will's Pov
They don't know where we are going as the car drives us out of the city. I wanted to take them on an adventure and get out of the city so we could all bond somewhere else. That's why I'm taking them to my family's cabin in the Windham mountain area close to the resort there, so we have access to the ski part of the resort.
It's a cabin that's been in my family for generations, and I've always loved going there during all the seasons because there is always something to do. It's also only two hours away once you're out of the worst traffic in Manhattan, so that's a plus. It's far enough that you're out of the city, but it's close enough that you can travel there frequently. I usually use the drive to work so I don't need to open my computer much while I'm there.
This weekend work is off-limits, we are just going to have fun as a family. I don't know if they have skied much, but they will get to do it now. There are also bunny slopes and instructors for Lilly that I've already booked.
All our staff has been left behind in New York, and I've had someone pick up groceries for our stay, but we don't have a cook there to cook for us. It's just going to be the three of us while security hangs back mostly out of sight but helps keep us safe.
"Where are we going willy? Is it far?" Lilly asks as she looks up from her tablet. "It's about two hours out of the city, and where we are going is a secret. It's a special place though that I love a lot."
"I love the place mommy takes us to that's far away on a plane. I've been to loads of places. But hot and cold" she grins at me. I know they have traveled a lot, the Maldives is a bit hit with Juliet I've learned. She also likes the Bahamas, Fiji, and Bora Bora. She likes the hot vacation spots, but I think her family also has a mountain cabin somewhere, or a lake cabin, I'm not totally sure. I just know that Juliet mentioned a cabin once.
She is silently working on her computer across from me with her earbuds in her ears. We are currently in the final stages of a deal to open a new four-season resort in both Japan and Fiji, so I'm pretty sure she is working on one of those projects. It's always fun working on a new destination for our guests and expanding our company. Now that the Hiltons have joined the Fitzgerald enterprises there are also companies under the umbrella that are not hotels. The Fitzgeralds also owns Barnes and Noble, a publishing firm for literature, a sports team, and a publishing house for movies. It's fun to have new things to learn about that's not just the hotel business.
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We arrive at the cabin after a two-hour drive. Lilly has been enthusiastically looking out the window for the last half hour as we have started to see snow. It's not December yet, we are late in November, but there is already snow here. That's the perk of being so high up in the mountains.
"Come on girls, let me show you around," I say while leading them into the house while security is unloading our luggage. It's a luxury cabin updated by Swaback partners a few years back after being in our family for a few decades. Now it's all up to the modern standard while it still has the cabin feel we were looking for. It's a two-story cabin with richly stained cedar cladding, Corten steel panels, roofing, and extensive stonework.
We walk in and see the open floor plan and I show them around. There is floor to ceiling glass walls along the living and dining area and it has five bedrooms divided on the two floors. "I love this cabin, especially after it was totally renovated a few years back," I say as we head into the master bedroom. It is floor to ceiling windows here too overlooking the forest, a fireplace, and oak flooring. Everything of the decor and colors were chosen to perfection by an interior designer and my mother.
We continue and I show them the little movie theatre and tell them about all the things to do here during all the seasons. There are ski slopes we can try now, golf courses in the summer, and tons of other activities we have access to.
"It's gorgeous. And I'm sure your mother had a hand in the decor" Juliet says as we settle in the living room while Lilly explores every inch of the cabin. "Yeah, my mom loves interior design. I've always wondered why she didn't dabble in working with it, but she always said it's just a hobby, so I didn't want to push her."
Looking at her I just know that my feelings for her are real. To what degree they are I don't know, it's certainly not love now but it's intense. Her beauty is only a sliver of the whole picture I like. I haven't found a part of her I don't like yet once I started looking. Sure she has flaws, but we all do, and that doesn't turn me off her. The real reason I brought them here is to spend some quality time with Juliet to see what we could be without directly asking her out on a date yet. I'm planning on it, but I just need to find the right moment.
Juliet's Pov
We get ready to hit the slopes in all our winter gear. And I'm slightly terrified. It's not that I have never skied before, but I'm not particularly talented at it. For the most part, I've vacationed in hot destinations or at my parents' lake house during the summer. Heat is my thing, but I don't mind trying out the winter activities here. I'm not a stranger to trying new things, even though I am stressed about not having planned anything about this trip. I'm a planner and write everything down in my planner as well as create all kinds of lists. But on this trip, I didn't pack a single one of the things in my suitcase or plan any of the activities. Everything has been left to will and it's totally out of my comfort zone.
