7. Aria
7
ARIA
“ H eads up! We’ll be landing soon. Here you go.” Valentina tapped on her phone before shining her proud smile on all of us. “Your itineraries have been delivered to your devices.”
Like magic, my phone buzzed, and I reached for it the way everybody else reached for theirs. She was nothing if not organized and maybe a little bossy, not that I minded. When it came time to get eight people together for a three-day weekend, a little organization came in handy, especially this group, with their strong personalities and vastly different opinions on just about everything. Only the fact that we had known each other our entire lives made it possible for us to get along sometimes. We had learned to accept each other’s personality quirks.
Like Lucian, who poured himself a healthy slug of vodka before topping it off with a minuscule amount of Bloody Mary mix. He then opened the cap on a bottle of Tabasco and added a few extra shakes to his drink. “Whatever happened to taking it easy on a weekend off?” he teased Valentina, who stuck her tongue out at him.
“You might want to slow down on those,” Evan advised from his seat, eyeing Lucian. “I thought you said you wanted to hit the slopes first thing.”
“And look.” Colton tapped his phone and held it up for all to see. “Our amazing Valentina even scheduled in time for us to ski this morning.”
“Shove it up your ass, Colton,” she muttered, which filled the jet with laughter. “These are suggestions. Stay in bed all weekend if that’s what you have in mind. Those who want to ski will head up the road to the lodge.”
“I know that’s what I’ll be doing,” I announced. I could hardly wait. When it came to most things, I used caution. I didn’t like to drive fast and never swam out into deep water at the beach. I was not a daredevil. Maybe that was what made skiing such a thrill—the rush, speed, and sense of taming the laws of physics.
“Some of us were looking forward to spending a little time off the slopes.” Sienna gave me a meaningful look, cuddling up next to Noah.
I wasn’t jealous. That much I knew for sure. There was nothing I wanted more for the people I loved than their happiness, and Sienna was clearly beyond happy with Noah. Meanwhile, he walked around looking like a man who had accidentally hit the lottery. I was glad for them. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t have liked somebody to cuddle with.
“Feel free to join us, but you don’t have to,” Valentina announced with a roll of her eyes. “Honestly. It’s like trying to herd cats.”
Rose approached her from behind and threw her arms around my sister’s neck. “We appreciate you,” she assured her, placing a big, smacking kiss against her cheek. “Thank you for putting this together.” She then shot the rest of the jet a very meaningful sort of look, like a warning.
“Of course,” Noah quickly agreed. “This was your idea, and it was a damn good one. Thank you, Valentina,” he added in an almost sickly sweet voice.
“Fuck off,” she retorted, laughing. There was no hanging out with this group of guys without developing a thick skin. It was pretty much necessary.
I settled back in my seat, closing my eyes and exhaling slowly. Was it possible to consciously release tension? I was sure as hell trying my best. I had been carrying way too much of it in my shoulders and neck lately.
If I felt like looking back at the timeline and piecing things together, which I definitely did not, I would come to a pretty obvious conclusion. I had woken up with a tension headache the day after dinner with Miles, and two days later, it still slightly throbbed. I hated thinking about him while we were so far from the city, minutes away from landing on the private airstrip ten miles from the cabin that had been in our family since we were around eight years old. The cabin in Vail owned by Colton’s parents was where we used to spend Christmas, but this cabin was perfect for a quick weekend getaway. Homier too.
I craved the clean air and the sting of the wind on my cheeks. As much as I loved living in Manhattan, there were times when a girl needed to be able to hear herself think.
On landing, Valentina peered through the window closest to her chair. “Awesome. They’re already waiting.” She pointed to the four black SUVs she had rented for the weekend. “I figured couples could have their own car. Evan and Lucian, you’ll be sharing, and I’ll share with Aria. Just to get us back and forth to the lodge or if we want to drive down to the village from the cabin.”
“You thought of everything.” Evan sounded appreciative without a hint of snark, rubbing Valentina’s shoulder on the way past once we began to disembark. “We all owe you one.”
“Please,” my sister laughed, gathering her things before pulling on her coat. “If I started counting all the favors I’m owed, I would never stop.”
The first breath of crystal clear, cold air upon stepping out onto the staircase was heavenly. I filled my lungs and smiled, tipping my head back to soak in the brilliant sunshine before heading to one of the vehicles. The jet crew started unloading our bags while Colton and Noah advised them which vehicles to load things into. Not that it mattered since we were all going to the same place. They needed to feel like they were an important part of the trip.
