Never Say Love (23 page)

As lunchtime came around, Benito dared to walk into Lucy’s office, “You need to keep your energy up. Shall we nip out and get something to eat together?”

Without looking up, Lucy snapped, “No! And close the door on your way out.”

“Lucy,
please
,” he pleaded.

“Piss off and close the bloody door.” She yelled
, looking up at him, furiously glaring that she was being controlled by this beautiful man.

Walking further into her office, he leant on her desk. “No listen, young lady. You need to eat. For God’s sake Lucy, you’re pregnant; you really need to look after yourself, and it!”

“It? It’s not an it!” Lucy stood, yelling at him, drawing attention of the office staff. “It is a fucking baby you moron! I won’t be ordered around by you, and I won’t be told what I can and can’t do. Now get out of my office!”

Shaking his head, Benito turned, leaving her office as the girls kept their heads down, making out they were hard at work and not daring to look up. “Katie, can I talk to you?” He quietly asked as he passed Lucy’s friend.

Standing, Katie followed him outside into the car park.

“What?” Katie asked. Her tone was sharp as she stood, ready to defend her friend.

“I need her away from here Katie. She’s been through such a lot lately. I can’t leave her on her own. She won’t stay anywhere on her own right now, but I need her away from here, from working and, Katie, don’t let on you know, but she’s pregnant.”

“Oh god, wow, that’s totally amazing!” Katie grinned
. “I had no idea until just now in there, she indicated towards the office; although I had noticed she was moody this morning.”

Turning away and looking towards his car
, Benito sighed, “Tell me about it!” he shook his head, “I don’t know how to handle it Katie,” he turned towards Lucy’s friend, pleading with his eyes. “How do I handle a pregnant, hormonal woman?”

Katie watched her boss, the man who was now firmly locked in a relationship with her best friend, his brow furrowed as he struggled to work out how he should deal with Lucy.

With her hands in her trouser pockets, Katie watched him, his mind evidently in turmoil. She had worked with him and Lucy long enough to know their characters and understand when Benito’s body language portrayed a troubled man, a man who wanted to do the best for his lady. Thinking carefully before she answered, Katie aimlessly looked around the car park before looking through the window of the office watching her colleagues go about their business. Turning back towards Benito she smiled with resolution. “Spoil her, tell her how special she is to you and that she’s the centre of your world.”

Benito looked at her; his dad had said something so similar to him. “But how Katie, how do I do that?” he asked looking puzzled.

“Be random,” Katie mused. “Whisk her off for an impromptu lunch, somewhere really lovely, and somewhere you wouldn’t normally take her to. Go now, don’t think about it, just drag her from her office and whisk her off somewhere really, really special. Don’t come back, book a room, go somewhere you can stay overnight.”

Benito sighed, he could do random, for heaven’s sake,
The Entertainment Game
was totally random. “Okay,” he mumbled, “give me ten minutes.” He smiled at Katie before walking back into the building and up to his office.

Smiling, ten minutes later, strolling from his office, with his mobile in one hand and keys in the other, Benito made his way down the stairs and through the main office area, past Katie. Glancing at her, he smiled and nodded. Katie returned the smile knowing he’d taken on board what she’d said. She watched him as he walked with a determined expression towards Lucy’s office.

Opening Lucy’s door
, he was faced with the most beautiful girl, glaring at him. “What do you want!” she barked, as she looked up from her work.

“Get your bag, we’re going out,” he spoke firmly.

Lucy glared at Benito who was stood just inside the door way, waiting for her to gather her things together. “I said I’ve got work to do.” She snapped.

“And I said, get your bag. We’re going out for lunch.”

Looking at his face firm with his mouth drawn into a hard line, she didn’t know what to think. She’d seen him with this firm attitude before—demanding and controlling but never as much as this.

“Lucy, just get your bag. Tesoro, we’re going out for lunch
, and please don’t give me a hard time!”

Unsure of what to make of his demanding tone, Lucy reached for her bag and quickly tidied the paperwork she was working on. Standing, she pulled her skirt down straight before walking around her desk toward him
. He opened the door for her, allowing her to walk through first, before following and closing the door to her office behind him.

As she past Katie’s desk, she briefly stopped, “back soon,” she quietly said
and then continued to follow her lover.

“Have a good time!” Katie sang out as they left the building, causing Lucy to look back, frowning in confusion at her friend and then turning back towards Benito.

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked as she scurried behind Benito, out of the building and walking over to the Range Rover.

“A surprise, get in the car.”

