“I want it to be a surprise.”
“That’s sweet and all, but when I call Daddy and tell him I’m leaving for the weekend, he’s going to ask where I’m going. And I can’t say it’s a surprise, because that’s just weird.”
This girl is so damn aggravating sometimes. She worries too much about what other people think of her—especially her precious daddy.
“We’re going to Vermont,” I tell her.
“Oh really? I’ve never been! I’ve heard it’s so pretty. The mountains and the snow. Some of the towns really get into Christmas too.”
“Does that mean you’re definitely coming with me?”
“I want to.” She hesitates. “Let me call my father first and tell him. I’ll see what he says. He has to sign me out anyway so…”
That’s true. I’m eighteen and can sign myself out. Well, that and I’m a Lancaster.
When your name is on the school, they let you get away with a lot of stuff with no arguments.
“Call or text me when you’ve got an answer, okay? And hurry. I already ordered the plane,” I say.
She’s quiet for a moment. “We’re actually going to fly there?”
“I didn’t want to drive.”
“Oh my God, Crew.”
“Have you never flown private before?”
“No, never.”
“You’re in for the ride of your life then.”
In more ways than one, if I have anything to say about it.
THIRTY-FOUR
WREN
I have never lied to my parents before, until I met Crew. Now I’m sneaking around and hiding what I’m doing from my mom and dad, specifically my father, because I know he would be incredibly disappointed in me.
Worse, he’d flat out tell me no about this trip. Going away for the weekend with a boy, all alone?
Daddy would never let that happen.
Bringing up his contact info, I hit call and wait, holding the phone to my ear as I go to my closet and pull down the bag I use when I travel.
“Pumpkin, how are you?” His voice is warm and edged with faint concern, which makes me feel guilty.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“How was your day? How’s school going? Glad the semester is almost over?”
“Definitely.” I need to get this over with. “Um, I wanted to ask you a question.”
“What is it? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great,” I reassure him. He’s been worried about me ever since the divorce announcement—and retraction. “A friend of mine invited me to go on a trip this weekend.”
“A trip? The weekend before finals? Are you sure that’s a smart idea?”
No, it’s a terrible idea. And a wonderful one too.
“I’m ready for finals. I already completed one today,” I tell him. “I have an A in psychology.”
“Of course you do.” He says it as if he never had any doubt about my abilities. “Where are you going? Somewhere close?”
“Vermont.”
“Are you driving? Another storm is coming in, you know. It’ll be dangerous on the roads. And who are you going with?”
“Maggie.” I close my eyes, praying he believes me. “And we’re flying. Her family—has a plane.”
I have no idea if that’s actually true. Maggie’s family comes from money, but it might not be we-have-a-private-plane-type money.
“Oh. Well that should be safer if you’re flying out tonight. The storm is coming in tomorrow.”
“We’ll be careful, Daddy. We just want to get away for a bit. Relax before our intense finals week.”
“Are you ready? Do you need to study?”
“I’ll be okay,” I reassure him. “Really. Can I go?”
He’s quiet for a moment, which makes me nervous. I start pacing around my room, afraid of his answer.
“I normally would never allow something like this,” he starts, getting my hopes up. “But you’re almost eighteen. Almost done with high school. You deserve to have a little break. Especially since Veronica wasn’t able to find proper accommodations for your birthday trip.”
Oh. Veronica. His assistant. The trip she was supposed to be planning for me, even though I wanted to do it. “What do you mean, she wasn’t able to find proper accommodations?”
“Everything I wanted for you was sold out or too expensive.”
Since when does expense matter to my father? I know I sound like a spoiled brat, but he’s usually able to get me whatever I want, no matter the cost—save for that art piece I wanted so badly last year.
“It’s okay. This trip will be for my birthday,” I tell him.
“Then enjoy it, Pumpkin. We can’t wait to see you next weekend. Your mother has held off decorating the house. She wants to wait until you’re home.”
I frown. That doesn’t sound normal either. Mother usually starts decorating right after Thanksgiving. She’ll hire out a professional to come into the house and decorate with a theme in mind. It looks like something straight out of a magazine layout. Almost too beautiful to touch.
I’ve always sort of hated it.
“I’d love to help her,” I say, meaning every word. I can’t remember the last time we decorated for Christmas on our own. Do we actually even own any Christmas decorations anymore? Normally Mother pays for the decorating service, has the house featured in some sort of online publication for publicity, and then gives the decorations back when the holidays are over.
“Good. I’ll let her know. I’ll tell her about your trip too,” he says. “Have fun, Pumpkin. Be safe.”
The guilt is real. “I will. Thank you.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He ends the call, and I immediately text Crew.
Me: I can go.
My phone starts ringing and I answer quickly.
“Pack your bags fast, Birdy. We need to be at the airport by five-fifteen,” Crew explains.
Panic floods my veins. That means I don’t have a lot of time. “I can be ready by then, but I need to go so I can pack.”
“I’ll pick you up at your building in a half hour, okay?”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
We arrive at the airport, with the plane scheduled to take off by five-forty-five. The flight to Vermont is only about thirty minutes. From there, we have a twenty-five-minute drive to our hotel, which fills me with both excitement and dread.
Will we have separate beds? Knowing Crew, I think that’s doubtful.
Pretty sure I’m in over my head.
I enter the Gulfstream jet first, Crew right behind me, and we’re greeted by a male flight attendant who’s dressed in a black suit.
“Mr. Lancaster, good evening. Welcome. My name is Thomas and I’ll be serving you and your guest during your flight.” Thomas glances over at me, his gaze friendly. “Would you care for anything to drink?”
“I’d like a glass of champagne,” Crew answers Thomas.
“And you, Miss?” Thomas’s gaze meets mine.
“She’ll have the same,” Crew answers for me.
“Will do.” Thomas offers a little bow and leaves to go fix our drinks.
I turn to Crew. “Champagne?”
“Let’s celebrate.”
“We’re underage.”
“They’re not going to check our IDs. My family owns the plane. We can do whatever we want,” Crew says before he starts checking out the plane. “This is nice. I haven’t been on this one.”
“Do you fly private often?” He’s right. This plane is very nice. The leather seats are a rich cream, clustered in pairs facing each other with a small table in between them. The windows are oval shaped and large, and there’s a cabinet with a TV.
“Most of the time,” Crew answers, and I marvel at the casualness of his answer. What it must be like, to come from such wealth. My family has plenty of money, but nothing like this.
I think of what my father said on the phone earlier and I’m starting to think we don’t have as much money as I originally thought.
Thomas brings us our drinks and I take mine with a murmured thank you, settling into the seat closest to the window.
“We’ll be taking off shortly,” Thomas announces.
“Thank you, Thomas,” Crew tells him, settling into the seat beside me and taking a sip from his glass.
I follow his lead, taking a tinier sip, the bubbles tickling my throat. My nose. It tastes almost bitter, but at least it goes down relatively smooth.
“Ever drank champagne before?” Crew asks me.