Chaperoning Paris (Collins Brothers)

by Victoria Pinder

  He pressed his back into the wall and asked, “With all your money, why would you live in the working-class neighborhood?”

  “I cut off communication with Mom for years,” she answered without looking at him. “She had money, not me. And she had no idea where I lived or what I did.”

  “Lillian never said anything.” His voice beckoned her to look up. He tugged at his collar, and gave her a glimpse of his strong neck. Her mouth grew dry as he held open the elevator door for her. “What did you want to talk about?”

  Talk? Her eyes were on his broad shoulders. Smoothing out her black pants, she remembered. “I wanted to know if we could split the night shift. Tomorrow night, I, umm, I want to go out.”

  He dropped his bag at the elevator, and he breathed faster now. “You want to go out?”

  “Yes.”

  Gigi kept her gaze on the door. She couldn’t explain. She needed to keep her outrageous former roommate, Cary, who might show up as Donna, his alter ego, separate from the students. She met Sean’s big blue eyes. “We can trade nights off, right?”

  The elevator dinged open and she stepped inside. Sean grabbed his bag and joined her, “We’re one floor below the penthouse, but the students can use the penthouse for practice. I had the staff set up a debate stage.”

  “You’re using the most expensive room at this place for students to have a debate room?” The price alone would have paid for her rent in Paris for a year. When he didn’t reply, she said, “You have to be losing money. We can practice outside for free.”

  “Your students get few perks for being part of your winning team, Gigi. Let me make this an extra-special trip for them. It won’t cost me a dime since I own the place.” He smiled at her. He made life look easy with that grin. “Don’t argue over this.”

  The elevator doors opened on their floor. Losing her focus, she’d give him anything he wanted at the moment. “I want to go to my room and be alone for thirty seconds.”

  Sean shrugged and followed her down the hall. She pretended not to notice how his footsteps echoed so close to hers. “How did the students know their rooms and I don’t?”

  Sean stared at her like she was five. “You were helping Erica stay calm, and I checked us in. I take it she doesn’t have a lot of money.”

  Oh. Her mouth dropped open. “You’re right, but then most people aren’t the Collins family.”

  He pointed in the hallway. “The boys are in the room across from me. The girls are in the two rooms across from us. You’re here.” He tapped on a door.

  “This is all really nice, Sean, but what did you tell the parents about these changes? We have to follow rules, Sean.”

  “You know I don’t like rules, but don’t worry. When I called the parents last night, I went over all the details and also emailed each and every one of them an itinerary.” He gave her arm a little shake. “So stop worrying, okay?”

  He winked at her.

  “Okay,” she agreed with a sigh. She turned away from his intense gaze and inserted her plastic card into the electronic key reader. The green light flashed, and she used her knee to hold open the door.

  Sean stepped next door and did the same thing. She stared at him until he said, “Fifteen minutes, Scout.”

  She gulped. There was no escape.

  Chapter 6

  Gigi waited in the hotel lobby for the rest of the group. The six girls and she had been on time. But the men were late. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around?

  Kendra and Erica remained in a deep conversation, and the other four girls chatted and giggled. Everyone sounded excited. Gigi squared her shoulders every time she saw that the elevator reached the lobby level. How could she spend so much time with Sean and not be affected? She’d have to be on guard every moment.

  Today they would get used to the time change, visit the Eiffel Tower.

  The ding of the elevator turned her head and she stared at the doors. A second later, Sean stepped off looking like a million dollars in a fresh-pressed shirt. The boys were with him.

  Gigi’s eyes widened in surprise, and her body heated up at the way Sean’s muscles moved beneath that white crisp shirt.

  With a grin at the other boys, Sean put his sunglasses on with his right hand then ran his left hand through his hair. The boys did the same move a few seconds later. Gigi giggled and the girls rolled their eyes and huffed.

  Ignoring the throbbing in her lower body and planting a wide smile on her face, Gigi turned toward the girls. “Let’s get going.”

  Sean called out, “I requested a car.”

  “No.” If she had to sit next to him again, she’d faint from overheating. “It’s a twenty-minute walk, and we wore our sneakers. Let’s get going. When we go out of the hotel, head south, then take the first right on Avenue Montaigne.”

  Sean rushed beside her and waved toward the students. “Stay in front of us. Look for the Eiffel Tower, and we’ll keep heading in that direction.”

  Heads bobbed in agreement. Why had he chimed in? Had she confused anyone? Her eyes darted around as the students followed his directions. So much for being the best chaperone. She turned her nose up at him, but he kept pace with her. “I thought about what you said, Gigi.”

  “What did I say?” She moved in step with a man hotter than any movie star, a man whose body she’d once known in intimate detail. She felt her body temperature rise and a prickle of sweat rose along her spine, making her hands clammy.

  “I have a huge favor to ask,” Sean said as they walked. “Can you go out tonight instead? I’ll need tomorrow.”

