Wanderlust Wedding
Rebecca Gallo
Copyright © 2019 by Rebecca Gallo
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For the voracious Flirt Club readers
Contents
Dear Reader
1. Ben
2. Milly
3. Ben
4. Milly
5. Ben
6. Milly
7. Ben
8. Milly
9. Ben
10. Milly
11. Ben
12. Milly
13. Ben
14. Milly
15. Milly
Epilogue
Wedding Season
Also by Rebecca Gallo
About the Author
Dear Reader
Ben and Milly first appear in Resolution: Wanderlust. This is a continuation of their story, six months after they meet. You can start the beginning of their journey here:
Ben
“Honey, I’m home,” I shout in my fakest American accent the moment I enter the flat.
Milly looks up from the kitchen table, perfectly bathed in the warm sunlight streaming in from the windows. You’re really turning on the charm, London, I think to myself. My gorgeous girl smiles as she scrambles from her seat before she launches herself at me, throwing her arms and legs around me. She assaults me with delicious kisses and for once, I’m the one stunned. What’s gotten into my American beauty?
“You’re in a mood,” I tell her once she’s given me time to breathe.
“You’re back early,” she says breathlessly. “And pretty soon, these moments will be gone. I want to make every one count.”
I set her down gently and try to hide my frown because Milly’s time in London is almost over. She’s already extended her visa once; if she wants to come back to London, she has to go back to America.
“I’ve got a surprise,” I announce, changing the subject. Or rather, not even addressing the subject. I hold up an envelope and wave it triumphantly. “I managed to snag two tickets to Ed Sheeran tonight.”
“Oh my god!” She screeches and plucks the envelope from my fingers. “This is amazing!”
What I don’t tell her is that getting the tickets was a lot easier than she probably realizes. Money will buy you anything and Milly doesn’t know I’m sitting on a fortune. She knows that I own the pub and a few flats but the family title and estate I inherited from my grandparents? Still a tightly kept secret. Telling her has been on the tip of my tongue the entire time we’ve been together, but she’s never questioned me at all about money and I never bothered to offer up the information.
Which is why when I finally do tell her, she might just leave London, and me, early.
Milly’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “You’re spoiling me rotten,” she laughs. “First an amazing weekend in Paris and a trip to Scotland and now Ed Sheeran? I might never leave.”
I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against me. “That’s the idea, love,” I growl against her skin. Just the thought of her leaving brings out my dormant alpha and my cock hardens instantly with fantasies of keeping her locked up forever in my flat. Milly is mine and I’ll be damned if I let her go.
The closer she gets to leaving, the more desperate I become to keep her.
She’s wearing the t-shirt that drives me fucking insane and a pair of knickers. This is often how she works and when I come home to see her sitting on the couch or at the table with her hair in a knot, her glasses perched on the tip of her nose and her arse on display in nothing but lace, my need for her skyrockets.
I push her slightly away and unbutton my trousers before pulling out my cock. I stroke it as I stalk my way toward her, pressing her against the wall. The envelope with the concert tickets flutters to the floor, forgotten now because her blue eyes are dark with heat. I love that she’s absolutely insatiable. She never denies me and when I press my finger to the front of her knickers, she’s soaked.
“You’re always ready for me,” I murmur as I press harder. She gasps and sucks her bottom lip in between her teeth, thrusting her tits forward. Milly has the most perfect breasts and I bend my head to suck one through the thin fabric of her shirt.
She digs her fingers into my hair, tugging and pulling as she becomes needier. She squirms with desire. “Ben,” she half moans, half purrs.
I drag my mouth away and look up at her. “What is it love?”
“I need you,” she begs. “Right now.”
“Happy to oblige,” I tell her with a smirk as I push my trousers down my thighs.
She turns to face the wall and braces herself with her hands before pushing her arse out toward me. I swipe her knickers to the side and press the head of my cock against her pussy. Milly wiggles her ass in desperation. Why waste another second? I plunge inside of her with a sharp breath. God, she feels like heaven.
My body presses against hers and I reach up to link our hands together. I thrust deep and slow inside of her, relishing the feeling of her warmth and tightness. My heart clenches as I watch our bodies connect over and over.
“Don’t leave,” I rasp out as my breaths become heavier and my balls start to tighten. This primal coupling sends me speeding to the edge and I’m going to explode deep inside of her.
She frees one of her hands and works it between her legs. She’s so greedy and ready to come; I can tell from the scarlet flush on her cheeks and the way her eyes are shut tightly. Her mouth is open but there’s no sound.
“That’s it,” I encourage her as I pound into her pussy harder. “Let yourself go, Milly.”
She whines and moans until at last, a scream followed by the trembling of her body. She starts to sag but I quickly hold her up because I’m not quite there yet.
