Sakura Princeton stroked the strands of her tresses away from her face. The glossy locks refused to obey her and fell back in place. She muttered under her breath and tossed them back, bunching up the curls and letting them fall to one side of her slender shoulder. Then she turned just so to the right to get into a good position, lifted the camera up to her eyes, and when she thought the lighting was as good as it was going to get, she clicked on the record button.
Just then a gust of wind blew, loosening her hair and fluttering it about. She, however, paid no heed to this as she was too consumed with what she was doing.
It’s perfect! Just what she needed. Countless cherry blossom petals were flying all around her like rain. It was so beautiful, wildflowers and cherry blossoms in the woods giving out myriads of colors. It’d be perfect for her painting.
She took a step back in order to take in the whole picture—cherry blossoms, leaves, trees, and wildflowers in the background. Once she thought she’d taken enough photos, she lowered the camera and smiled with satisfaction.
“You’re going to be my bestseller this week,” she said, tapping her finger on the petal. “And I thank you for that.” Then she imagined the digits increasing in her bank account—and yes, that also meant her plan to go overseas was getting closer to reality too.
She turned to pick up her bag and headed back toward the road as she hummed to herself.
Loud barking came her way, and Sakura felt something soft grazing against her legs. She glanced down and saw a canine with fluffy white fur and large black eyes watching her, begging for her attention. The West Highland white terrier barked her a happy greeting.
“Where have you been, Toby?” she greeted back. “I told you not to go too far. You might get lost. What if I couldn’t find you? What would you do then? You’d become an orphan.”
Sakura knew exactly what it was like to be an orphan. It was a most terrible feeling to have no one to share your love, your fear, your happiness, or your experiences. It was a lonely existence, and no one deserved that.
“You wouldn’t want that now, would you?” she queried Toby as she bent down to pick him up. The dog stuck out his tongue and licked her cheek. She couldn’t help herself and chuckled.
The fact was Sakura really loved Toby since it was she who had found him half-buried in the snow in the depths of the woods three winters ago. The pup was lost and very sick, having been abandoned by his owner who had left St. Joseph Island and never returned. If it hadn’t been for her, Toby could’ve died from starvation and hypothermia.
“Don’t!” She told him off. The dog looked somewhat disappointed as he tried to lick her again. “It’s your fault for not listening to me.” She returned him to the ground. “Now then, I think it’s time to head back. I do have many more things to do before dinner.” She paused, looking up at the beautiful spring sky; her eyes narrowed against the bright sunlight. “And then there’s Saturday.” She frowned, and her heart skipped a beat.
Saturday would come all too soon, the day when everyone would be arriving for the wedding and the holiday. There’d be so many people Sakura didn’t know. But of course, that didn’t matter. What really mattered—and what really worried her—was the fact that her adopted brothers—all seven of them—would be coming as well since it was their cousin Mary’s wedding.
Sakura tilt her head to one side as she thought about the brothers. There were the very responsible, father-like figure Nicolas; the very popular, mischievous triplets Tristan, Logan, and Sebastian; the disobedient, bad-boy Hayden; the smart, arrogant Darcy, who disliked her most since those unfortunate incidents thirteen years ago; and lastly nice, sincere Conrad.
Of course, she couldn’t really forget about Tara, Alaina, and their big-city friends. They’d no doubt only be too happy to be back and make Sakura’s life as miserable as possible. But Sakura too had grown up into a fine woman with a strong will. Or so James, her adopted father, told her many times. Hence, come hell or high water, Sakura wasn’t going to put up with their nastiness this time.
As she breathed in the fresh spring air and strolled along the woodland, a thought suddenly struck her. She nibbled her lower lip, her eyes gazing off into the distance to the sea beyond.
Would they still remember her, though?
She scoffed at the thought immediately. Of course not! If they remembered anything about her at all, it was probably the pranks they had played on her and the many scolding they had received from James and Brenda because of her. Not that she’d ever been the one who told on them. It had always been Tara, who was also adopted by the Princetons, and Alaina who had been the masterminds behind everything. Then they’d all gone off to boarding school—the boys to St. Michael’s Boarding School for Boys, one of the most prestigious schools in America, and Tara and Alaina to Princess Margaret’s Boarding School for Girls, also one of the most prestigious schools in America.
Not very long after, Sakura too had gone off to St. Helensburgh Boarding School for Girls where she met her friends Mary Collins, who also turned out to be the boys’ cousin from their mother’s side, and Katherine Hodge, a girl from a good family who also lived on St. Joseph Island. She, Mary, and Katherine had many lovely times together, helping each other with schoolwork and enjoying each other’s company, both in and out of school.
