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They finally reached the living area, and Sakura came to a sudden stop. The scene was indeed heartwarming and tugged deep within her heart. Everyone she knew and cared for her was there, mingling, chatting, and laughing merrily. Sosuke was the sole center of everyone's attention since it was his birthday. He was turning thirty in a mere few minutes.
The four people walked in and joined the group. James caught Sakura's attention and signaled her to join him and Brenda. Not a moment later, Sakura found herself sitting beside her adoptive parents. They complimented on her yukata, which she simply brushed aside their praises, telling them it belonged to Akira and she had aided her with the dressing up. And apparently Darcy, but she didn't mention that.
A few moments later, Akira and Jane called to Sakura. Sakura rushed over to them, and the girls went about setting up the tables for dinner while everyone else continued to tease Sosuke about how old he was getting and that he should find himself a girlfriend and settle down soon. Some ten minutes later, the rest joined them and they were ready.
The place was set as a traditional Japanese dining area with Tatami mat, low tables connected together to fit everyone in, and cushions. On the tables, dining sets were arranged elegantly with designer plates in the middle, chopsticks to the right, a bowl of miso soup per person to the left, and various assortments of dishes in the middle. There were gyoza, salads with ginger dressing, sushi of various sorts cutely decorated and shaped into panda bears as well as the basic traditional type, karaage, tonkatsu, yakizakana, yakitori, onigiri, sashimi of various sorts, and of course, tempura and pickled vegetables.
Conrad, with Toby in his arms, quickly claimed the seat beside Sakura to her left. She laughed as he started playing with her long hair, which was down, as it had only recently been washed. Sebastian took the seat beside her to her right.
Sakura turned her attention to her surroundings, watching everyone else taking their seats. Sosuke was sitting right opposite her with Akira beside him to his left and Haruka to his right. Nicolas sat beside Akira--to Akira's surprise and annoyance. Tristan and Logan were to her left beside Conrad, and James and Brenda to her right beside Sebastian. Darcy was all the way on the other side near Hayden and Jane. Of course, Sakura wasn't surprise. She knew he planned to stay as far away from her as possible.
"Are you tired from the preparation?" Sebastian asked her the moment he sat down.
"A little," she said, smiling at him.
"The food looks delicious." He beamed at her. "I expect a meal like this now and again if you move in with us." He teased, his eyes twinkling.
The man was a charming beast, Sakura thought. He wouldn't let the idea of her moving in with them drop.
Conrad missed the word if in Sebastian's sentence and assumed Sakura had decided she'd move in with them. He cheered brightly. "Sakura, are you really moving in with us?"
"Well, I'm not sure yet," she said uncertainly.
"I'll help you with the move," he said, nodding enthusiastically.
"Me, too," Logan said from the other side.
"You're moving?" Sosuke asked, quite upset about the whole idea. "Did you know this, Oba-chan?" He turned to his aunt for support.
Haruka knew Sosuke felt threatened. If Sakura really did move in with the brothers, then his chance of getting her attention was zero. And of course, Haruka didn't know, and she turned to Sakura for answer.
"No." Sakura voiced quickly. "I haven't decided yet."
"You don't want to live with us, Sakura?" Tristan looked decidedly wounded, and instead of feeling sorry for him, Sakura wanted to laugh.
"You have until after Hawaii to think about it," Nicolas stated, looking pointedly at her like James usually did.
"I didn't know the invitation had an expiry date." Sakura cocked her head to one side. "Who knows? I might not make my decision until the end of the year."
At this comment, the brothers eyed one another, knowing looks plastered on their handsome faces. Sakura knew what that meant. If she didn't decide by the time they returned from Hawaii, the brothers would use dirty tactics to get her to move. Smart and cunning, these brothers, she thought in irritation.
Haruka said, "Thank you, everyone, for coming."
At James and Brenda's nod, Sosuke took his cue and said at large, "Please enjoy the meal."
"Happy birthday, Sosuke-kun!" Tristan shouted loudly, and Toby followed with an excited bark.
Logan jabbed his brother with his elbow. "Not yet!"
At this, everyone laughed. Sakura chose that moment to take a peek at Darcy, who was quietly chuckling away at his brothers. When he caught her eyes, she quickly glanced away, her heart pounding in her chest.
Sebastian noticed. He gently touched her hand, drawing her attention to him. He said quietly, "You should talk to him to clear things up."
Sakura wasn't sure if that was a good idea. That short session in the corridor was bad enough. Besides, what was there to clear up? Darcy didn't want to claim his prize, didn't want to kiss her. So what?
When the cheerful noise died down, they started their meals, and Sakura dismissed Darcy from her mind. Hands were everywhere, moving in and taking food. Conrad took a cute sushi in the shape of a panda and placed it on her plate. It was the one she made this morning with Haruka and the housekeeper.
