by Reese Ryan
“Just for tonight.”
Until their chance reunion takes a sharp turn...toward twins.
Tech billionaire Benjamin Bennett can’t resist a steamy weekend with Sloane Sutton—his crush on her goes way back. But when he tracks her down, she’s pregnant—with twins! Now their fling needs trust to survive. Benji wants a wedding; his family claims she’s a gold digger. But Sloane won’t be bought—or married. Can they find common ground...and a shot at forever?
“Let’s get out of here.”
Her cheeks heated. “But it’s your cousin’s wedding.”
“I doubt he’ll notice I’m gone. Besides, you’d be rescuing me. If Jeb Dawson tells me one more time about his latest invention...”
“Okay, okay.” Sloane held back a giggle as she glanced around the room. “You need to escape as badly as I do. But there’s no way we’re leaving here together. It’d be on the front page of the newspaper by morning.”
“Valid point.” Benji chuckled. “So meet me at the cabin.”
“The cabin on the lake?”
It was a bad idea. A really bad idea.
Just two old friends catching up on each other’s lives. Nothing wrong with that.
She repeated it three times in her head. But the sensations that danced along her spine when he’d held her in his arms and pinned her with that piercing gaze...there was nothing friendly about that.
“Okay. Maybe we can catch up over a cup of coffee or something.”
“Or something.” The corner of his sensuous mouth curved in a smirk.
* * *
The Billionaire’s Legacy is part of
Harlequin Desire’s #1 bestselling series,
Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men...wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.
Dear Reader,
Earlier this year, I introduced my series The Bourbon Brothers, set in the tiny fictional town of Magnolia Lake, Tennessee. It follows the drama-filled romantic adventures of the five Abbott siblings—four of whom help run the world-renowned King’s Finest Distillery.
In The Billionaire’s Legacy, which I affectionately refer to as a Bourbon Brothers Friends and Family novel, we revisit several members of the Abbott family. The book begins where Savannah’s Secrets ended—at the wedding of Blake and Savannah Abbott.
Benjamin “Benji” Bennett encounters his boyhood crush—his older sister’s best friend, Sloane Sutton—at his cousin Blake’s wedding. When an evening of reminiscing over the past ignites a night of passion, Sloane and Benji are left with more than their memories of that night, despite their decision to walk away.
Thank you for taking another journey to the little town of Magnolia Lake, where passion, secrets and drama abound. Stay tuned for Parker Abbott’s story next.
Got a question or comment about this series or others? Visit reeseryan.com/desirereaders and drop me a line. For series news, reader giveaways and more, be sure to join my VIP Readers list.
Until the next adventure,
Reese Ryan
Reese Ryan
The Billionaire’s Legacy
Reese Ryan writes sexy, deeply emotional romances full of family drama, surprising secrets and unexpected twists.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Reese has deep Tennessee roots. Every summer, she endured long, hot car trips to family reunions in Memphis via a tiny clown car loaded with cousins.
Connect with Reese at ReeseRyanWrites on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or at reeseryan.com/desirereaders.
Books by Reese Ryan
Harlequin Desire
The Bourbon Brothers
Savannah’s Secrets
The Billionaire’s Legacy
Harlequin Kimani Romance
Playing with Desire
Playing with Temptation
Playing with Seduction
Never Christmas Without You (with Nana Malone)
Seduced in San Diego
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To my best friend, entrepreneur, aesthetician, makeup artist, proprietor of The Brow Snob, a cancer survivor and an all-around badass Tonie Jones. I’m thankful you just celebrated another cancerversary, and that we’re still friends three states, two marriages, four children, two grandchildren and thirty-five years later.
To the amazing readers who faithfully read my books, fall in love with my characters and share your enthusiasm for my work with your friends and family online and off...I’m so grateful to have you as a reader. I honestly can’t thank you enough.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Excerpt from Tempt Me in Vegas by Maureen Child
Prologue
“Benji? Oh, my God, is that you?”
Benjamin Bennett shifted his attention to the source of the husky female voice he knew as well as his own.
“Sloane.” He hadn’t seen Sloane Sutton in nearly a decade yet he recognized her instantly. The passing years had been good to her; she was even more beautiful than he remembered. “I wasn’t sure you were coming to the wedding.”
Sloane wrapped him in a hug that seared his skin and sent electricity skittering down his spine. He released her reluctantly.
“I just decided a couple of days ago.” Sloane smoothed down the skirt of her brilliant blue, floor-length gown. It hugged her heart-stopping curves, showing off the glowing brown skin of one toned shoulder. “I didn’t even tell Delia I was coming.”
That explained why his sister hadn’t mentioned it.
“Well, it’s good to see you, Sloane. You look...incredible,” he stammered, his face and neck warm. The passage of time hadn’t lessened Sloane’s effect on him. He was as tongue-tied in her presence now as he’d been at fifteen.