“Stay with me,” I growl as I slam into her over and over, pushing her body into the wall until at last, my own body tenses and my cock explodes deep inside of her.
“Stay with me,” I whisper, leaning forward to kiss her exposed shoulder. I rest my forehead against her back, waiting for my heartbeat to return to normal but it doesn’t. It’s always thundering wildly in my chest because I’m scared shitless that the woman I love will leave and never come back. “Marry me.”
Milly
Ben’s proposal stuns me into silence. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of things I want to say to him but I’m speechless. Behind me, he pulls out and I’m left with a strange empty feeling. It’s more than just the physical loss; the emptiness is soul-deep.
Slowly, I turn to face Ben. He’s halfway to the kitchen and when he makes it to the counter and casts his gaze on me, I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
“Ben…” my voice trails off because I don’t really know what to say. I’m not surprised; in Paris, he gifted me an antique gold watch to symbolize his commitment. Since we returned, I’ve been expecting a proposal. But the reality is that we’ve only been together for six months. It’s too soon to get married, right?
“It’s okay, Milly,” he says, grabbing a towel. “Forget about it.”
He shuffles slowly back toward me and hands me the towel. His refusal to look me in the eye is an unmistakable sign I’ve messed things up.
My heart drops as I take the towel from him. And then he walks away.
After cleaning up, I find Ben in the bedroom, brooding. He’s sitting on the bed hunched over his laptop.
Even with a scowl, the man is handsome. Pure and simple. And the thick black glasses he’s wearing? They give him a distinguished look that makes me eager for round two.
But we need to have a very important conversation and I cannot be distracted by his Clark Kent meets mountain man good looks.
“Can we just skip the concert?” My voice is soft, and I stand in the doorway of the bedroom, waiting for him to invite me inside.
Ben looks up and his frown deepens. “What? You’ve been moaning about seeing Ed Sheeran for ages.”
“I know,” I say with a sigh. “But we really need to talk, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but it can wait until after the concert.”
I take a cautious step forward. “No, it can’t. Sure, we could sweep this issue under the rug temporarily, but I’d rather talk now.”
He closes the laptop and sets it on the bedside table next to “his” side of the bed. Then he pats the empty space beside him. I climb onto the bed and sit facing him, waiting for him to tell me what prompted him to propose spontaneously.
“That’s not how I planned on proposing, not in a million years. I totally fucked that up, but I can’t imagine being here without you. You’re a part of my life now and I don’t want to live without you in it.”
My heart hammers inside my chest and my belly clenches. His words are perfect, what every woman would want to hear. “Ben, there’s so much we don’t know about each other. Why is there a rush?”
“Because you’re bloody leaving!” He sits up straighter, reaches out for me and pins me to his chest. “Because we’ve got a lifetime to learn everything so why wait?”
His points are completely valid. Sooner than I’d like, I have to leave London and return to the States. But I can’t help but think some time apart might do us some good.
“I’ve never even met your parents, Ben!”
Beneath me, his entire body tenses and his arms slip away. I sit up and notice that all of the color has drained from Ben’s face and he looks uncomfortable.
“Milly, there’s something I need to tell you about my parents.”
A dozen different scenarios pop into my mind. Oh god, what if they’re both dead? What if he has a strained relationship with them?
“You can tell me anything. I hope you know that.”
“My father is the Earl of Strafford.”
That is totally unexpected! “So, I’m like dating royalty? Are you related to the Royal Family?” A million questions are on the tip of my tongue, but Ben holds up a hand to silence them all.
“I’m not even close to being royalty and no, not related to the Royal Family. The title has been in my family for generations. I’m sure if you really want to know, my father will tell you, but the story is quite boring.”
“Your accent changed!” I practically shout. “You sound more…posh!”
His hand covers his mouth. “Bugger!” He grunts and rolls his eyes. “It doesn’t really matter because I won’t inherit the title. It belongs to my brother.”
My delight in this news subsides because this is actually a huge secret Ben has kept from me for months.
“Is there anything else you’re keeping from me, your highness?” My voice is snotty even though I tried to keep it light.
Ben rolls his eyes. “No, and I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to get weird. It’s just a stupid title.”
“A stupid title that comes with privileges?”
The last few months flash in my memory. My wanderlust clouded my vision. I offered to share the costs of these trips, but Ben always insisted on paying for things. Stupidly, I never questioned him about money because he’s a successful businessman.
“Yes, Milly, there are loads of privileges. And money. But I don’t make it a habit of throwing around my family title to get my way.”
“Except with me? You used it to get tickets to Ed Sheeran and to whisk me away to Paris and Scotland.”
