A lump forms in my throat and tears sting my eyes as I look at the sincerity oozing from his. He really means that. My anxiety settles a little the longer I stare at him.
“Thank you,” I whisper around the lump, but it hardly seems enough for what he’s offering.
“Now get dressed. We’ve got a wedding to relive.”
Running my hand over the ivory satin of the wedding dress I apparently picked for last night, tiny pieces of what happened start to surface. The memory of suggesting we get married is there along with standing at a desk—I guess in the chapel—and then waiting. As happy as I am that little bits seem to be becoming clearer, it’s nothing like being able to remember every single part of saying ‘I do’ to the incredible man who’s currently watching me like I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
The gown is really simple, exactly like something I would choose sober, but the weight of the fabric tells me it’s anything but a cheap last-minute, off the rack number.
“You’re going to wear that again for me one day,” I hear from over my shoulder. Turning to look at him, I notice his eyes are once again dark and full of heat. “I’ll have another chance to peel that from your body like I intended to last night.”
Heat pools in my core at the dominance in his tone. My sudden onslaught of lust is almost enough to stop me feeling guilty about ruining our wedding night—almost.
“You deserve better than a Vegas wedding anyway. Once we’re settled in London you can plan a proper one. That might also go some way to getting my mum and sister to like me again.”
Thoughts of family make my breathing falter. How the hell am I going to tell my parents that not only am I moving to London with a man I’ve basically just met, but that I’ve also married him? Without them? Averting my gaze from Harrison, I turn back sadly towards my dress. Everything that’s already happened, as well as what my life is about to become, suddenly seems like a giant weight on my shoulders.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” The heat of his body is instantly at my back.
Squaring my shoulders and telling myself not to allow them to ruin this for me, I push the thought aside and focus on the man in front of me. “Nothing.” He raises an eyebrow. “Okay, well…nothing that can’t be worried about later.” My words seem to pacify him and after pulling me in for a hug, he tells me to get dressed so we can revisit last night.
I stand and look between my gorgeous wedding gown and my ratty second hand little black dress and let out a sigh. “Can we go to my place so I can get some fresh clothes first?”
“We can go shopping if you want. Get you some new ones.”
“No, that’s not necessary. Home is fine.”
“You’re going to have to let me buy you stuff eventually, you know?”
I mumble my agreement but the second his hands land on my shoulders and he looks down into my eyes, I know I’ve made a mistake. “I married you last night because I want you by my side. I want to live a life with you, Summer, and that means you’re going to have to accept that my money comes with me. I’ve got more than enough to buy you a new wardrobe.”
“I don’t want your money,” I whisper, feeling ridiculous that I’m making such a big deal out of this. I was brought up in a pretty poor family and taught that you work for every penny you have. Accepting anything from him, whether he’s worked for it or not, just doesn’t sit right with me. Wife or not.
“Well, that’s just tough, because half of everything I have is now yours,” he says. “Now put that on and we’ll go and get you some clothes. You might as well pack a case while you’re there.”
“A case? Why?”
“We’re going on honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?”
“Isn’t that what most people do after getting married?”
“I guess, but most people don’t do it quite like this.”
He shrugs. “Potato, potahto. It doesn’t matter how we did it, the fact is, we did, and we’re going to celebrate. I’m not ready to share you with anyone else yet.”
I was kind of expecting to get on a plane back to London and be thrust into whatever kind of life he lives there, so the thought of spending a little alone time with him has excitement licking at my insides. I’ve already got enough to think about without worrying about imminently meeting my in-laws.
After dragging my black dress over my head, I remember why I can’t find any underwear. The image of him ripping them off me in the entryway to this suite last night slams into me.
“I love it when you blush.” I didn’t realize he was watching me from the doorway but his words only make my cheeks blaze more. “What are you thinking about?”
“Did I marry you commando?”
Harrison’s response is to burst out laughing. “No, beautiful. It might have been a shotgun Vegas wedding but we did have some class. Check the drawer behind you.”
Turning away from him and pulling at the chrome handle, I suck in a breath when I stare down at the stunning ivory lace basque and thong set neatly folded in the drawer. “It’s beautiful,” I whisper. I’ve never worn anything like that before.
“Only when it was on you.” His heat warms my back as his arms wrap around my waist. “You can fight with me all you want about how I spend my money, but the one thing you definitely get no say in is your underwear.”
“Is that right?” I ask, spinning in his arms until I’m pressed up against his chest. “Got a thing for fancy lingerie have you, Mr. Abbot?”
“I have a thing for you in fancy lingerie, Mrs. Abbot.” Goosebumps prick my skin at the use of my married name. Summer Abbot does have quite a good ring to it. “Now, less talk of you in lingerie please, or we’ll never get out of this room.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I ask with a wink as I pull away from his arms.