Lucy climbed in beside Benito. He turned toward her, smiling, placing his hand on her knee as he pulled his vehicle out of the car park and headed out of London.

They were soon heading north on the motorway network. “Where are we going?” Lucy asked again.

“I told you it’s a surprise! You will have to wait until we get there to find out.”

Accelerating north, Lucy watched a
s the scenery changed, the built-up areas of a busy London being replaced by lush green fields of the rolling country side. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this far north,” she turned toward Benito, who sat behind the wheel concentrating on the road ahead.

“I’m sure you have,” he replied, his tone matter of fact, yet a smile on his face broadening to a grin as he turned to his Lucy, his beautiful girl.

Within a couple of hours they were pulling into a long driveway and moving slowly towards a large Tudor looking house. “Where are we?” Lucy asked.

“Just a spontaneous surprise, that’s all.” Benito grinned again, “I thought you would like to be treated!”

Pulling the car into a space set behind a hedgerow of conifers, Lucy stepped out
. As her feet hit the ground, she became aware of the gravel beneath her. Momentarily, she stood still taking in the location and the pine smell of the trees. “Come on,” Benito walked around the car towards her, his hand lightly around her waist. Even after all these months and despite being in the early stages of pregnancy, his touch still set her alight. Closing her eyes, she felt her stomach turn and the tingle fall over her private place. God, she wanted him now.

Guiding her toward the large old house, the black beams exposed with dark against the white render of the old build
ing, they climbed a few shallow steps before entering the low doorway. Benito bent his head as he stepped through into a large oak floored reception area, the uneven, polished floorboards clearly centuries old.

“Abelli, we have a reservation,” he announced to an older man stood behind the dark oak reception desk.

“Ah, yes. We’re expecting you. Please follow me.”

Lucy, taking Benito’s arm, frowned at her lover
. “A reservation?” she whispered as they were led through the house and out into the large formal gardens. Still following the older gentleman, they were taken to a small cottage far beyond the gardens out towards the edge of the property. The small house was complete with a roof of thatch and unevenly rendered white walls.

“The Game Keepers cottage,” the kind man turned towards Beni
to as he opened the door and led the couple inside.

Lucy spun around as she stood inside the tiny house; a high level fireplace dominated the room. A small chintzy sofa and square oak table with two chairs gave the place a homely feel.

“Would you like the fire lit this evening, sir?” The man asked, as he turned towards Benito, offering him the keys.

Benito looked around the cottage, “Please, it does get chilly later now.” He wandered towards the bedroom, closely followed by Lucy. A wrought iron bed occupied the room. It was high off the ground with a thick duvet cover and what looked like a deep mattress.

“This place is really old fashioned,” Lucy gripped Benito’s arm tightly. “It’s gorgeous, so quaint.”

On hearing Lucy’s comment, the man who had showed them to the cottage turned and smiled at the fair
-haired beauty before him, “The estate was completed in 1510, when Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon ruled England. It has some history, and I’m sure it would tell you some stories, if it could. It has seen the reformation and has survived the civil wars…”

Benito turned between Lucy and the gentleman who now stood in the middle of the living room, having no idea that his beloved had an interest in history. He really needed to get rid of this man so that he could
look after
and
worship
his girl, not stand here in the middle of a damn history lesson.

Approaching them, he placed his arm towards the man’s back, guiding him towards the door
. “I’m sure Lucy would love to know more about the building another time. Could you arrange for our food to be brought over?”

“Of course sir, I’ll sort it out right away,” the man smiled at Lucy before leaving the little house.

As he left with his footsteps crunching on the gravel, disappearing as he moved further away, Benito turned towards Lucy, “I thought I’d arrange an impromptu surprise. Do you like it?”

Shocked
yet smiling she turned towards him, “It’s stunning. How did you find it?”

Winking at her
, he tapped the side of his nose.

The start of her argument was halted by a knock at the door and the arrival of
a simple lunch which was laid out on the table for them.

Once the food was eaten, they took a leisurely walk through a copse at the rear of the cottage before returning as dusk was setting in. The fire had been lit. Someone had been in and prepared some logs in the fire basket, the smell of pinewood filling the air. Slipping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close to him, holding her for a moment before guiding her through to the bedroom. Kissing her deeply before he gently pushed her back into the deep duvet, her back shrouded by the crisp cotton, the covers crinkling beneath her.

Kneeling down beside the bed
he dragged her trousers away from her. He allowed his fingertips to trail her legs. Starting at her ankles his exquisite touch carefully progressed to her knees and up towards her private place, his lips joining in with this sensuous process. Hooking his fingers under the elastic of her knickers, he dragged them slowly down and pulled them away.

