Page 19 of Sinful Desires

“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, Iwasbeing 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 himto 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 steppedthrough 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 aboutit, 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.

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