  “I wanted tomorrow,” she argued. Did he have a date? Tilting her head sideways, she pushed the envelope with him to get her way. “I made plans.”

  “I’m asking a favor. I know it.” He paused, as if deciding whether or not to elaborate, then said, “My brother Daniel has a medical convention in Geneva. He’s stopping over in Paris for dinner, and I wanted to catch up with him.”

  “Ohh.” He didn’t have a date. Her shoulders dropped, but her heart raced. If he kept whispering in her ear, she’d implode. He was too sexy. “When’s the last time you saw Daniel? Last week at the family compound?”

  “He’s a doctor, just out of the Marines. He’ll be setting up practice at home soon enough, but I haven’t seen him since I was laid up in my hospital bed.”

  “Why?” Her voice fluttered. All the Collins men had spent time in the marines, though she had no idea what drove them there.

  “He’s been stationed abroad. Liam’s always on some mission, and Gerard is usually super busy. Seeing each other takes effort.”

  The love in Sean’s eyes made her chest tighten. She didn’t have that. Never had. Stepping back to give him space, she stared straight ahead then nodded. “Fine. I’ll change my plans.”

  Sean’s eyebrow rose. “So how exactly did you plan on seeing your friend when you were the only chaperone up yesterday?”

  She ground her teeth then told him the truth. “I told him to be on standby just in case. He has a flexible schedule, so you go see your brother.”

  His hand grazed her arm, and she inhaled a deep woodsy smell of his soap. He nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure your friend will be happy to see you.”

  Sean had no idea. Cary preferred men, but she smiled back. “Great, I’ll have my date tonight then.”

  “I thought he was a friend.” Sean stopped in his tracks.

  Her pulse cooled and she leaned away. “Yes, friends with my favorite man in all of Paris.”

  Sean’s forehead grew, and she shrugged her shoulders. Good.

  She remained silent and took another cool step.

  They rounded the corner onto the short bridge, and the students raced ahead.

  A smile broke out on her face. She’d love to expel her energy, and she called behind her shoulder, “I’m going to run ahead,” she said. “We need to stay with them.”

  He winked at her. “I’ll beat you.”

  “You want to
race?” She hesitated for a second, and her heart beat faster.

  Sean’s boyish smile took her breath away. “We both know I’ll win.”

  She sprinted forward, with her feet pounding on the pavement. She shrieked back, “We do? You’re on.”

  She screamed out her joy every moment she stayed ahead. The children all stayed together, and Gigi intended to rush through them. She enjoyed the playful competition, and her head spun.

  Then she stepped off the street corner. Her heart slammed into her throat as a car appeared out of nowhere, barreling straight toward her. She started to back away then Sean’s arms circled her waist, forcing her back abruptly back onto the sidewalk. Trembling with the surge of adrenaline, she stared at him wide-eyed.

  He’d saved her. Sean had saved her!

  “Ms. Dumont,” one of the students called. “Are you okay?”

  “Y-y-yes,” she called. “Tell everyone to stay there. We’ll be along in a minute.”

  “Are you okay, Gigi? Bastard was speeding.”

  The low timbre of Sean’s voice sent a shiver down her spine.

  She gulped. No, she wasn’t okay. She ached to fling her arms around Sean. He had saved her, but then he’d always been her hero.

  Too bad she’d screwed over their relationship, their future and potential happiness.

  Chapter 7

  Sean rubbed his neck and tried to clamp down the lust thrumming through his body. It wasn’t the first time he had stared at Gigi’s curves from behind. In high school, she’d been the prettiest girl in school, but she’d been thin. Now the woman in front of him standing in line to buy tickets for the students had curves that had become more defined; her butt rounder, and her legs more interesting. If she gained even another ten or twenty pounds, those features would enhance.

  “Sean, are you listening to a word I say?”

  Hell, he hadn’t even noticed she’d moved to stand next to him, tickets in hand.

  He blinked. “Sorry, Scout, what did you say?”

  Her arms tightened around her waist again and she automatically reached for her necklace. His gaze focused on the gold band and recognition dawned in his eyes. “Is that—?” my high school ring?

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” She interrupted fast, and hid the necklace under her shirt. “And let’s use formalities from now, Mr. Collins.”

  His eyebrow shot up. “What did you say?”

  “You don’t listen to anything.”

  He smirked. Yes, he did. He’d chose a battle with her later. Stripping her to her underwear and seeing his ring on her neck sounded fun, but he couldn’t. Instead, he kept his hand on his hip. “What?”

  “The children are in line for the elevator, and you’re holding us up.”

  He turned on his heels and followed her. He kept his eyes on her shoulders and only periodically lowered his gaze to her hot gluteus maximus. The second the elevator doors closed, the teenagers stepped back and their mouths dropped again at the sights of the city.