“It’s funny…I’m sure the girl I married was shy.” The playful smile on his face only lightens my mood.
“That reminds me,” I say as I slip my feet into my shoes. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-one.”
“And a few.”
“Cheeky.” Grabbing my hand he pulls me from the suite and into the elevator. He presses the button for the ground floor before backing me up against the wall.
“Sooo?”
Dropping his head to my neck, he kisses the sensitive skin below my ear. “Thirty-two,” he whispers, so quietly I don’t think he really wanted me to hear.
“HOW OLD?!” I squeal, pushing at his shoulders so he has no choice but to pull back and look at me. I want to look shocked but the smile twitching at the corners of my lips gives me away. “Because I was thinking more like forty.”
His chin drops open in shock. “You cheeky little—” whatever he was going to say is cut off when the elevator doors open and another couple walks in. He moves to stand next to me, and I don’t expect his fingers to trail up the inside of my thigh. My loud intake of breath ensures that the other couple looks over. I fight to keep the blush from my cheeks but I can’t, and the heat rises.
When he finds my clit, he presses a finger against it, making me tremble with need. “I may be too old for you, but I’m not that old.”
“I…I was…j…joking,” I stutter as he slowly starts to circle his finger against me.
Thankfully, the elevator dings to announce our arrival. Harrison removes his hand as the other couple walks out. I breathe a sigh of relief because another few seconds and what he was doing to me would have been no secret.
Harrison notices me glance over to the LBD as we walk past the entrance.
“Did you want to go in? Collect anything, say goodbye to anyone?”
I come to a stop and stare at the purple lights as my short time spent working in there flashes through my mind. I can’t say I really enjoyed my time there. It was…an experience. But suddenly leaving the way I am has my palms a little sweaty. This is not how I expected things to go. I had visions of having money sat in my bank account and a college acceptance letter in han
d as I told Max to screw his sleazy job. My hands tremble with uncertainty, and I shake them out to try to push it away. “No, I really don’t want to.”
“You were never meant for that place, beautiful. But thank god you were there because I may not have found you otherwise.” His words do sweeten my memories of my many long night shifts being leered at by drunk men a little.
“I’m pretty sure I was always destined to crash into you one day.” He doesn’t respond but I can tell by his smile that he agrees with me.
With one last look at the place I spent so many hours, I hold my head high and walk out the front of the hotel with my hand firmly where it should be—entwined with Harrison’s.
Harrison
“So where are we going?” Summer asks as I sit on her bed and watch her pack. In reality, she doesn’t need any of it. She thinks I was awake watching her sleep this morning, which is partly true, but mostly I was booking us the most luxurious honeymoon I could find. We have what looks like the most incredible private villa waiting for us. I’ve already organised for everything we’ll need for our week’s stay to be there. I’m just humouring Summer’s need for me not to spend money on her right now by allowing her to pack her own suitcase.
“It’s a surprise.”
She narrows her eyes at me in frustration. “Is it abroad?”
“It is,” I confirm.
“What if I don’t have a passport?”
“You’re coming to London; I already know you have a passport.” I know all the details on it as well, seeing as Ireland came up trumps this morning when I needed them to book our flights. Sticking her tongue out at me, she turns back to her case. “Do that again and I’ll make it mine,” I warn, my trousers getting tight at the thought alone.
“Oh yeah?” She puts her hands on her hips before doing it again. I’m off the bed in seconds and she lets out a little shriek as I force her into the wall.
“I don’t joke, Summer,” I say before crashing our lips together. I kiss her until she’s panting, groaning for more. Then I step away. “Come on, we’re running out of time.” Rearranging myself as I walk off, I listen to her complain behind me about being a tease. I can’t help but smile. I can see she’s worried about what’s to come, but she doesn’t need to be. I have every intention of giving her everything she could need, providing a life she’s always dreamt of. I’m hoping this honeymoon will show her just how good things can be.
Before returning to the hotel to grab the few things I have, I instruct the taxi driver to head to the chapel.
Was getting married last night when I knew she was drunk wrong? Probably. But the second the words fell from her mouth it was all I could think about—making her mine, giving her my name, ensuring she’d leave with me this time. I’d sworn off the possibility of doing all this again after the fall out from my last relationship, but there’s something about Summer. I’m incapable of staying away from her. Our time apart was hell for me. Knowing she’s now mine gives me more contentment than I think I’ve ever felt in my life. She’s the piece of me that’s been missing.
I stand and watch, totally enthralled, as she spins around in the room where we said our vows to each other last night. She’s wearing the dress she wore the night we went out for dinner and she looks just as beautiful as she did in her wedding gown.
“Maybe I should have worn my dress,” she says with a laugh as she walks up the aisle.
“Too late, it’s getting shipped back to the UK.”
