She sounded rather annoyed. And here she was pouring her heart out to them, telling them of her feelings and desires. Now she felt stupid doing it, including the tears that came with it.
She muttered, “Then I’ll give you more time. Seriously, if I don’t receive any answer by the time we all leave Hawaii, I’m done with it.”
Sebastian chuckled. “And then what? Live a lonely, meaningless life without the men you love so much?”
“Stop teasing me, Sebastian,” she snapped, wiping her tears. “I’m being serious here.”
Darcy stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers as he said, “We didn’t think about it because there was no need.”
Sakura cocked her head to one side. “Why was there no need?”
Sebastian said, “Because Darcy and I had come to an agreement before you even confessed to us.”
At this revelation, she was stunned. They had come to a decision even before she had confessed? What decision is that?
Darcy nodded. “Remember the first night we arrived here and I took you away to the beach alone?”
Sakura nodded, remembering their passionate kiss at the beach and Darcy’s determination to claim her as his. She remembered him pressuring her to make a decision.
“Yes, I do,” she said.
“When you left, Sebastian and I, we talked,” Darcy said. “About us.”
“And?” She was curious to know about their discussion.
Sebastian carried on after Darcy. “We agreed upon complete trust and sharing.”
“Trust and sharing?” Sakura asked.
Darcy nodded. “Because we both want you, and it would hurt us if one of us couldn’t have you, knowing we both love you.”
Sebastian said, “So we decided we’d trust each other. We have to lay everything out in the open if we don’t want to hurt you, if we want you in our lives.”
Sakura shook her head. “Wait, but I’m confused. What does any of that have to do with me?”
Sebastian said, “Oh, it has everything to do with you.”
Darcy said, “You see, the truth is we’ve decided to share you.”
Sebastian nodded. “It’s the only solution I could think of. And once Darcy agreed, it was a done deal.”
Sakura raised a brow at the man as she looked up at him. “A done deal? Even before I confessed?”
Darcy noted her eyes twinkling. “Yes.”
Sebastian said, “And it was fun toying with you during the photo shoot.” He glanced at Darcy. “Although, Darcy was a bit pissed.”
Sakura suddenly remembered the photo shoot with the brothers here in this hotel only last week. Yes, Sebastian had been flirty while they were posing in front of the camera in this very room. Darcy himself had been rather daring when they had theirs in the bedroom across the hallway.
“So…” she began, trying to sort out the information she’d received so far. “You both decided to share me even before I made my confession, eh?” She stammered, “Have you any idea how much suffering you both have put me through?”
Darcy soothed her with a kiss to her lips, thus silencing her tantrum. When he moved back, he said, “We weren’t sure. We were insecure, Sakura. We didn’t want to rush you.”
Yes, that was true. She did tell them to give her time, which they kindly did.
“I know,” she said. “And now it’s all clear, then?”
Sebastian nodded. “We love you, Sakura.”
“And we want to be with you, always,” Darcy said.
Sebastian said, “There’s no more hiding your feelings. No more running away. No more keeping your burden to yourself. From now on, you will share everything with us. We’re now officially dating. You’re ours.” He chuckled. “How does it feel to have two boyfriends?”
Darcy continued. “And eventually, two fiancés and then two husbands?”
Sakura took a moment to absorb all this.
Two boyfriends, two fiancés, and eventually, two husbands.
She giggled. “It looks like I’m such a greedy girl. Two fathers, Daddy James and now Daddy Ned. Two mothers, Mom Brenda and Haruka. And now two boyfriends, Sebastian and Darcy.”
Sebastian nodded in agreement. “It can’t be bad to have two of everything.”
Darcy said, “Rather, you’re one of the luckiest girls alive.”
“When you put it that way,” Sakura said, smiling with glee, “then I guess so. It does sound like I’m one of the luckiest girls.”
It was then that Sebastian and Darcy eyed each other. At Sebastian’s nod, Darcy said, “Can we hear it once again?”
“Hear what?” Sakura asked.
“That you love us.”
Sakura giggled. She guessed they had their doubts, insecurities, and uncertainties, after all. They wanted to hear her confirmation of her love for them, which didn’t surprise her. Their vulnerability only made her love them even more.
She shyly licked her lips and then said, “I love you, Sebastian.” She looked up at the man behind her.
Sebastian tightened his arms around her and then kissed her on the lips. When he drew back, he said, “I love you, too, Sakura.”
Satisfied, Sakura turned her attention to Darcy and said, “I love you, Darcy.”
Darcy smiled. He then gently cupped her face in his hand and leaned forward. He kissed her softly on the lips. When he withdrew, he said, “I love you, too, Sakura.”
Sebastian said, “Now that’s out of the way. How about our dessert?”
Truth be told, Sakura had forgotten about that. She’d been too absorbed in this love confession thing.
“Oh, that’s true. What time is it now?” she asked.
Darcy said, “Who cares about the time? This type of dessert can be served any time of day, but it’s especially excellent at night.”
Sebastian nodded. “When the air is cool and the stars are bright.”
“You both make it sound so romantic and poetic when it’s only dessert.”
Darcy said, “It’s not only dessert. It’s one of the best. The type we’ll remember for life.”
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. “There you go again, talking strangely.”
Sebastian chuckled as he snuggled his face against the crook of her nape. “So do we have your permission to have that dessert now?”
Sakura sighed. God, why do they have to ask for permission?
“All right, then,” she said, now feeling Sebastian’s hand moving up from her waist to her breast. “Yes, you both may have that dessert now.”
Darcy said, “No going back.”
His words and his dark, passionate eyes alerted Sakura to the fact that these two weren’t talking about real dessert, and she suddenly panicked.