Back then, during the holidays, Sakura would stay with the Collinses at their farm in California, enjoying her time there with Mary, Katherine, and Mary’s brother, Richard. Then every so often James and Brenda would come and stay with them for a couple of days along with Dale and Molly, her adopted grandparents from James’s side of the family. During those times, Sakura had never felt more warm, happy, and complete to have such a wonderful circle of family and friends. Hence, she never really saw the boys—nor Alaina and Tara for that matter—ever since she left thirteen years ago. By the time she completed her science degree at UCLA and had returned to St. Joseph Island to work in the local hospital, they all had left home completely to live wherever their hearts had taken them. Of course, she had no idea where they were living now, and to be frankly honest, neither did she care.
“So what do you think they’re like now?” she asked Toby, who was busy sticking his tongue out. “Nicolas would be twenty-eight by now,” she murmured to herself, picturing the young Nicolas when she last saw him when he was fifteen years old. “The triplets?” She watched Toby wagging his tail as he was sniffing something of interest. “They’d be what? Twenty-six?” The picture of the three when they were thirteen flashed in her mind. “What about Hayden and the twins?”
Hayden would be twenty-four by now, and the twins, Alaina and Darcy, would be twenty-two.
The name Darcy caused her heart to skip a beat, and that odd, dull pain was still there, lingering within her being, reminding her of what had happened that summer thirteen years ago.
Then there was Conrad, the baby of the house. “He’d be twenty by now,” she murmured to herself, gently touching the overgrown tall grasses.
“And me,” she said under her breath. “I’ll be twenty-four in a couple of weeks.” Then again, April the 8th wasn’t her actual birthdate. It was the date she was found on the doorstep of the orphanage, and she’d already been more than a couple of days old.
Looking back, she thought how Tara had fit right in with the family as if she were born into it. Sakura, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to make even one sibling like her. It had hurt since she badly wanted them to accept her. That, however, was not to be.
It didn’t matter now, though, because there were James, Brenda, Dale, and Molly who loved her. There was also Beth Faber, the housekeeper, who doted on her in her own weird way. And of course, Ned Faber, Beth’s young brother, who treated her like his own child since he had none and longed for one. Not to mention her real mother, the woman she’d never met.
Deep down, Sakura knew her mother loved her because otherwise, the woman wouldn’t have given her a name—a very beautiful Japanese name—that meant cherry blossom and left her a cherry blossom pendant necklace. She found out not too long ago that the pendant stone was a rare pink diamond that was of the finest quality. She knew without a doubt there had to be a reason her mother had abandoned her, and Sakura was determined to find the woman and then…
Then what?
Unconsciously, she touched the pink diamond about her neck.
When the wedding was over, she’d be going out there into the world—she didn’t care where—to find her mother.
With that thought in mind, she smiled up at the sky and closed her eyes, savoring this very moment, cherishing it in her memory, and praying that soon she’d find the woman who had given her life.
Sebastian Princeton wanted to throttle his triplet siblings—Tristan and Logan—for making his life a living hell. First, they invited themselves into his luxurious apartment in Manhattan. Though there were five large bedrooms, a fitness room, a modern kitchen, and a comfy lounge, he still thought it was a bit crowded, having gotten used to living alone for the past five years with only the occasional visits from his parents and grandparents.The first night, they brought in their friends and had a blast partying in the house, emptying his cellar and fridge and destroying some of his precious paintings and photographs he’d bought from an unknown, talented artist he admired. The second night, they refused to let him stay home to finish his work and dragged him out drinking until the early hours of the morning. Their argument was, “It’s Saturday!” The third night, they told him to get packing because they were leaving for St. Joseph Island three days early for their cousin Mary’s wedding
Sebastian Princeton wanted to throttle his triplet siblings—Tristan and Logan—for making his life a living hell. First, they invited themselves into his luxurious apartment in Manhattan. Though there were five large bedrooms, a fitness room, a modern kitchen, and a comfy lounge, he still thought it was a bit crowded, having gotten used to living alone for the past five years with only the occasional visits from his parents and grandparents.The first night, they brought in their friends and had a blast partying in the house, emptying his cellar and fridge and destroying some of his precious paintings and photographs he’d bought from an unknown, talented artist he admired. The second night, they refused to let him stay home to finish his work and dragged him out drinking until the early hours of the morning. Their argument was, “It’s Saturday!” The third night, they told him to get packing because they were leaving for St. Joseph Island three days early for their cousin Mary’s wedding
Nicolas sighed. Of course, all the brothers knew their dad had been asking him to take over the business, but Nicolas didn’t feel he was ready to take on such a big job as CEO of their family empire, the Princeton Group—aside from the fact that he had three of his own businesses to take care of, even though they were mostly online and his employees were outsourced.“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” he said. “I’ll take a look at it this spring and decide then.”“Aside from that,” Alaina said, “none of you are bringing any girls home to meet Mom and Dad?” She turned to Hayden. “Where’s your girlfriend? What’s her name? Judith or Julie or something?”“We broke up,” Hayden snapped.“He got dumped.” Tristan gladly offered. This of course welcomed a death-ray glare from Hayden.“And you, Darcy?” Tara asked. “What about Kate?”Darcy frowned at Tara, telling her to piss off and mind her own business.Tara thought Darcy’s dislike of her had grown even more in these past few years.