“Now?” Her face drops.
“Right now. It’ll be there for when we get back.” Her eyes flicker with something I can’t read, but she soon covers it with a smile.
“Come on, let’s go eat—and then we’ve got a flight to catch.”
“Are you really not going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope. But I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
I can see all the questions building up behind Summer’s eyes every time she looks at me and the dread in my stomach only increases as I think about having to tell her the truth about my life. I should have told her before I allowed our relationship to get this far, but my fear that it would scare her off was too high. Not that I really think a couple of wedding bands will be enough to keep her when she does find out. I just wish I knew how to tell her that I have a past that will inevitably affect our future.
“I probably should have mentioned that I’ve never flown before,” Summer whispers as I walk her into the business lounge at McCarran International. Her excitement from finding out we’re going to be spending a week in Greece has started depleting as her nerves grow.
“You’ve never flown?”
“No. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up so we didn’t really have holidays. I only have a passport because I’ve always dreamt of going to Europe one day.”
My heart hurts for her that she hasn’t experienced this before. I know I’ve lived a privileged life thanks to our family business, and I’m grateful for everything I’ve had. Excitement tingles in my stomach as I think about all the things I get to experience for the first time with Summer, all the things I can introduce her to.
“What’s that smile for?” she asks as I pull her over to the floor to ceiling windows and drop down onto the giant leather sofa.
“Just thinking about everything I have to show you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I know you’re not interested in my money, but that doesn’t mean your life’s not about to change.”
She nods, deep in thought, before focusing her attention out of the window. “They’re much bigger in real life. How do they stay in the sky?” she asks, changing the subject.
“No idea,” I answer honestly, turning to her. One glance and it’s clear she’s more apprehensive about her first flight and her future than she’s trying to let on.
“Summer, are you scared?”
“No. No, of course not.”
“Really?” My lips twitch up in a smile at the look on her face.
“I’ve just never been up that high before.”
“I promise to keep you safe,” I say, leaning over and running my nose along the shell of her ear. “I’ve got so many ideas about how I could distract you.”
The sound of her quiet moan makes my cock twitch. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us. I really don’t need to be getting ideas about the Mile High Club.
3
Summer
My heart’s in my throat and my body forced back into my seat as the plane races down the runway.
“Holy shit.” Harrison grabs on to my sweaty hand and squeezes tight. I can feel him looking at me but I can’t open my eyes. I’ve never really thought about whether I’d like flying or not; it wasn’t like I saw a possibility of it happening any time in my future, but as I sit here I can’t help praying that we’re not going to die before we’ve lived any of our married life together.
“Summer…beautiful.” His voice breaks through my panic at the same time his fingers brush my cheek. “It’s okay, we’re up now. You can relax.”
Slowly, I blow out a breath and prize my eyes open. The first thing I see is Harrison’s smiling face looking back at me. I instantly feel my muscles relax and I slouch back into the seat.
“See, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“I guess.”
Knowing we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future, it’s the perfect time to question Harrison. He might think I’ve put everything behind me with our impending honeymoon, but that’s far from the truth. The pain of his sudden disappearance is still simmering just under the surface and the fear that he’s going to do it again is there as well. He might be my husband now, but I still don’t know him, and I’m about to embark on a life in a totally new place with people I don’t know. He’s the only thing I’m going to have, and I deserve the truth.
As I turn to look at him, he must be able to see what’s about to come because his smile falte
rs the longer we stare at each other. The last few times I’ve tried bringing something up about the past two weeks, he’s managed to change the subject. But not this time. There’s no escape and I need to know everything before we embark on our honeymoon. Honeymoon. The word feels so weird. I can’t quite get the fact that I’m a wife and I have a husband to settle in my head, it probably doesn’t help that I only have vague memories of our actual wedding. Going to the chapel helped but there are still big chunks of the night missing.
“Why did you leave?”
“Work,” he mutters, but casts his eyes away. It’s the same excuse he’s given since he reappeared last night and I’m not buying it.
“Bullshit,” I snap, harsher than I intended. I don’t think he was expecting it either if his sudden movement and wide eyes are anything to go by.
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me. You know as well as I do that you didn’t go back for a work thing. You just disappeared, Harrison, leaving only a written apology behind. You didn’t even call. You just left like what we had meant nothing.” The anger I’ve been holding back since the moment I saw him in the suite at the hotel starts to burn at my insides. “You abandoned me with no warning,” I seethe, trying desperately to keep my volume down so everyone else in first class doesn’t end up with a front row seat to our first argument.
My chest heaves as I try to keep it together but when I look up and see the darkness in his eyes I almost feel sorry for him. Whatever it was clearly was important to him. He left me without a word and with no contact until he turned back up again—it was something serious, so why won’t he tell me? I’m his goddamn wife.
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