"Don't forget to make me coffee," he whispered.
Sakura chuckled and thanked him profusely for the sushi. When she said she'd make him a cup, more sushi landed on her plate, one each from Logan, Hayden, Nicolas, and Akira, and three from Sosuke, informing her they wanted their cup of coffee as well.
"You need to eat more, Sakura-chan," Sosuke said, smiling at her. "You've worked so hard for the last few weeks."
Sakura thanked him for his consideration, which pleased him and annoyed the brothers.
Tristan decided to outdo everyone and came around to his sister with five beef yakitori. "There, you're too pale for my liking, Sakura darling. Meat is full of protein and iron. Good for your health." He winked at her and was about to give her a peck on the cheek in front of everyone when Sebastian shoved him away.
"Go back to your seat, Tristan," Sebastian said in exasperation. "You're invading Sakura's space."
Tristan pretended to fall on his backside and said, "Sakura darling, your boyfriend is a bastard!"
Everyone laughed, except Sosuke, who looked decidedly wounded, and Darcy, who had a dark scowl on his face.
An hour and a half later, the table was cleared for Sosuke's cake. He had protested wholeheartedly about cakes and singing him a happy birthday song, but the brothers would have none of the nonsense and everyone started singing anyway, with Tristan as the out-of-tune choir conductor. He was using his chopsticks to swing about as everyone sang.
Of course, Tristan and Logan were the loudest, and by the time the song ended, Sosuke was bright red in the face with embarrassment. Tristan ordered him to blow out the candles, which Sosuke reluctantly obliged and blew all thirty candles out in two puffs. A big cheer went up, and the enormous cake was cut and shared around.
Sakura felt a sort of glow within her as she watched everyone laughing and enjoying the cake she had baked only that morning. The word family--my family kept echoing within her head. It was then Akira and Jane came around and ushered her to the kitchen to make some coffee.
Soon, everyone was enjoying their delicious, perfectly made coffee while watching Sosuke open his presents. He was still embarrassed and didn't understand why he had to go through opening presents like a kid, to which Nicolas wholeheartedly agreed. But then Nicolas knew there was no way out of this where Tristan and Logan were concerned. They'd made sure Sosuke felt the full force of being a part of the Princeton circle.
Sakura stood back and watched as Sosuke opened another wrapped box. Out came a set of raunchy DVDs with hot girls in bikinis, after which everyone cheered. Sosuke p
ulled a face and looked heavenward.
"It's for when you're lonely," Tristan said, and everyone laughed. There was no doubt who that was from.
Within the noise of the merriment, Sakura suddenly noticed Toby was missing. Normally, he'd be barking excitedly at the loud cheers, especially when the brothers were around. She wouldn't miss the dog's animated clamor. Her pup had been with Conrad at the beginning of the meal and then hopped around from one Princeton brother to the other, sharing their food and begging them to pet him. The last time she'd noticed, Toby had been with Darcy. That had been before she'd left for the kitchen to make the coffee.
Worried the little canine might get into some sort of trouble, she turned on her heel, intending to search for the dog. She came into the kitchen, noting the housekeeper and maid were enjoying their coffee as well here in the quietness. Involuntarily, her eyes came to rest on the counter where a single cup of coffee still resided, the one meant for Darcy. Apparently, he too had disappeared while she'd been in the kitchen preparing the hot drinks.
Determined not to think about him, she nodded at the housekeeper and maid politely, and they returned her silent greeting with smiles. Sakura then headed back out and left the apartment. She went up to the third floor, because she knew Toby would be there if he wasn't in the apartment.
As she came through the corridor, she softly called out the dog's name. When she opened the last door into the private courtyard that belonged to the Princeton brothers, she caught her breath at the back of her throat.
At this time of the night, when the sky was completely dark with tiny dots of stars shimmering in the distance and the garden was basked in different shades of light with cherry blossom trees as the backdrop, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Sakura felt like she was in Japan, viewing cherry blossoms in full bloom at night.
A bark drew her attention from the exquisite scenery to the man and dog under the tree. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat when she realized it was Darcy and Toby. In that instant, she thought he could be her muse for a painting, him wearing the yukata, sitting with his back resting against the fully bloomed tree and Toby on his lap. They were a strikingly beautiful picture, and it made Sakura's heart glow with a certain warmth.
As though in a dream and without herself realizing it, she made her way toward them, her feet light and the hem of her yukata brushing against the marble path. She came to stand before Darcy and Toby hesitantly. She noted he was watching her, though she couldn't quite make out what his expression was, as his face was half hidden within the darkness.