"Why do I have to ski the little kid's hill?" Lilly sighs and I chuckle "Because you have never been skiing before, and it's the safest for you" I explain and she doesn't agree with that when I say it, but of course, she caves when Will suggests we all do it together.
"I've skied loads, and it's important to start with the easy stuff first so you don't get hurt. And you're too little for most of the other slops, it has age limits sometimes. But there is one slightly bigger than the bunny slopes you can go on if we see that you can handle it" he makes a deal with her to try the bunny slopes first and I tag along on my own skis. We decided against an instructor for her because Will is experienced with skiing and can help her, not to mention I trust him with her safety more than a stranger.
Together we take the magic carpet up the bunny slopes and will start to explain all the things Lilly needs to know. She looks at him with big doe eyes and takes in everything he says. I know she likes and admires him, which makes me even more comfortable around him. She is a good judge of character.
We start to ski down and it's harder than I remember, even though it's the easy slope. Lilly falls a few times but will helps her up again. I manage to barely stay on my feet but need some help from will from time to time. The smartass skis backward for most of it to keep an eye on us, he has done this a lot.
"You did so good" he high-fives Lilly before grinning at me with that cheeky smile of his. "You are too. I didn't know about your experience on skis'."
"I've mostly done cross-country skiing. But some of this too" I explain, and he nods. At our lake cabin, when we get snow, there aren't slopes there like this, so we have done cross-country skiing. And my we I mean me and my nannies while my parents worked inside. Sometimes other family members came with us, my grandpa and grandma skied with me or did other activities depending on the season. Even though my grandpa was busy with owning the company he always made time for me, unlike my parents.
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Last night we all crashed early, but tonight I sit up late with Will and a glass of wine as we talk. The fire is crackling, and the sun has already set over the mountains outside. I love this part of winter and fall, bundling under blankets in front of the fire. That's the downside of living in the city, even though I've always had a fireplace it's not the same as this.
"Thank you for taking us here, it's been perfect" We are heading back home tomorrow so we can be ready for work and school on Monday. I think all three of us needed this break from our usual lives, and it brought us closer together in a short amount of time. Complete cut off from the outside world we have just focused on the three of us. Our phones and computers are turned off, and security is ordered to take calls for us and only tell us if it's something that can't wait until we get home. Will planned the trip as a complete cut-off from our usual lives, and I loved it.
"No problem, we can come here as often as you want. It's nice to just take a break. Sometimes I even take time off from working in the office and take my work with me up here. The Wi-Fi is excellent so I can have both a cut off from city life and still get my work done" his parents don't use it as much anymore, not like when he was a kid. His father used to work inside while Will, Patrick and their mom were outside playing in the snow. And then their father would take a few hours off to join them. His childhood is so different than mine, they had a real family connection while mine was mostly related to learning about the family business.
"I've loved taking you here. Spending time with you two is my favorite thing these days" he says and looks down for a moment before meeting my gaze. We are on opposite chairs, but it feels like he is touching my bare skin.
This trip has changed a lot for me, I know I have feelings for him, and that they are romantic. The feelings are solidifying more and more, and it's scary to me. It's opening me up to be hurt again, and I don't know how I can handle that. I feel like we are getting too close but not close enough. It's a tug of war inside my mind and my flight instincts are on full alert.
"I've loved being here too. It's so calm and it's surprisingly been nice to just turn off all technology for a while. Unwind from the outside world and all that" I agree with him, spending time with the two of them has become one of my favorite things too. He has become one of my favorite people which terrifies me.
will's Pov
I know it's almost time to ask her out for real, but not today, she isn't ready, but soon. I'm not sure about her feelings for me, and how intense they are compared to mine, but there is something between us. There is no denying there is a connection that keeps growing.
I'm just scared that her fear of closeness, the result of her wounds from the past, will keep her from trying something with me. I only know bits and pieces, not the whole extent of what happened.
Saying something to her... I risk breaking whatever fragile thing we have going on right now, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut and keep trying to get to know her better. According to Selena Juliet is the type of person that needs time to create a connection with someone, and I need to give her that. I'm in this for the long run, not just for the chase.
"We can spend New Year's here if you want to avoid all the parties we will get invited to" I suggest, and she agrees. I've learned she isn't a fan of parties, so any chance to get out of them she takes. We have already attended one gala together, and I know it won't be the last, but if I can help her avoid the crowds I will. Not to mention it's a win for me since I get to spend some quality time with the two of them again. There will never be enough hours in the day to spend with them.