Bringing his lips gently towards her labia
, he kissed her slowly as she closed her eyes, breathing deeply at the feeling of her sex coming alive, feelings desperate to be quelled by his touch. Feeling his tongue against her clit, she became aware of his own desperation from his increased movements as he gripped her legs, nibbling at her clit as she writhed around beneath him.

Moving away, before he climbed onto the bed beside her, Benito pushed his trousers down as quickly as he could, kicking them away along with his boxers, his length erect and so ready to take her.

The taste of her core still on his lips as he deeply kissed her, while his hand crept beneath her top, finding her small breast, squeezing it gently and toying with her nipple, pinching the hard pearl between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it gently, making her gasp with pleasure. She turned to look at him, taking in his expression and his eyes full with desire.

Carefully, he moved himself between her legs, his erect cock finding her entrance, so hard and desperate to be deep inside the warmth of her walls. Pushing slowly, he filled her as she wrapped her legs tightly around him, her fingers nails digging deeply into the flesh of his shoulders, pulling him towards her until she couldn’t get him any closer.

Breathing in the fresh scent of his lover, Benito kissed her neck as he made slow, passionate love to her. Taking her on the journey she had always wanted and needed, with the man of her dreams he was helping her to find the release she craved with him. Together they stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms as the chill of the late autumn air attempted to find its way into the cottage, beaten back by the roaring fire. The smell of pine and sex swirling around them, the ultimate bliss—comfort and peace they found together, within each other a feeling they both felt could never be broken, a feeling of belonging to each other, of being two halves of one being. A feeling that Benito had always fought against but the higher force seemingly having other ideas. Lucy was his destiny.

Several months after their spontaneous escape to the country, Benito stood in the hospital corridor, his phone shaking in his hand, listening to the long ring tone of the international call he was making to his father.

Franco greeted him with his deep voice. “Benito, son how’s Lucy. Is there any news yet?”

“Dad,” Benito smiled broadly as his father answered his phone, “I have some
fantastic
news.” He gasped, between laughs of joy. “It was amazing dad, totally amazing. I never knew it would feel like this.”

“So, come on then, what’s the news?” Franco asked, with urgency in his voice.

“You’ve got a grandson dad –
it’s a boy
, he’s
so
beautiful. Oh dad, if only you could see him!” Despite the size of the man making the call, irrespective of the brawn, a tear fell from his eye as he relayed the information of the birth to his father, Franco, desperate for a grandson to continue his family line. He was so very pleased that Lucy and Benito had given him what he had hoped for.

“Benito, you and Lucy have made me so very proud. Congratulations
, son. You are going to marry her now, right?”

Shaking his head to no-one in particular, Benito looked up and down the corridor; “You know I can’t do that,” he answered flatly.

Franco sighed deeply, “I wish you would and so would your mother, if she was still here. If she knew what was going on right now she would kill me. Hell Benito, she is probably haunting me right now because of this and everything that happened with Adrianna.”

Benito listened to his father, to the silence. He just couldn’t marry her and
risk ending up desolate like his father. “No, dad I can’t. But,” his tone changed in an effort to lighten the mood, “we’re so happy and now we have little Marco!”

“Well, I’m over the moon son, totally. I love you both. I’ll fly over as soon as I can. I want to meet my grandson
. I want Marco to have a Juventus shirt, and I want to personally hand deliver it to him!”

Benito laughed, “Dad, he’s not even an hour old
, and you’ve already got him in a football shirt!”

“Never to young Benito son
. I took you to your first match when you were two, remember?”

“No, I don’t…”

Both men laughed before ending the call. Breathing deeply and looking towards the ceiling, talking to his mother in his head, wishing she could be here—here to meet Marco, to be friends with Lucy, just be here so that he wouldn’t feel this way. Mentally shaking himself, he wandered back into the room where Lucy, his
beautiful Lucy,
and newborn son were. “Tesoro,” he leant forward, kissing her gently on the lips.

“I swear to look after you, both of you, forever.” He whispered against her ear before placing a gentle kiss on Marco’s forehead, “and you, little man, your Nonno says he’s already got you a Juventus strip. Apparently
, you’re going to like football!”

Lucy looked up. Her fairytale dream had come true, with the exception of a big white wedding; she had everything she ever dreamt of
—this fine man who totally adored her and a beautiful son who was the image of his loving father. She simply had everything and anything her heart desired.

What more could a girl ask for?

Looking up at Benito, she whispered, “I love you…” He answered with a smile, “You too…”