Chaperoning Paris (Collins Brothers)

by Victoria Pinder

  “So what’s the real reason you’re setting up your practice near Hyannis.”

  “It’s time to settle down.”

  The girl I was dating in Boston decided to plan the wedding only I haven’t asked her. And I don’t love her, not like Mom and Dad or you and Gigi.”

  “I said stop.” Sean warned.

  Daniel shrugged. “I’m not sure I want to move back to Hyannis port. I’m doing it because I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Family is family, Daniel. You know that much.” Sean smiled. “Every town needs good doctors and we can all vet out the crazy ones for you, Daniel.”

  The elevator dinged and Sean followed his big brother to go get a coffee and discuss women.

  Gigi dragged out the practice until the students protested. Finally her students’ whininess won, and she told them, “Great job. Help me clean up then we’ll go to dinner.”

  “Finally,” Kendra said but she picked up the soda cans near her.

  Gigi supervised and soon the penthouse shined. With a nod, she let the students file out and called behind them, “Ten minutes then we meet in the lobby for dinner.”

  She gulped and hoped Daniel and Sean went somewhere alone. Her face heated at the thought of sitting with Sean’s brother. If only she knew how much he was aware of what’d happened all those years ago. How her mother had forced her to do the unthinkable.

  She locked the door behind her as sweat grew on her forehead.

  “Gigi.”

  Sean.

  Gigi gulped then turned around. Sean and Daniel sat right in the hall outside the penthouse. Her heartbeat raced. They were there. Why?

  Both men stood

  Daniel nodded hello. “It’s good to see you again, Gigi.”

  “Wait.” Kendra laughed. “Ms. Dumont’s nickname is Gigi?”

  Gigi’s heart swelled as she heard Sean explain, “Ms. Dumont is an old family friend, but she’s still your teacher.”

  “Yes, sir,” Kendra said with laughter in her eyes. “And she was your ex-girlfriend. I get it now.”

  “Kendra,” Gigi shouted in surprise.

  A student learning her nickname wasn’t the end of the world, but her relationship status went too far.

  Gigi squared her shoulders then greeted Daniel with a warm smile. “It’s good to see you again, Dr. Collins. What kind of medicine do you practice?”

  “General medicine. I enjoyed the lymphatic system, but the benefits to own my own practice outweighed the specialization. You were always a straight A student, Ms. Dumont. You must rock at school being a cool teacher.”

  The students burst into laughter.

  “As you can hear, I’m not exactly cool, Daniel. But I did get there here. Now let’s all head to dinner.”

  She led the group downstairs. A few minutes later, they arrived at a restaurant that overlooked the Champ Elysee.

  At dinner, the students sat at one long table. Her heart fluttered a bit. But she, Sean, and Daniel took the table next to them and the door, but the set-up gave them some privacy. Gigi gazed at the two brothers who shared a smile.

  Gigi dropped her head and hoped she didn’t blush. She had always loved the Collins’s.

  “So,” Gigi said, “how is life treating you, Mr. Fancy Doctor?”

  “I am staying at a place in Boston. It’s different in the city. Everyone rushes around, and opinions are serious minded matters but no one stops to chat about their day. The hot zone where I spent the last two years, bandaging up soldiers . . . it hasn’t hit me yet.” He paused. “I am considering going home to Cape Cod.”

  “Hyannis is where you belong.” Sean turned the tables on his brother. “And Gigi can help find you a woman or we can stick mom on that task.”

  “Mom? No,” Daniel answered fast. “I’m buying a house, but I’m not sure I’ll ever settle down fully. I’m happy being single.”

  The terseness of his answer stopped Gigi short. She smiled and remembered his poker tell. “There was a woman recently.”

  Sean and Daniel’s eyes both opened wide, Sean’s, in excitement for sharing and Daniel’s, in shock. Gigi winked at Sean, just like when they were twelve and playing a game against his brothers.

  Sean smiled at her and her heart grew. Maybe they had a chance.

  “How did you know?” Daniel asked, tilting his head. “And she turned out to be crazy. I dated her for a month, and she was planning the wedding.”

  Gigi smiled victoriously. “If you thought of me as your sister once upon a time, then you were my brother. And Sean was my pretend husband. I remember your taste went to the quiet ones, though your mother is not quiet.”

  “Quiet can mean still waters, Geegs.” Sean’s hand squeezed her leg.

  She stared at him for a minute and lost her train of thought.

  “She called the hotel already,” Daniel said sheepishly.

  “Intriguing.” Sean added for measure, “Gigi’s volunteering to find you a date.”

  “I’ll find Daniel a good woman, though she won’t be quiet.” Gigi thought hard. Most of the women in Hyannis wouldn’t work at all. Daniel needed a woman with fire, but helping the Collins family spelled out fun. And her pulse soared.