  Sean smiled as they ascended higher.

  Kendra took a step back, and Sean chuckled at their shock. “Not many open-air elevators in Hyannis Port.”

  Gigi’s stillness indicated her claustrophobia. Poor thing still suffered after all these years.

  He dropped his hands when the elevator stopped and the crowd thinned out presenting them with an amazing view of the city of Paris through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

  If he squinted, Sean thought he could see the Champs De Elysee and noticed how the buildings glistened white and pure in the bright sun.

  He took out his phone to snap a picture for his son. One day his son, Patrick, would want to be here.

  After he got the shot he wanted, he glanced to his side, and his skin turned ashen. Gigi wiped a tear out of her eye. Why would she cry? He put his phone away in his pocket and went to her side. “Are you okay?”

  “Shh. It’s nothing to concern yourself with.” Her voice choked. “Nothing at all.”

  “It’s not nothing.” Ignoring her made his life easier, but she needed help. For one minute, he’d drop his guard. If she let him, he’d hold her. Standing next to her, he asked, “What’s making you cry?”

  “Regrets.” She stared up at him, and squeezed her eyes shut.

  He tugged her arm. “Follow me. We’ll have some privacy in this corner. You don’t want the children to see you.”

  Her shoulders drooped. “Okay.”

  He found them a quiet corner then rubbed her shoulder and back. “You aren’t thinking about the past now?”

  She rubbed her eyes. “I always do here. This was the last place I ever had time with just my dad. Lilian . . .”

  “I never understood how you were related to her, and don’t pretend affection now. Not after how she treated you.”

  She nodded. “You’re right.”

  “Don’t give the woman another thought.” He paused then said, “You must have gone to college, Gigi.”

  She nodded and stared out into the city. “I did. I lived here for two years then moved to Miami. Mom agreed to pay for college if I moved back to the United States, like that would make me visit her. I never did. Every summer and winter break, I came back here, avoiding her. Then . . .”

  His ears sharpened for clues on the mystery. Gigi had cut him so cold at his party. She sighed then continued, “I moved here again for six months then Venice for a year before hopping back to Paris and New York.”

  “Lilian at least paid for school.”

  Gigi balled her hand into a fist. “Mom cut me off when I moved to Paris, and I stuck it out here in defiance. I let her bail me out when I lived in New York and Miami. I used to hate asking her for a dime, but sometimes I had no other choice.” She unballed her fists then groaned. “Well that’s my story. You did your service, then stayed home, married, had your daughter, and somehow added teacher to the resume. The teaching gig makes no sense for you.”

  He crossed his arms. “I was used for my money, and wanted to live without it.” For some reason, Gigi forced honesty out of him. He’d never even told his own mother. Sean ran his hands through his hair and met her curious gaze. “My wife didn’t like me much.” He paused. “Unlike you, I stayed home, in Cape Cod. We vacationed, wherever Jennifer wanted, until the year I became a teacher. Home remained my center. She didn’t want that.”

  One of the teenagers waved at them both. Sean waved back.

  “I was wrong not to trust you.”

  The arrow shot right at his defenses.

  “We were the biggest mistake in my life,” she said softly. “I should never have walked away.”

  “What?” The question fell out of his mouth and his vision darkened.

  Sean shrugged and kept his voice cold. “Can’t do anything about the past.” Gigi should have come to him a long time ago, but she hadn’t cared. “You didn’t—”

  She touched his hand and sparks hit him hard. “I could have been stronger.”

  Sean shook his head and finally stepped away. “I’d have taken care of us, and stood up to Lillian. You must have known that.”

  “No, Sean, I—” Tears filling her eyes, Gigi hastened away to another quiet section of the Eiffel Tower while he struggled to gather his wits.

  A uniformed guard approached him. “Are you with the American student group?” “Yes.” Sean snapped back to the present. “What happened?”

  “I told the woman near the elevator that the students went down a few minutes ago.”

  “Thanks.”

  Sean rushed to the elevator then joined Gigi inside as the doors closed. His gaze darted around. They were alone. Gigi stepped back to the wall “I thought you took them downstairs without me.”

  Sean shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

  The elevator jerked to a stop. Gigi swerved, and almost toppled forward. He grabbed the banister near her and held her back. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. Just the worst chaperone in the world. What happened?”


  Her warm breath caught him in surprise, and the smell of her flowery perfume caught in his lungs.

  “The elevator stopped.”

  “Why?”

  Her face paled and she glanced at her phone. No service. But she texted something, but she wasn’t sure she called her provider to ensure her phone worked. She closed her eyes, hoped, then turned around. He stepped away and stared down the steep outdoor decline of the tower. He trusted technology, but Gigi was claustrophobic. His face twisted back to her fast, to ensure she held together. But as he gazed at her, his heart thumped in his chest. He needed to move past Gigi. Being stuck with her wouldn’t go well.