“Yes!” He bolts up from the bed and starts pacing the room. “I’ll do anything to keep you here with me, Milly. If that means spoiling you and making all of your dreams come true, then I’ll spend every cent of my family’s money. I’m fucking desperate.”
“You just need to be honest with me.”
He runs his hands through his dark hair and tugs at the strands. “Honesty has burned me in the past. As much as I want you to stay with me forever, I also have to protect myself too.”
My eyes narrow. “So, you don’t trust me?”
“When people find out about the money and the family title, they change. I trust you, Milly, but I didn’t want to be disappointed.”
“That’s really unfair.”
“I’m sorry,” he offers but his words sound hollow.
I shift on the bed and swing my legs over the edge before standing up. “There’s one dream that money can’t buy.”
“What’s that?”
“Unconditional love.”
Ben
Things with Milly are completely fucked. Right after our argument, she booked her return flight to the States. Weeks in advance.
“This is so unfair,” I tell her as she packs her suitcases. “You haven’t even given me the chance to make things right between us.”
She stops, her chestnut brown locks swinging, and purses her lips. “And you never gave me the chance to accept you for who you really are!”
“Stop being so bloody stubborn!” I roar, reaching for the suitcase closest to me. I flip it open and start taking out the clothes she just spent hours neatly folding. “Just give me a fucking chance!”
Milly stomps her way to me and snatches the clothing from my hands and shoves them back into the suitcase. “You had all the chances in the world!”
All I want to do is pick her up, hold her tight and kiss some sense into her. But being a barbarian never solved anything.
“Fine, Milly. Go on and run away.” I brush past her and leave the bedroom. “Coward.”
I grab my jacket off the back of a chair and leave the flat. I have absolutely no idea where I’m headed but there’s no point in staying only to keep arguing with her. And I couldn’t keep watching her pack. A hand reflexively tugs at my shirt, right above my heart. She might have packed it with her clothes and knickers because it belongs to her now, whether she wants it or not.
My feet keep going as I wander aimlessly through my neighborhood. I feel restless because there’s only one place I want to be – with her. Why is it so hard for her to see that we belong together? Fate brought us together the moment she walked into my pub.
My mobile rings, distracting me from my thoughts, and I reach for it in my pocket, hopeful Milly is calling. But it’s my stupid brother Alistair, the one who’ll inherit the bloody title.
“Hello Al,” I answer coolly.
“Benjamin,” he replies tersely. “Just calling to see if you’re coming up for mum and dad’s anniversary party this weekend.”
“Shit! I completely forgot about that,” I admit. “Sorry, Al. Of course, I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. And can I finally get your approval on expanding the estate?”
I grit my teeth. “Absolutely not.” Alistair and I inherited our family’s estate, Waterstone Hall, from our grandparents but any improvements or expansions need approval from both of us. The land Alistair wants to purchase would expand the lodge park on the estate, but it would also mean demolishing the neighboring property.
“Ben, this is for the best. I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn.”
“Because it means George will lose his home.”
“Yes, and he can buy another one. A much, much bigger one.”
“George has worked for our family for years. He doesn’t deserve what you’re proposing.”
Alistair scoffs. “God, you’re such a bore. We’ll discuss it this weekend.”
The call ends just as abruptly as it began but that’s typical Alistair. He’s all business, very little pleasure. When he
calls, there’s a reason and he gets straight to the point. He doesn’t do idle chit-chat.
But now I have a plan.
I rush back to the apartment and find Milly struggling to close a suitcase only to have it burst back open, knocking her on her arse.
“Need help?” I offer.
“No,” she pouts. “It’s all of these damn clothes you bought me.”
Regretfully, the hope I felt when I walked through the door is gone. Instead, I’m angry. “Well then don’t take them with you. I’ll just donate them all to the charity shop ‘round the corner.”
I walk forward and grab an armful of clothes. “Wait,” Milly says. She tugs something from the pile, and I turn slightly to see her holding a dark blue trench coat. “Not this one. I really do love this one.”
I roll my eyes and let the clothes drop to the floor. “This is so stupid Milly. I hate fighting with you even more than I hate seeing you get ready to leave.”
She fidgets with the coat in her hand. Her eyes are downcast and her bottom lip juts out in a pout I want to kiss away. “I hate fighting too but it still doesn’t change the fact you hid a huge part of yourself from me for months!”
“I’m sorry Milly. Truly, I am.” Suddenly, I remember the reason why I rushed back to the flat. “How do you feel about meeting my parents this weekend?”
I explain all about the anniversary party and how I forgot until Alistair reminded me. When I finish, I’m not sure if she’s even angrier or if this is the start to mending our relationship.
“Are you sure about this,” she asks with narrowed eyes.
“Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I want you to meet them?”
Wanderlust Wedding (Wedding Season Series) Page 1