Haru“You okay, Haru?” It was Mason who was asking me that question. Damn, but I guess every one of my brothers noticed me feeling down.I smiled at him since I didn’t want him to worry about me. “Yeah, I’m fine.”He nodded. “That’s good.” He signaled for me to come to him. I did, wondering what he wanted.He asked, “Are you cold?”“Just a little,” I said. “Is it going to snow again?”Mason placed his box, which contained his kimonos, on top of mine in my arms and then turned me around. With my back to him, he wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head.“It’s cold,” he said. “Let’s stay like this for a little bit, until Higa-san brings around the car.”“Is that where he is?” I asked. “Bringing around the car?”“Mm-hmm.”We both were quiet for moment, and then I asked, “Were you worried about me?”“Mm-hmm,” he responded.“Thanks,” I said and then chuckled. “I’m being spoiled, aren’t I?”Mason said, “You know, sometimes I wonder why you chose Aiden. Why you fel
AidenAiden felt guilt rising in the pit of his stomach the more he thought about Isaac’s words. To be frank, he hadn’t been neglecting Haru. It was more like he didn’t have the chance to be with the boy today simply because Patricia seemed to know when to intercept his approach. She appeared desperate in wanting to talk to him, which had been why he had allowed her to be with him because he knew he would have all the time in the world with Haru. As for Patricia, she could say whatever she wanted to say and be done with it. Except she hadn’t said anything of substance yet. She had just been talking about old times, reminding him of their past relationship.Noah’s voice came his way, drawing Aiden’s attention away from his thoughts of Haru and Patricia. “What?”“I said, can we talk?” The brother nodded toward the sliding door. “Outside.”Aiden didn’t know what Noah wanted to talk about that they needed to do it outside, away from the others. He nodded nonetheless and the two left.Maso
HaruI was still seething and my face flushing hot from embarrassment when Mason sat down on the futon beside me.“You okay?” he asked.I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said as I lifted the back of my hand to my lips.Mason caught my wrist. “What are you doing?”“Cleaning away the lipstick,” I said.He looked troubled for a moment. He said, “You’ll…dirty the expensive kimono.”Shit! He was right. I might accidentally rub my lips against the kimono and stupid Isaac would be pissed with me.“Tissue,” I said, looking around the room for signs of one. But of course, there was none.I scrambled up, but Mason caught me again and asked, “Where are you going?”“To the bathroom to clean my face and take off this kimono,” I said.“Before that, can we talk?” he asked.I guessed he wanted to calm me down, which was so Mason, the peacemaker of the family.I obediently sat. “Okay.”He chuckled. “That’s our Haru.” He ruffled my hair, his hand warm on my head.“So you’re upset with Isaac?”I nodded. “I
AidenThe moment Aiden was roused from sleep, everything that had happened yesterday came rushing back, throwing him off-balance so damn early in the morning.Shit, but his head was starting to ache. A first in a long time; that was for sure.Noah was in love with Haru. That revelation still hadn’t fully sunk in yet.When had it started? Why had Noah been hiding it for so long?Then he thought how stupid his questions were. Hadn’t he himself been hiding his forbidden feelings for Haru for over two years?He frowned. Had Noah been in love with Haru longer than that, way before Aiden himself? He must admit Noah was damn good at hiding it. Even the nosy Tina hadn’t figured it out even though she had spent quite a bit of time with them.Aiden sat and shifted his gaze to the middle futon, which belonged to Noah. Obviously, it hadn’t been touched.Noah didn’t come to bed? And it was morning now. Was he still in the living room?Moving quietly so as not to disturb Connor, who was still aslee
AidenUncle Jin said, “Back in the Heian era, our ancestors supposedly formed a contract with the four guardians.”Aiden said, “The dragon, fox, snake, and cat.”He nodded. “In exchange, we must offer them one of our children. She must be beautiful, and beauty in the Heian era is nothing other than silky black hair, alabaster skin, and an exquisite face that has the power to bring men to their knees. They gave the girl the title of Shrine Maiden. Under the contract, the Shrine Maiden is trapped to live with them for all eternity, or so the legend goes.”Though the tale seemed far-fetched, Aiden was intrigued.Uncle Jin continued. “When the Shrine Maiden died, for she is human, after all, another would be born to replace her. Her soul and her power continue in another child’s body. It’s called reincarnation, Aiden-san.”Aiden said, “Are you implying that Haru is really a Shrine Maiden of your family?”Uncle Jin nodded. “A Shrine Maiden in our family brings wealth and prosperity. Do you
HaruWhen I opened my eyes, I saw Noah’s face close to mine and his gaze on me. Heat rushed to my cheeks as I realized I had fallen asleep in his arms and that we were still in the living room.I hastily moved away and out of his arms. I scratched my head as I said, chuckling in embarrassment, “Sorry. I fell asleep.”Noah said, “Why did you apologize?”“Because…” I thought for a bit. Why did I need to apologize to Noah?“Haru? Haru?” Isaac’s voice came from the hallway.I said, “I’m in here.”The door slid open, and Isaac came rushing in. “Jesus, man, don’t just disappear like that.” He caught my wrist and pulled me up. “Come on, let’s soak in the hot spring before breakfast.”I stumbled along behind him, leaving Noah alone in the living room. My mind was still on him when I was in the hot spring pool ten minutes later.Why did I end up sleeping in Noah’s arms last night? I sighed and rested my head on the side of the pool.“Haru? What’s wrong?” Isaac asked, looking at me, his face al
HaruUncle Jin took me into a room that I assumed was his office. It was a neat place, with a study desk and chair on one side and a sitting area on the other. There were even murals on the walls, too. One of them caught my eye—it was of a beautiful girl in layers of colorful kimonos and surrounding her were mystical creatures: a dragon, a fox, a snake, and a cat.“That’s beautiful, Uncle,” I said, nodding toward the mural. “It looks like it’s in the Heian era, the setting.”I noticed Uncle Jin smiling. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”I sat down and then said, “What did you want to talk to me about?”Uncle Jin leaned back against the seat and said, “I assume you know by now that Reo will be moving back here to Japan?”I nodded. “After he graduates from the university.”There were a few knocks at the door, which were followed by Higa-san’s voice saying, “I’ve brought them, sir.”“Good,” Uncle Jin said.The door opened, and I saw Aiden, Noah, Mason, Isaac, Reo, and even Connor entering the
AidenAiden relaxed as he inhaled the cool, fresh air into his lungs. It had been intense back there in the office, but of course, he was glad he had followed his gut instinct where Haru was concerned. It had been the right move, in his opinion, that he didn’t tell Haru of his job offer beforehand. In the end, everything had worked out fine. Of course, he still couldn’t believe that Haru had managed to pull that off. Damn, he was proud of the boy.“So?” Patricia’s voice came his way. “What did you want to talk to me about?”They were outside in the penthouse private garden, and as Patricia said, he had requested a meeting with her.Aiden asked, “What did you feel when we met again a few days ago?”Patricia chuckled. “Why do you ask me that? It’s obvious, isn’t it? I was surprised at first and then felt over the moon to be seeing you again.”“You’ve been flirting with me.” Aiden could be very blunt when his mind was made up and he knew what he wanted.Patricia chuckled again, uncomfort