Page 41 of Broken Princess

I’d hoped to go alone, but he wasn’t dropping this idea of me having a travel buddy, and asking him to join me was the only way I could think of to get him off my back.

At least this way, I could keep an eye on him. Make sure he didn’t accidentally let it slip to my mother that I was heading up to Lilith Hall.

“Hm. That could be nice, I suppose. We’ve never taken a trip together, have we?” Dad said, brows furrowing. “Just the two of us, I mean.”

“No, we haven’t.”

“All right. How about we go next week?”

“I was actually planning on going tonight after I have a quick catch-up with Mom.”

“Tonight?” He frowned. “It’s already nine o’clock. How are we supposed to look at the place when everything is pitch black and freezing?”

“I was thinking we could fly up there, spend the night to get a feel for the rooms in the resort, and then spend the day tomorrow checking out the rest.”

He hesitated for a moment, forehead creasing. Then he shook his head. “That won’t be possible. I just remembered I have an early breakfast meeting tomorrow, so there’s no way I can leave Wonderland tonight.”

I let out a short sigh as I rubbed the back of my neck. I wanted to go up to Lilith Hall as soon as possible, but the inclusion of my father in the scheme had thrown a real spanner in the works.

I should’ve just gone there without telling him anything. It would’ve made life ten times easier.

Then again, I knew Mom wasn’t heading back up there till tomorrow afternoon. That meant Willow would probably be safe until then, and that gave me some breathing room.

“What if we leave right after your meeting?” I asked.

He looked down at the paperwork strewn over his desk as he mulled it over. “Hm. That could work,” he finally said.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Great.”

“You know, this might actually be fun. I could do with a break from all of these work headaches,” he said, leaning forward with his hands clasped on the desk. “But what will we tell your mother?”

“If she asks where we’re going, we’ll just tell her we decided to take a trip to check out a rival hotel.”

“All right.” His lips curled up in a faint smile. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

* * *

By nine o’clock thenext morning, we were on the road.

Although I’d originally planned on taking one of the helicopters, my father insisted on driving so that it would be easier for us to explore every part of the Lilith Hall estate. It was hard to argue with that. The property was huge, and Willow could be anywhere on it.

I didn’t talk much on the drive. I was exhausted from the lack of sleep over the last four days, and my head was pounding constantly, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.

“What’s wrong with you?” Dad finally asked, glancing over at me as we pulled onto a winding road somewhere near the Maryland panhandle.

“Nothing.”

He grunted. “You seem like you’re in a foul mood.”

“I’m fine. I just miss Willow.”

“Wait until you’re actually married,” he said with a scoff. “You’ll be begging for time away from her then.”

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and gave him a tight smile. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“They all say that at the start,” he muttered. “Oh, shit, I think that was the turnoff.”

The tires squealed as he slammed on the brakes and started reversing. A few seconds later, a sign came into view. Lilith Hall Winery & Resort.