The purring of an engine caught my attention halfway across the tarmac. The sound got louder as the plane approached. It was a small plane, one of those single-engine jobs. Sienna and Rose stopped to watch, too, the three of us following the plane’s approach until it touched down at the other end of the strip and began rolling our way.
It was only when the window to the pilot’s left opened, and a familiar face appeared that my insides went cold, and my stomach dropped like a rock. Miles. What the hell was this? He waved before shutting down the plane, leaving nothing but silence once the propeller went still.
A fucking pilot… damn, that’s hot.
“What the hell is he doing here?” I whispered to my sister, who seemed unbothered.
“What?” She turned, a hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. “Oh. I don’t know. I guess one of the guys asked him to come along.”
A likely story. She had planned every aspect of this trip, and I was supposed to believe she was cool with an unexpected guest? “Are you serious?” I whispered.
Who invited him?
Who was I going to have to kill?
“What’s the problem? I thought you two were so friendly now.” I was glad for my sunglasses since they concealed how I rolled my eyes at her remark. She would not let me live it down. It was a simple hug. I felt sorry for him. He lost his mom. He was obviously feeling sad.
He’d managed to humanize himself. And all because I responded to him like a human being, it meant I deserved ridiculed.
“There he is!” Jogging down the stairs from the jet, Lucian raised a hand in Miles’s direction. Evan followed close behind him with the two of them helping unload baggage from the small plane.
“I should’ve known,” I muttered, reminding myself to smack their heads together the first time I got the chance. They were formidable men. They had their shit together. All it took was a new friend with flashy toys to turn them into middle schoolers. “And they deliberately didn’t say anything the whole way up here because they knew I’d be annoyed.”
“Lighten up,” Valentina advised once our bags were loaded into the rear of the SUV. “You know there’s plenty of room in the cabin for all of us. Don’t ruin your weekend by being so negative.”
“I am not—” I cut myself off because, in all honesty, I was being negative. “I don’t like surprises,” I amended, which was the truth.
“Point taken. Now, let’s remember we’re adults, and we came up here to have a good time.” She slapped my ass on the way past, opening the driver’s side door and hopping behind the wheel. “Oh, and I’m driving.”
As we pulled away, Miles and I exchanged a glance. He was loading his things into the SUV Lucian and Evan would be using. The windows were tinted, so there was no reason for him to know I was looking at him. Yet, for some reason, his smile widened as he watched us pass.
I stewed silently the entire way to the cabin. To think I had been looking forward to this weekend. I could see the rest of our time in Vermont spread out in front of me. Instead of relaxing and enjoying myself with my friends, I would always have one eye on him. I couldn’t explain it. I had this driving need to watch him like a hawk. He hadn’t done anything openly untrustworthy or harmful to this point. As much as Valentina’s snarky comments set my teeth on edge, she was right. We had seemed to cross a threshold together back at the apartment a few days ago.
Why couldn’t I get rid of the nagging feeling in the back of my mind? It didn’t matter how I tried to push it aside and forget it or how many times I told myself to get along with him for Dad’s sake. It meant so much that we got along and became a family.
None of that was enough to cool off the rush of boiling heat that bubbled up in me like lava about to explode from a volcano when I realized Miles was inside that little plane. Nothing about my reaction made sense on the surface. Why couldn’t I get over my initial feelings and move on? Life would be so much easier if I could.
Before long, the cabin loomed up ahead. “There she is,” Valentina announced. Her voice was light and happy. She didn’t carry the burden of mixed feelings the way I did. She could look at our family cabin and see nothing but happy memories while I asked myself what gave Miles the right to think he could swoop in and be part of our new memories. I was acting no better than a spoiled brat, wasn’t I? Maybe a few runs down the slopes would clear my head. It always did.
I was glad to be one of the first to arrive. It gave me the chance to step inside and absorb the place in peace. The two-story main room spread out almost immediately when I stepped through the front door. The fireplace and its towering chimney were flanked by a pair of enormous windows overlooking the Green Mountains in the near distance. Snow-frosted trees against a brilliant blue sky made my heart swell. I couldn’t explain the connection to this cabin. I could only drink in the rich, warm woods and smooth stones comprising the hearth and the chimney above it. I ran my hands over them the way I had so many times before.
“Kitchen’s stocked!” Valentina announced, heading straight for it. That was one of the more recent renovations, with my Aunt Lourde redesigning the room to update it considerably. The forest green cabinets and copper fixtures meshed well with the earthy color scheme.