His crush on her began the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. He was five years old and Sloane was ten.
“Thanks.” Sloane beamed. “You look pretty darned handsome yourself.”
“Blake must’ve been glad to see you.” Benji nodded toward the groom. He loosened the collar of his shirt, which suddenly seemed too tight.
“It’s good to see Blake so happy.” Sloane’s gaze softened, but sadness suddenly crept into her voice and clouded her brown eyes. “Savannah seems really sweet, and their baby, Davis, is adorable.”
“He’s a cute kid,” Benji acknowledged, shoving his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight to his other foot. “And Savannah is really sweet. You’ll like her.”
Getting to the altar hadn’t been easy for his cousin and Savannah. When they’d first met, Savannah was on a mission to infiltrate the company founded by Blake’s grandfather to prove that half of King’s Finest Distillery belonged to her family. But somehow, they’d managed to move past the pain and distrust to find love and happiness.
Sloane caught the eye of someone on the other side of the roo
m and nodded. She turned back to him. “I’d better go, but we’ll catch up later.”
“Count on it.” Benji watched as she walked away.
Sloane Sutton.
Growing up, he’d adored Sloane. She and his sister, Delia, had been thick as thieves. He’d spent countless nights as a boy kept awake by their girlish giggles, heard through the thin wall between his and Delia’s bedrooms. Sloane had been everything to him, but she’d seen him as an honorary little brother.
She’d been a beautiful girl, but she’d grown into a stunning woman. When they were young, she’d had the toned body of a farm girl who was no stranger to physical labor; her lean, athletic body had given way to softer, fuller curves. The hair she’d worn in a thick, black braid down her back was now cut short on the sides with thick, glossy curls piled atop her head.
A small, barely there diamond stud adorned her left nostril. And when she’d turned to walk away, he’d noticed shooting stars tattooed on the back of her neck. The tattoo disappeared beneath the fabric, which dipped low between her shoulder blades.
“Better close your mouth and stop drooling or everyone will know you’ve still got a thing for Sloane Sutton,” Parker Abbott, his best friend and first cousin, said matter-of-factly.
“I didn’t have a thing for Sloane Sutton.” Benji straightened his navy tuxedo jacket, hoping he wouldn’t be struck by lightning for the whopper of a lie he’d just told.
Of course he’d had a thing for Sloane.
He’d been a red-blooded teenage boy and she was...well, she was Sloane Sutton. Confident, beautiful, funny, slightly irreverent.
She hadn’t thought him strange because he preferred Star Trek marathons and sci-fi books to spending time playing outside. Nor had she ridiculed him for his fascination with computer programming and astronomy or his love of data. Instead, she’d told him how smart he was, and that one day he’d change the world. She’d said it with such confidence, she’d made him believe it, too.
How could he not have had a thing for her?
“I know that reading people isn’t my thing,” Parker said, “but if that wasn’t the very definition of having a thing for someone, I’ll marry Kayleigh Jemison.” He nodded toward the woman he’d escorted down the aisle during the wedding ceremony.
Parker and Kayleigh had been at each other’s throats for as long as Benji could remember. But since Kayleigh was close friends with Parker’s new sister-in-law, he’d been charged with escorting her down the aisle.
“Speaking of having a thing for someone.” Benji chuckled.
“Me? Have a thing for Kayleigh?” Parker’s cheeks colored, though he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. “You must’ve fallen and banged your head.”
The wedding photographer beckoned them, indicating it was time to join the rest of the wedding party for some group shots.
Benji was thankful for the distraction. Still, he couldn’t help scanning the crowd, hoping to catch another glimpse of Sloane.
* * *
Sloane nibbled the gloss off her lower lip as she studied Benji from across the room. He took another sip of his beer, then laughed at something Parker said.
She could hardly believe that the incredibly sexy man whose muscular frame filled out his fitted tuxedo in ways that did wicked things to her was the shy, sweet little boy she’d once known.
When his gaze captured hers again, an inexplicable warmth settled low in her belly and her breath caught.
“Are you all right?” Her best friend, Delia, tilted her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were staring at someone at the bar.”
Delia turned to look over her shoulder, but was distracted as her father approached with her daughter in his arms. The two-year-old girl was as beautiful as Delia and generally just as sweet. At this moment, though, she was crying hysterically, demanding her mother.
“Evie, what’s wrong, sweetie?” Delia stood, taking her daughter into her arms.
“Your mother says she feels warm.” Richard Bennett said. “We were going to offer to take her home with us, but she’s insistent that she wants her mama.”
“It’s okay. Thanks, Dad.” Delia kissed the girl’s face and she seemed to immediately calm down. She leaned over and kissed Sloane’s cheek. “Sorry about this, hon. We’ll take up this conversation later. How long will you be in town?”
