HARU

Noah took a deep sigh. "Fuck! That was stupid of me. Sorry, forget about what I just said." He was serious again now. "Why don't you wash your face? You look like you just got dumped."

I wiped my eyes. "Do I look that horrible?"

Noah said, "Not horrible. Just…" He grumbled something unpleasant under his breath. He pulled me up from the bed and nudged me toward the attached bathroom. "Let's just clean your face and make you look more presentable."

He watched me as I splashed water on my face. When I felt better and refreshed a few moments later, Noah said, "You look at least presentable now."

We were just heading out of the bedroom when we saw Aiden, and behind him was Patricia.

Aiden looked surprised at seeing me coming out of a bedroom with Noah. He asked, "What were you guys doing in there?"

I said, "I was just talking to Noah."

Aiden shifted his gaze to Noah, as if expecting him to confirm what I had just said. Then something odd nagged at me. It was this weird, intense vibe around us. What the hell was this?

Noah said, "What about you, Aiden? What have you been doing in the last hour?" He flicked his gaze to Patricia. "Talking to your ex-girlfriend, I see."

That got Aiden staring darkly at Noah. In fact, he looked pissed as hell. He said, "That's none of your business."

Noah stared at Aiden, which made me nervous. I had seen that stance between the two brothers before. They rarely did it, but when it happened, it was because they clashed and were about to have a fight.

Shit.

I said, "Aiden?"

He wasn't paying me any attention. He was staring squarely right back at Noah.

Noah smirked and said, "Then me and Haru having a private conversation is none of your business, too." With that, he turned on his heel and headed back into the living room.

Aiden finally turned to Patricia and said, "Sorry you had to see that."

The woman chuckled. "That's okay. It happens, doesn't it? Between brothers."

It was then I felt pissed as hell, too. Aiden wasn't even paying me any attention. He was more worried about that woman.

I silently walked past him toward the living room. Surprisingly enough, he didn't even stop me by calling out my name or anything, which made me sad.

"Haru!" Isaac's cheerful voice drew my attention to him the moment I was back in the living room. "We're going to get ourselves kimonos. The real thing, you know. It's awesome, right?"

I nodded, my face solemn. Isaac must have noticed because he asked, "Haru? You are feeling all right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm just tired, that's all."

"Well, you're still recovering, after all," he said.

We left the penthouse and hopped into the van fifteen minutes later. When we arrived at Aoi, the little town lined with old-fashioned Japanese houses, Higa-san parked the van at one end of the street and told us that the shop was at the other, closer to the Shinto shrine.

"I thought it'd be a nice little walk along the main streets since it's not snowing," he said.

So, we ended up taking a stroll. I must admit it was nice, with the streets and beautiful, old buildings covered in snow. But of course, I had wanted to stay behind, since I wanted to be alone, but Reo dragged me along with everyone else. I admit I was glad I was here now, since the place was awesome. I took the opportunity to take some photos on my smartphone to send to Jess, who'd no doubt be delighted.

The others were way ahead of us, and naturally, Aiden was walking with Patricia. I couldn't believe that woman had tagged along.

I slowly distanced myself from them, since I wanted nowhere near that woman. More importantly, I didn't want to overhear their conversation, which was probably about their happy days back when they had been dating. I also didn't want to see them flirting, which was so damn obvious.

Reo was with me and he asked, "What's wrong? You've been down since lunch."

"It's nothing," I said.

Reo sighed. "It's not nothing. I can tell when you're upset, Haru. You wear your emotion on your sleeves."

Was I that bad at hiding my emotions? I wondered.

"Tell me," he said. "Is it because of Patricia?"

I stayed silent.

"They're just strangers now, and if you're worried about that, then I suggest you shouldn't. You're way more beautiful than she is."

I raised my gaze to him. "I'm a man, Reo."

He chuckled. "So? You've got Aiden around your little finger like a bitch. He's head over heels in love with you, Shrine Maiden, and I doubt Patricia would be able to do anything, even if she tried."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Reo," I said. "They have a history together. They were in love."

"At one point, but not now," he said. "Now he's in love you. Stop being a brat and be a man already. You're his boyfriend, aren't you? Then act like one and stop moping around like you just got dumped."

Act like one? In Japan and in front of other people? Like I could do that.

Reo roughly wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me close to him. "Cheer up, won't you? Be a good boy and don't ruin this vacation for everyone."

I sighed. He was right. I shouldn't ruin this vacation for everyone by making them worry about me, like I had already done with Noah.

"Sorry," I said. "I was being inconsiderate."

He ruffled my hair fondly. "That's a good boy."

"Haru! Haru!" Isaac's voice came our way. "It's here. Come!"

Reo laughed. "Now go. Isaac is waiting for you."

I nodded, and once he released me from his mighty arms, I headed over to Isaac, who dragged me into the little shop.

It was warm inside, and had numerous displays of beautifully made kimonos. The shop owner came to greet us and Higa-san immediately went to give the elderly gentlemen the good news, that they'd be buying fourteen sets of kimonos, two each for the seven gentlemen.

The owner, naturally, was over the moon and quickly ushered his wife and a young assistant to help introduce us to their top range.

Despite the presence of Patricia, I had fun trying on kimonos, laughing with Isaac as we compared our favorites. I ended up choosing a light green and a blue one, since the pattern of the two thick fabrics was nice.

"I'm going to wear this one"—Isaac pointed to the dark brown kimono, one of the two he had chosen—"tomorrow night for the dinner party. What about you, Haru?"

I said, "I think I'll go for the green one."

Isaac nodded in agreement. "Yep, the green is nice."

We were both just pulling our jackets back on after finishing trying on the kimonos when Isaac said, "Aiden has been looking at that for a while, isn't he? Is he gonna buy that for her?"

I flicked my gaze to the other side of the shop to see Aiden, and of course Patricia, standing in front of the jewelry section. Apparently, they had a small selection here, beautifully crafted by the owner himself. It was supposedly his hobby to design and make unique jewelry, when he wasn't making kimonos.

Isaac shrugged. "Maybe he's buying something for Patricia since I heard she likes that sort of thing. I remember he bought her a few pieces back when they were dating." As if he had just realized he had said something he shouldn't have, he swore under his breath. "Shit."

I said, "I know they used to date back in high school."

Isaac chuckled. "Sorry, Haru," he said apologetically.

I shrugged, pretending that it didn't affect me. "Don't worry about it."

So, Aiden was buying Patricia jewelry. Despite not wanting to think about it or feel anything when hearing it, and seeing it with my own eyes, too, I couldn't help the fact that it did affect me. I felt sick to my stomach and my chest hurt, emotionally. Shit, but I needed to get over this. I needed to be an adult and not feel jealous when Aiden was with his female friends. No, strangers, right? Reo said they were strangers now.

Then again, I wasn't jealous when Aiden was with Tina, or Jess, or his female colleagues back at work, so what the hell?

Unable to stand watching them any further, I headed out the door once I received my kimonos, which were beautifully wrapped in a fancy box.