“The liquor cabinet too,” I confirmed, checking. We had used the same caretaking service for years, and they had never been anything less than accommodating when it came to making sure we had everything we needed no matter how many people would be staying.
“Where are you going?” Valentina called out once I started up the wide, wooden staircase with a bag slung over my shoulder and a wheeled suitcase in one hand.
“Where do you think?’ I asked as I climbed. “I’m going to my room to unpack.”
“What’s your hurry? At least wait until everybody gets here.”
“Everybody knows their way around by now. I don’t need to give a tour.” And I didn't need to run into Miles. Not yet. I wasn’t prepared to spend the weekend with him. I didn’t want him to take the moment we had a few nights ago and make more out of it than there was. I didn’t want him acting all weird because I’d let him hug me.
I especially didn’t want to remember how nice that brief hug had felt. And how disappointed I’d been when Valentina interrupted us. She had barely stopped giving me shit about it, and now I would have to be in Miles’s presence without the distraction of work to separate us. She would be watching closely. It was one of those twin things. I knew exactly how she thought.
When I started emptying my suitcase into the dresser, voices overlapped downstairs. As bossy as ever, Valentina directed everybody to their rooms, their heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs barely drowning out the laughter and excited chatter.
There was one distinctive voice I hadn’t heard yet that stuck out from the rest. Maybe he was looking around, getting a feel for the place. Would it be hopelessly stupid to hang out in here until I was sure he had reached his room? If I had to ask the question, it meant I already knew the answer. I wouldn’t be able to avoid him all weekend.
The most obvious answer was also the most logical. Pulling my new navy blue snowsuit from my duffel bag, I stripped off my turtleneck and jeans. We were supposed to go skiing according to Valentina’s itinerary. It would give me an excuse to get out of here and, hopefully, away from somebody who was starting to bring to mind gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. I couldn’t get rid of him, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to.
Things had quieted down considerably by the time I finished suiting up, adding a pair of black, faux fur-lined boots to the outfit before cinching the belt around my waist. Armed with my gloves and goggles, I stepped out of the room, hoping to sneak out to the lodge a couple of miles down the road until I was noticed.
Since when did my luck go that well?
He was the only one down there, standing in the center of the main room. His hands were clasped behind his back while he stared at the fireplace, sunlight playing off his blond curls. His back was to me as I observed him from the open passage running in front of four of the cabin’s eight bedrooms and overlooking the main room. Stepping up to the railing running along its length, I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do next.
He took a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling before he released a sigh. All at once, he turned so suddenly I didn’t have time to react when he found me standing there. Somehow, he didn’t look surprised.
He did, however, look annoyed. Maybe even angry. Brows drawn together, his lips pulled into a tight line. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth from where I stood so many feet above him. For a second there, he was the same guy I first noticed at the spin studio. The one who had followed me around New York without a word, silently observing, maybe judging.
It faded in a blink like somebody dragging an eraser across a whiteboard to wipe it clean. I hadn’t imagined it. I needed to keep the memory close to the forefront.
“I didn’t imagine you were a ski freak,” he called out, nearing the stairs. There was something almost menacing in his footfalls. I was making it up, I had to be. He wasn’t a threat to me.
“Some say freak, some say enthusiast. I’ve been looking forward to getting out there for weeks.”
I lifted my chin once he reached the top of the stairs, looking ridiculously dashing in a knee-length black coat with a charcoal gray turtleneck underneath. He could have been posing for a magazine spread when he leaned against the railing, looking me up and down.
“Do you prefer the bunny slopes?” he taunted with a smirk, slowly taking in every inch of my suit. Damn the heat that spread through me everywhere his gaze landed. This wasn’t that lava I was thinking of earlier, something that would decimate everything in its path. Yet somehow, it felt more dangerous.
“I left them behind years ago. How about you?” Folding my arms, I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you're a champion skier as well as a licensed pilot.”
“No championships as of yet,” he allowed, lifting a shoulder. “But you never know. I was about to change up and hit the slopes with the guys myself. We can go together. I’ll only be a minute.” Whistling, he passed on the way to his room which was further down the hall, something that came as a relief.
Not that I thought he would try to sneak into my room during the night. Why would my thoughts stray in that direction?
I hardened my resolve a little more with every heavy step I took down to the first floor. So Evan and Lucian had invited him skiing too. I made a mental note to thank them personally for being so welcoming and not at all a complete thorn in my side.