“I’ll probably head back to Nashville tomorrow, but don’t worry about me. We’ll talk later. Just take care of Evie.”
Sloane watched as Delia and Mr. Bennett made their way through the crowd. She sighed, eyeing her half-finished glass of bourbon punch.
With Delia gone, she felt alone—even in a room filled with people she’d known her entire life. Her family and the Abbotts didn’t run in the same circles. She just happened to have hit it off with Blake Abbott and his cousin Delia Bennett when they were in grade school. Blake was preoccupied, and Delia was on her way home with little Evie.
There was no reason to stay.
Sloane gulped the rest of her drink, returning the glass to the table with a thud. She stood, bumping into a solid expanse of muscle.
Benji.
He gripped her waist to steady her.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She took what she hoped was a subtle step backward. Just out of his reach, but still close enough to savor his provocative scent.
“It was my bad.” Benji revealed the sheepish smile that had been his trademark as a kid. He rubbed a hand over his dark brush waves.
Sloane couldn’t help smiling, remembering how obsessed Benji had been with perfecting them.
“It was good seeing you again, Benji.” Sloane turned to leave, but he placed his strong hand on her arm.
“You’re not leaving already, are you? I’ve been patiently waiting for a chance to catch up with you. My sister has been monopolizing your time all evening.”
“You know how we are when we get together.” Sloane smiled. “Not much has changed. We’re still basically those same two giggling teenage girls.”
“I’d say a lot has changed.” Benji’s heated gaze drifted down the length of her body, before returning to meet hers.
“I guess you’re right.” Sloane cleared her throat.
Some things certainly had changed.
Benji had always had a crush on her. There was nothing unusual about a little boy having a crush on his older sister’s best friend. Back then, she’d thought it sweet. But Benji Bennett wasn’t a little boy anymore. He was a grown-ass man and a fine one at that.
What she saw in his intense dark brown eyes wasn’t the misguided admiration of a little boy. It was lust, plain and simple. The same feeling that crawled up her spine and made her heart beat faster.
His confident smile indicated that he could sense her attraction to him.
Pull it together, sister. This is little Benji Bennett you’re gawking at here.
Benji had gone to college in Seattle, where he still lived. He’d started his own tech company in his junior year. A company he’d just sold for more than two billion dollars, according to Delia.
Benjamin Bennett was a catch by anyone’s standards—even before you factored in his healthy bank account. But he was her best friend’s little brother. And though he was all grown up now, he was just a kid, compared to her.
Flirting with Benji would start tongues wagging all over Magnolia Lake. Not that she cared what they thought of her. But her mother and grandfather still lived here. So did Delia, for most of the year. If the whole town started talking, it would make things uncomfortable for the people she loved.
Sloane tore her gaze from his and scanned the room. “I’d better go.”
“Don’t go. Please. Just one dance.” Benji held up a finger, his eyes warm and pleading, his smile sexy and sweet. Then he extended his hand. The same one she’d held when she’d help
ed him across the street on the way to school when he was five.
Sloane looked at him, then glanced around the space as she nibbled her bottom lip, her heart racing. No one was paying attention to them. The other guests were wrapped up in their own conversations and enjoying the open bar, courtesy of the Abbotts, owners of King’s Finest Distillery.
“I guess one dance won’t hurt.” She placed her hand in his much larger one and let him lead her onto the dance floor.
Benji walked to the center of the dance floor and held her in his arms. He swayed to Jeffrey Osborne’s smooth vocals on L.T.D.’s “Love Ballad.”
“God, your parents loved this song. They played it so much that your sister and I hated it. Which is a shame, because it’s a pretty perfect song.”
“It is,” he agreed. “You still working for the record company in Nashville?”
“I am. I love what I do, but I’ve got my eye on a spot on the management team.”
“You’re the most determined girl I’ve ever known.” Benji smiled. “If you’ve set your sights on it, it’s as good as done.”
“Is that a nice way of calling me stubborn?” It was a familiar put-down from the older folks in town.
“No.” His tone was apologetic. “I hated when people said that about you.” He sighed softly. “I liked that you were determined. You wanted to move to Nashville and work in the music industry, and that’s exactly what you did. I’d say your determination has served you well.”
Warmth filled Sloane’s chest. Benji had grown up to be extremely wealthy and incredibly handsome, but at his core, he was the same sweet, thoughtful guy she’d always known. His gift for making her smile was still intact.
“Thanks, Benj. That means a lot.” Sloane was slightly unnerved by his intense gaze. “Which reminds me, I haven’t congratulated you on your big deal.” She was eager to turn the conversation away from her. “I should be asking for your autograph. Never met a billionaire before.”
The muscles of Benji’s back tensed beneath her fingertips and the light in his eyes dimmed. “I’m the same guy I was before I signed the big deal, Sloane. The same guy I’ve always been.”
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