Page 2 of A Secret Proposal (Falling for Sakura 2)

Luke said, "It's a privilege to drink your coffee, Sakura. Those famous cafes up in Manhattan cannot compare. I'd gladly pay for mine if only you'd let me."

"Don't be silly!" She waved, frowning at him.

Gosh, Luke thought, she still looks pretty even with the frown on her face.

Sakura turned her attention to her friend, Luke Hamilton, who happened to come into her gallery six months ago, looking to buy some paintings and photographs for his boss, who he'd never named. The boss liked to keep his identity anonymous, Luke had told her when she happened to ask him one day. Sakura didn't mind, just as long as this boss liked her paintings and photographs and bought them regularly. That was all she asked for, to keep her business afloat.

Then she turned her attention to Jane Hamilton. Her friend was in her late twenties, though she didn't know the exact number because Jane was very sensitive about the subject. Sakura, however, secretly knew she was still a virgin, as was she. To be honest, Sakura was rather surprised she was still single since she was quite pretty with pale-blond hair and bright-green eyes. In fact, her eyes were so like the emerald gemstone that if anyone were to look closer, they'd be surprised at how beautiful and lively they could be. If only Jane were to discard her thick, very unfashionable glasses and wear contact lenses instead, Sakura knew for certain men would fall at her feet.

Sakura watched as Jane sipped her coffee, this time very slowly, savoring the beautiful flavor.

"Now then, are you so very sure I'm allowed to come tomorrow?" Sakura asked suddenly. "I mean, I'm not bothering you or anything?"

"Of course," Jane put in immediately. "I'm an assistant of an assistant of Mr. Tachibana. I help organize everything. I'm the third boss behind the scene." Then she muttered to herself, "If only they recognize my talent."

Sakura didn't hear that last bit as she was too busy thinking about something else. She felt her heart do a somersault at the thought that tomorrow she'd be able to really see her mother, Haruka Tanaka. She licked her lip and said, "I promise I won't get into any mess. I mean, I won't interfere with anything because I know how hectic it is backstage before the show."

Jane nodded. "But you have to know if, and I mean only if, things get out of hand, I'll need your help?"

Sakura nodded. "I understand. Of course I'll help you in any way I can. Not that I know much about the backstage stuff though."

"The Princeton Hotel is quite big," Jane said absentmindedly, cocking her head to one side.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat at the mentioning of the Princeton Hotel. She knew the event would be taking place there. She also knew Nicolas Princeton was now the CEO of Princeton group. It was hard to miss since it was all over the news for a couple of weeks.

Sakura wondered if Nicolas would be attending the fashion event tomorrow. What about the rest of the brothers? Would they be there, too? God! She hoped not. However, Sakura had already made up her mind that come hell or high water, she'd be there to meet her biological mother in person. Nothing was going to stop her, not even the presence of the Princeton brothers--her seven adoptive brothers.

"I would imagine there'd be lots of people there." Jane continued. "Last I heard, there's going to be at least two thousand guests there to see Mr. Tachibana's spring-summer collections. Mind you, most of his collections are eveningwear, though there are some daywear and swimwear as well."

"He designs for men, too," Luke put in. "His taste is very top-notch. I was in his new department store a few weeks back with the boss." By the boss, he meant Sebastian Princeton.

"Only the rich and famous can afford his brand," Jane said matter-of-fact. "And we are certainly not the rich and famous."

"Don't you like Mr. Tachibana?" Sakura asked. "You're working for him."

Jane laughed. "Yes, of course I work for him."

Sakura had the sudden urge to ask Jane about her biological mother. She really couldn't help herself and blurted out, "Isn't there a woman named Haruka Tanaka working for Mr. Tachibana as well?"

Jane glanced at her friend, her eyes large. She slowly nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Though we all call her Ms. Ruka." She leaned toward Sakura as she added, "She won't tolerate anyone calling her anything else."

Sakura cocked her head to one side. "Really?"

Jane nodded again. "She's lovely but also very feisty. She likes men. The hotter, the better."

Sakura frowned at that. "Why doesn't she like anyone to call her by her real name?"

"Huh?" Then Jane laughed, wondering why her friend was so interested in Ms. Ruka, the famous Japanese stylist who had changed her name--actually she should say his name--from Jiro Tanaka to Haruka Tanaka. Ms. Ruka was a transgender after all, and why she'd decided to choose the exact same name as the well-known, wealthy Haruka Suzuki, the owner and designer of Jade Jewelry Co., was beyond her.

Then Jane thought of something rather interesting. There was something in Sakura Tanaka that reminded her of Haruka Suzuki. Perhaps it was in the way they walked, the way they talked, or even the way they did things. They were oddly similar. Then again, Jane thought that was of course stupid and brushed the very idea off her mind.

"You're being nosy, aren't you? Well, I don't blame you. If you happened to meet her, remember to always refer to her as a her and call her Ms. Ruka. Got it?"

Sakura didn't get it, but nodded anyway. She thought her biological mother sounded a bit weird, but then again, who was she to judge?

She decided to change the subject. "What's the inside gossip?"

Jane took another sip of her coffee and sighed. "Mr. Tachibana is totally at a loss. He's tearing his hair out trying to find eight perfect male models to cast for his new menswear collection."

Sakura cocked her head to one side. "But there are plenty of hot male models out there. Surely, it wouldn't be that hard, right?"

Jane laughed. "You don't know Mr. Tachibana. He's very specific. The title of his new collection is--get this--Young Men In The Business World."

"Whoa, that sounds like something," Sakura said.

"Yeah, if you ask me. He said those young, super-hot male models aren't real enough for him. He wants real businessmen. He especially wants young businessmen who have already accomplished so much as to earn at least a couple billion a year."

Luke laughed. He simply couldn't help himself. Once he'd gained his composure, he said, "Good luck with that."

Jane frowned. "What about your boss and his brothers? They're young, hot, and billionaires. And I heard from a very reliable source that Mr. Tachibana has been begging them to model for him."

"Naturally, they refused, of course," Luke put it mildly.

"Well," Jane said, finally finishing her very delicious cup of coffee. "He better find those eight male models soon, because the date for the release of the catalogue is in a few weeks' time. Not to mention the fact that some of those photos will be going into New Men's Magazine and Vogue next month, too."

"Sounds like a lot of hard work coming up," Luke said, putting his cup down.

"Yeah, maybe I'll get to have some fun in Hawaii," Jane said dreamily. She turned to Sakura, her green eyes large and brilliant. "That's where we'd be doing the photo shoots. Hot summer. Eveningwear. Office wear. Swimwear. Totally hot. Hot. Hot."

Sakura chuckled. She could see it, Jane having heaps of fun in Hawaii after a long day of hard work. Then maybe she'd even throw her glasses away, unbound her lovely blond hair, and wear a bikini. She'd absolutely turn heads--that Sakura was sure of.

It was fifteen minutes later when the brother and sister left, and Sakura returned to her studio. She stood, staring at the painting she'd started last spring back on St. Joseph Island. After that incident, after she'd left the island to start anew, she hadn't the heart to finish this particular painting. She'd left it sitting in the attic of the apartment for quite some time, almost a year in fact, letting it gather dust, until last week. She didn't know why, but she just wanted to finish it now. Hence, here it was, sitting in her studi

o, ready for her to complete the finishing touches.

She sat and took a deep breath as she eyed the unfinished painting. Even in its incompleteness, it still looked beautiful, at least to her anyway.

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