The moment she stopped, they made a move. Sebastian was scowling again. She wondered if he would ever stop scowling at her. Tristan slid off his rather comfortable recliner, and Conrad jumped down from the roof of the car.
“Did you have fun?” Sebastian asked.
Sakura couldn’t believe that was the first thing he’d say to her. She blinked, and just to piss him off, she smiled at him sweetly. “Yes. It was fun. Hayden taught me how to drive his motorbike. Why are you guys in the middle of the road?”
“Waiting for you,” he said, wrapping his hand around her arm.
Hayden took off his helmet and chuckled. “You guys couldn’t stay away, could you? Whose idea was that?”
“It was Sebastian’s,” Tristan said.
“Come on, my dear lady,” Tristan said to Sakura. “We can’t allow the Prince of Rebel to keep you any longer.”
“So said the Prince of Flirt,” Hayden put in sarcastically.
So it is Sebastian again, Sakura thought in annoyance. What is wrong with him? Why is he being so overbearing right now?
“Come on, get in the car,” Sebastian ordered gently.
“You don’t need to tell her, Seb,” Conrad said. “She’s coming.”
Actually, Sakura decided she wasn’t coming with them after all. Just to show Sebastian he couldn’t tell her what to do, she refused to move an inch from the bike.
Sebastian, however, did it for her by scooping her into his arms and carrying her—with the helmet still in her hands—toward the car.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked. “Put me down.”
Sebastian refused to listen to her. Sakura grumbled under her breath and glared at him.
“He’s carrying her again,” Conrad said.
“Because he’s responsible,” Tristan commented, heading around to the car as well.
“Why should you feel responsible?” Sakura couldn’t help asking, her voice ice cold.
“Because right now I’m the eldest brother,” Sebastian said matter-of-factly.
Tristan butted in. “Don’t believe him, Sakura. I believe I’m the eldest right now since I was born a full six minutes before him, so that responsibility falls to me.”
Sebastian finally put her down. She brushed down her skirt and hair and muttered under her breath. Sebastian opened the door of the car for her, telling her with his stance to get in.
Sakura gritted her teeth, ignored him, and said rather too softly, “Actually, I believe none of you need to take any responsibility over me. After all, I am twenty-three and not a three-year-old child.” She turned her eyes to Sebastian then and said to him, “I think I can take of myself, and I believe I’m entitled to decide how I want to get home, don’t you?”
Sebastian folded his arms across his massive chest, almost in challenge. Sakura knew he wasn’t happy with her announcement. But to hell with him! Who did he think he was? He had never cared about her welfare before, so why now?
“I think Sakura should choose how she wants to get home,” Hayden butted in, giving her a cheeky smile.
“All right,” Sebastian said. “Decide, Sakura. How do you want to get home? The car?” He nodded toward the back seat. “Or the bike?” He nodded to where Hayden and the bike were.
Sakura knew he wanted her to ride home in the car. Well, he could go home with his brothers without her. She held her head high and said, “I choose the motorbike.”
“What?” Conrad shouted. “But we waited for you.”
Sakura felt bad. It was even worse when Conrad gave her the puppy-dog look. But she hardened herself against her tender heart. After all, it was Sebastian’s fault. If he wasn’t acting so overbearing, then she would have gone with them, and Conrad needn’t be so upset.
“Sorry, Conrad,” she said softly and moved to Hayden, who was smiling at her with glee.
Sebastian watched her go, his face impassive. “Get in the car, everyone,” he said as he tossed the keys over to Tristan. “You drive.”
Tristan knew Sebastian was pissed even though he wasn’t showing it, and when Sebastian was pissed, his driving was affected, which could lead to the passengers experiencing a roller-coaster-type ride. Frankly none of them wanted that right now. What Tristan didn’t expect, however, was for Sebastian to go up to Hayden and say, “You too,” and take Hayden’s helmet without asking.
All Hayden could do was look at his older brother, stunned.
Sebastian put on the helmet and got on the bike. Sakura was so shocked that her mouth hung open in disbelief.