  With a flick of her ear, Gigi signaled Sean to let Daniel off the hook and not push for more.

  Sean winked back and added, “Daniel has no idea what’s in store.”

  Gigi laughed. “Don’t worry, Daniel, we’ll find you a woman when we get home.”

  With a mischievous expression, Daniel turned to Sean. “And what about you, bro? Gotta get you a woman, too.”

  Sean’s heated gaze met hers. “I think I’ve already found one.”

  Chapter 17

  Ten minutes after arriving her hotel room, Gigi heard a knock at her door at her door.

  Her body froze and she had difficulty breathing. She remained on the chair, unmoving.

  The knocking continued until her ears drummed. Ignoring him wasn’t the answer. Finally she got up and opened the door.

  Sean stood there, and she backed up, unsure what to say.

  Sean stepped forward. Darn, he really was standing in her hotel room. And she was awkward and unsure now.

  “Gigi, can we talk?”

  “No,” she mumbled. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about and she’d had to great a day to bring that up. No, she had a better idea on how to distract Sean. Keeping her eyes pinned to his baby blues, she unbuttoned her shirt and lifted it slowly over her head.

  “No.” She noted that Sean’s breathing had become labored, and she placed her hand on his hip, and curled upward to kiss him. “We need to talk. Why did you never call me?”

  “You deserved the fairy tale life.”

  “Stop. You left and I fell for Jennifer. She swooped in and caused tension and drama in my family.”

  “You’re so smart. How did that happen?”

  “I only knew you. Everyone else learns their mistakes early, but I spent my childhood with you.”

  “Stop.” She stepped backward. “I didn’t marry you to anyone. I left.”

  “Yes, you did.” A fraction of an inch from her mouth, he stepped away from her and all she had was a fast, unexpected peck. He ran his hands through his hair. “As tempting as you are, I’ll have to take a rain check, Geegs. We have to talk. Now. Before any more time passes.”

  Heart pounding, she automatically clutched her necklace.

  He sighed. “I can see I’ve upset you but in order to move forward, we need to talk.”

  “No. I can’t. I don’t want to talk. You should go.”

  “We used to talk all the time, Gigi. Then you left, never speaking to me again. No notes, nothing.” Sean dug his hands into his pants pockets and stepped back. “You disappeared on me.”

  She stepped back and left a wide space between them. Then she clasped her hands together to keep her hands from shaking. Sucking in her breath, she said, “I can’t.”

  “Yes you can, Gigi. We have to. Don�
��t you see?”

  Her throat constricted, and she shook her head as tears pricked the backs of her eyes. She turned away, fighting against the unshed tears.

  She intended to stay quiet and kept her mouth shut. Then she swallowed, and without prompting, her lips moved and the floodgates opened. “Mom figured out I was pregnant before I did. After conversing with the doctor, she took me home and locked me in my room for the night without my phone or computer or anything to call with. The next morning, she took me back to the doctor and gave the orders. When they asked for my approval, I didn’t know what else to say.” She tore her gaze from Sean, and stared at the open window to the night sky. “Agreeing destroyed me.”

  Sean stepped closer. She smelled his delicious smell of home. “I waited years. I thought I hated you, yet when you told me just now, I believed every word. You should have told me.”

  “So? Why do you want to talk now?” She held back tears.

  “Gigi, I loved you.” Tears refused to stop leaking despite her best efforts. This was going so wrong. “Stop. We can’t. Just go.”

  Sean stepped closer. “I need to know . . .”

  “Why I told you I had an abortion right before you blew out your birthday candles?” Tears fell freely now. She brushed his hand off her shoulder and turned to face him. “You shouldn’t want me. I needed you to hate me then. I needed to forget what I did. I hated me, and you should have too.”

  “Sweetheart, holding on to pain only makes us lonely, sad individuals.”

  She stared into his warm blue eyes and her throat constricted. Finally, she told him, “I could have figured everything out sooner. It took me years to and to carve out a life for myself . . .” She paused and lowered her voice. “You don’t understand, Sean. I’m so afraid.”

  “Of what, Geegs?”

  “That I’ll turn out just like her.”

  He shook his head, “You’ve never been like her. And don’t tell me you don’t care about me.” “Stop.” Her mother pushed people, not caring and getting her thoughts in. “I can’t.”

  “Can you really forgive and forget, Sean?”

  “No.”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Right, and you and your son deserve more. I hate sounding like this whiny, crying person I am right now. I’m not this girl anymore. And I can’t go backward. Just go back to your room.”

  He took a step toward her, but she stepped backward. He dropped his hands to his sides. She couldn’t breathe. “I need to know one thing, and I won’t darken your door again.”

  “What?”

  “Did you ever love me?”