Sakura knew she had a fifty-fifty chance of living or dying once she saw the car heading straight at her. Before she had time to react, she felt herself crazing against hard metal and falling back, landing on the road. She had a moment of sheer panic, wondering if she’d live when Toby ran to her and started barking at her and licking her hand with concern. Laying there motionless, she stared dazedly up at the sky through her hair covering her face, wondering if she was dead already.She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Toby was still barking at her to get her attention, but she had no strength to respond. She needed to clear her head and get her bearing back first.Before her, the brothers rushed out of the car, their stomachs flipping in dread as they wondered what the heck had just happened. Sebastian, being the one responsible, had assumed the worst and wondered if he had just killed the girl even though he knew in his gut he’d stopped the car just in time. If he
Once she stood, Sakura finally looked at them, fully. First, there was Sebastian with the typical Princeton looks that dated back for generations and had caused many hearts to flutter recklessly and perhaps even swoon with longing. He was tall, broad at the shoulders, and too handsome for her liking.Then there was Nicolas, so much like his father, James, who looked as though he could take on the world and would still come out on top with his leader-like demeanor.Next was Tristan with his ridiculously handsome smile, the Prince of Flirt in the family. Sakura wondered how many females he had bedded already and how many hearts he had broken along the way.The same went for Logan with his very charming smile and devil-may-care manner. Sakura wouldn’t be surprised if he had bedded at least a dozen women within the past few months.Hayden, the handsome Prince of Rebel, had that rogue look about him that any good girl found hard to resist. This was enhanced by the fact that he had one gold
Sebastian was forced to eat his own words when they stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the sight before them. The Princeton Estate was in full bloom with cherry blossoms. Clouds of pink flowers stretched endlessly beyond them, and the road leading to the manor was carpeted with pink petals. “We don’t have to go to Japan to see cherry blossoms in full season,” Conrad said, smiling. “It’s nice,” Nicolas remarked. A gust of wind swirled past, releasing a myriad of flowers from the trees, petals raining down on the car, some landing on the windscreen. Sebastian was too stunned to turn on the wiper and continued driving until they reached the front courtyard of the two-hundred-year-old stately manor, which most foreigners liked to call the Grand Castle of St. Joseph Island, made of massive gray stone that had stood up against many winters. The estate was immaculately maintained with lush, green lawn and neat, pretty flowerbeds their father loved. The water feature of cupids and fairies, t
Sakura decided it was the brothers’ fault she that was so sore, and not just about the legs either, but all over now. Tired, thirsty, and her body aching, she still had to walk through this tiny, treacherous pathway that wasn’t really a pathway via the woods to get to Princeton Estate. Normally she didn’t mind, but this time she really did mind. She grumbled to herself and cursed them again. Oh, yes, she was sure they’d be very comfortable indeed right now, sitting in the lounge and drinking that horrible coffee Beth would have prepared for them. Not to mention the mini-sandwiches, scones, muffins, and slices she had made this morning. Once she reached Princeton Manor some half an hour later, she was sweating like a pig, her face was covered with dirt, and her hair was a mess. She sneaked into the kitchen—hoping like hell she wouldn’t bump into any of the brothers—when she was greeted with a, “Where have you been? Mr. Princeton was looking all over for you.” She jumped in fright, h
The brothers loved it. They absolutely loved the roast pork—and of course, none of them choked. Tristan, Logan, and Hayden couldn’t help chomping down the delicious, soft morsel and then grabbed for more. “There’s still dessert,” Mary said from across the table, smiling. “You’ll have to visit home more often to get a proper feed, boys,” Molly, their grandmother, said. Hayden nodded his head in agreement with that. “Or we could just take Beth with us,” Darcy suggested. James and Brenda glanced at each other, and Dale, the brothers’ grandfather, chuckled. Beth cleared her throat and said, “Unfortunately, Master Darcy, I still wouldn’t be able to cook you such a nice roast because I wasn’t the one who prepared that roast. Although, I sort of did since the person responsible happened to be sick all of a sudden. But that was only via specific instructions.” “New chef, then?” Conrad put in. “Finally, we have decent food to eat. Not that yours isn’t that good, Beth. Your baking is the