“Well?” he asked. “Or have you changed your mind already?”
Sakura couldn’t answer. Sebastian decided for her by nudging her to him and made her sit behind him.
“See you at home,” he said to Hayden. Then he started the engine and drove off so fast Sakura had to quickly wrap her arm around his waist so she wouldn’t fall. Once she got her composure, she glanced behind to see Hayden getting into the car and Darcy staring after them, his face a hard mask.
Honestly, she thought this man in front of her was being very unpredictable. She really had to give him a bit of her mind once they were home. But it wasn’t home that they were heading to. Sebastian deliberately missed the turn and headed straight toward the beach on the other side of the island.
Sakura tugged at his jacket to get his attention, to tell him he’d missed the turn. He answered her by ignoring her, and soon they came to a nice clearing near the beach where he finally decided to stop.
Sakura couldn’t help herself. She hastily got off the bike, pulled off the helmet, and confronted him.
“I can’t believe you did that, Sebastian. I just can’t. Oh my gosh! Who do you think you are? You deliberately missed the turn, didn’t you? And you deliberately waited out in the middle of the road too. I can’t believe this. And what is it all for? Is it because of last night? Is it? Is it because we agreed to start anew? Is that why you’re doing this? I can’t believe it. You never, ever noticed me before and now all this? This…”
Sebastian wasn’t paying any attention to her tantrum. He was too busy admiring her sensual lips. He wasn’t sure why she was overreacting, though. After all, he’d only wanted to protect her from Richard—and Hayden, of course.
She finally stopped ranting when she realized he wasn’t paying attention. “You aren’t even listening to me,” she muttered under her breath.
He chuckled. “Why are you so riled up?”
Sakura sucked in her breath. Oh, God! Oh, God! He was smiling at her. And when Sebastian smiled, her heart started to do a disco dance. She realized then just how handsome he was when he smiled. He was so charming, especially with his pale blond hair that was a bit too long and his azure-blue eyes that were twinkling. Not to mention the dimple on his left cheek.
Suddenly he pulled her to him, his arms wrapped around her waist. “Sorry,” he said, almost too gently for her liking.
She knew he didn’t mean it because he was still smiling. What the heck is wrong with him?
“Did I annoy you?” he asked softly.
“You annoyed the heck out of me, Sebastian. I might have to tell Daddy James what you’ve done to me,” she said, nodding her head. “Like I always did when we were child
ren.”
He chuckled. “The likes of you telling Dad?” he asked. “Not a chance. You’d rather suffer in pain than tell anyone about it.”
Sakura frowned in confusion at him. “What do you mean? I told on you a lot when we were little.”
He looked at her for a long while. “I may have been a child back then, Sakura,” he said seriously, “but I wasn’t stupid, and neither were my brothers.”
“But—”
“It was better to leave you in peace than to make things worse,” he said. “Sorry we forgot all about you.”
“So you did forget about me, eh?” She confirmed, nodding her head.
“Yes,” he said. “I admit that. But now we’re making it up to you. How about that?”
“A bit too late for that now,” she said. “And I’m totally not interested. When the wedding is over, I’m gone.”
She shut up immediately and blushed.
Sebastian frowned. “Gone? Where are you going?”
She changed the subject. “Let’s go home. I’m sure everyone is worried.”
He wouldn’t have it. “Where are you planning to go?”
“It’s none of your business, Sebastian,” she said and unconsciously played with the pendant of her necklace, nervous all of a sudden.
Sebastian noticed. “Do they know about this? Mom and Dad?” he asked suspiciously.
“I haven’t told them yet,” she muttered. “I will later.”
“I suppose you’re old enough to go wherever you want,” he said finally, disappointed, his heart beating painfully.
“Yes, I am old enough to go wherever I want and do whatever I want,” she said. “And now I want to go home.” She finally removed her hand from the pendant to put on her helmet.
Sebastian had a good look at the pendant. It was beautiful, in the shape of the cherry blossom flower. Hadn’t she always been wearing that, since she was a child? It must have meant something to her, and he decided he’d find out later.