  Her shoulders caved in and she fought back tears in her eyes. “Once upon a time, I loved you more than life itself. I’d have done anything for you, and by staying away from you all those years, I helped you far more than you realize.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” His intense blue eyes struck her as being both haunted and strong. She swallowed her tears that never formed as he finished his question. “Don’t I get an opinion?”

  She rolled her shoulders back and stared at him straight in his eyes. “Did you hate me when I left?”

  “Yes.”

  Calmness enveloped her. “Then I did what I was best.”

  He stood still. “I can’t argue about the past. What’s done is done. Do I get a say in our lives, or are you making the decisions?”

  Then he took her hand and placed his free hand on top of her hand. “I almost died, and now I see how I wasted too much energy being with the wrong people and unhappy.”

  The calmness dissipated and she shook. “I hurt me. I hurt you. I kept my mouth shut and did what I was told. Don’t you see? I did what my mother wanted instead of running. I froze.” Tears fell on her cheeks again. “Please, Sean, go.”

  He stepped away from her. “Fine, but this isn’t over.”

  She pushed him out the door, and closed it behind her fast.

  They had four more days to go. She twisted to look out at the night sky then at the Champ Elysee. She heard a saxophone in the distance. For some reason, the sweetness made everything worse.

  Chapter 18

  Sean’s hands remained fisted as he paced his room. He should have known better. He stormed in a circle, his blood hot What had happened? Then his gaze stared at her bra and he dropped his hands to his sides in a loud sigh.

  The walls seemed too narrow. Staying here wouldn’t help him. His mind swirled around one fact. All those years ago, Gigi Dumont hadn’t loved him like he had her. And now, some cruel twist of fate had her back in his life again.

  He clenched his fists and wished for a fight. Like before, Gigi had snuck past his defenses. He was a prize idiot, and now he needed a hard drink. Not that he could have that right now. He threw water on his face and stared into the mirror. What could he do? He had no way of getting her to listen.

  Gigi Dumont. He left his room and walked downstairs to go to the gym. At the elevator he stared at the numbers. What had he done to her? He walked into the empty elevator and went downstairs to the first floor. Everything had been fine, and then she’d gotten pregnant, aborted his child, then left.

  The doors opened and he proceeded to the gym. A moment later, he hit the bag hard.

  The past flashed in his eyes and he hated Lillian even more than he had. Gigi’s mother had hated him since his sixteenth birthday. And Lillian had taken her revenge.

  He punched the bag a few times.

  Gigi hadn’t trusted him or cared. He beat the bag a few more times.

  Later, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and he stared at the blood on his hands. He should have worn gloves, but he had no pain. Numbness filled his body.

  At least he had worked out the pressure on his shoulders.

  He grabbed his shirt, tugged it on, and headed straight to the bar. One drink would not leave him hung over and Gigi was on call this night.

  A patron wrinkled his nose at Sean’s hand, but the man and his lady friend were welcome to leave his hotel if he offended them. The bartender must have agreed since he didn’t say a word, and simply asked, “What are you having?”

  “Whiskey.” He needed something hard to burn away his embarrassment. Gigi had a right not to love him, and he needed to not want impossible women.

  The bartender was fast with his drink order. Sean sighed, took a sip, then closed his eyes.

  Today did not end as he’d imagined.

  Then he opened his eyes and took another sip. His mind kept asking the same question. How would he survive four more days with Gigi Dumont?

  Chapter 19

  Without an ounce of energy, Gigi dressed in a nice pink dress. A dress was required for entering a few churches in France and the schedule held they would visit Sacre Couer today. She tied her unruly brown hair back with a ribbon and decided she appeared good enough for Versailles. Black wasn’t an option. She squared her shoulders. She’d have to face Sean Collins and somehow build a bridge to keep the peace for the rest of the week.

  She stepped outside and stopped. Shouts in the hall were never good. Without buckling her other shoe, Gigi raced down the hall.

  The girls’ door was wide open and they all appeared to be screaming at one another.

  Great! Just great.

  At least no one looked hurt. Gigi took in a breath, then asked Erica, “What happened?”

  “We don’t know. David had a black eye.”

  Gigi looked around. But David wasn’t there.

  Kendra shook her head.

  “He’s not here. Mr. Collins took him and the other boys back to their room.”

  “The boys were here?” Gigi asked, shocked. As their faces darkened in embarrassment, Gigi had her answer. Not the one she wanted but the truth. “Go get dressed. We’ll get a breakfast soon, and I’ll straightened everything out.”

  At Kendra’s soft sob, Gigi touched her shoulder. “A black eye will heal.”

  “It could be he didn’t take his medication last night, Miss Dumont.” A tea
r slid down Kendra’s cheek.

  “No one hit him?”

  “I don’t think so,” Kendra admitted.

  Damn. How had she forgotten to make sure he’d gotten his pills. But Sean had passed out all the meds last night, hadn’t he? What a dolt she was.