Chaperoning Paris (Collins Brothers)

by Victoria Pinder

  If the boy needed a hospital, she’d bear the blame. She knocked on the boys’ door and proceeded inside. Her heartbeat calmed at the scene before her. Sean had control of the situation. David’s medication sat next to him.

  “Do you need me to call his parents?” Gigi asked.

  Sean’s gaze shot up at her. “I have Raphael on the line with them now. The boys swear he fell. David seemed to have some trouble breathing. The paramedics will be up in a moment.”

  Sean remained calm and collected. And she trusted him. He understood cancer and had this under control. “You wait with David, and I’ll get the rest of the students on our way. Call me with news.”

  “Good idea. Go. And don’t worry.”

  Gigi took the other three boys, then went down the hall and knocked on the girls’ room and told Kendra the update. Soon they were all gathered in the lobby. At the door, she reminded everyone, “David will be fine, everyone. Let’s give him space, and he’ll meet us there.”

  She swallowed her guilty conscience. Sean had to have made sure David had taken his pill. She couldn’t have remembered wrong.

  “What about breakfast, Ms. Dumont? You said we were going to the café.”

  “Yes, there is awesome food near Versailles.”

  “What if David needs one of us?” Kendra asked, her voice trembling.

  “His parents are on the phone, and Mr. Collins is with him.” Gigi smiled at the girl to assure her. “He’ll be fine. He’s alert and conscious. He’ll be happy you’re enjoying yourself.”

  “But I want him with me all the time,” Kendra wailed.

  “Men need to see we’re independent and can live without them,” Gigi said, answering from her heart.

  “Ms. Dumont, you don’t understand love.”

  Boom. How true was that? Gigi wondered.

  Kendra lagged behind the group Mimi led to the Paris Metro. Every few minutes Gigi checked her phone. No messages appeared.

  Her shoulders stayed squared. When they arrived at the station to take the Versailles line, she texted Sean asking for the status. A few seconds later, Gigi read the report and told everyone, “David’s fine. The doctor on call told him to eat a full breakfast, rest for a couple hours, and he should be strong enough to go out again.”

  Gigi felt her shoulders relax. The group continued onto the next train in a happier mood. She straightened and vowed to remain calm, no matter what. The students needed her, and she needed to be strong and good enough.

  At the station, Kendra marched the group from the front. Gigi’s smile grew. Slowing near Versailles, Erica asked Kendra, “How do you know where to go?”

  “The signs.” Kendra’s natural leadership skills emerged and she took control again. “You should be reading them.”

  Gigi nodded. Good. Kendra had been the group’s unofficial queen bee, and she returned to form. If they won in three days, she would complete this journey on an upswing. Sean or no Sean.

  Liar.

  After a full meal, the group finished the short walk and entered Versailles, where Gigi couldn’t imagine life at the French Court. How strange the French kings lived. And so far removed from reality. The students were looking in all different directions. “You have your cell phones?” Gigi asked.

  All the heads bobbed up and down.

  “Good. You have two hours. I’ll meet you at the reflecting pool.”

  Everyone paired off while she wandered over to the Petite Palace where Marie Antoinette had lived. The French Queen had had a strange pampered, but tutored life.

  The palace had quiet gardens most tourists ignored. Gigi checked her backpack and tapped her reader. She intended to sit and catch up on a book. She found a shady spot and immersed herself in the story.

  She had no idea how long she sat, but her body heat index rose higher and higher without the text being quite that interesting to elicit a visceral response. She rubbed her neck and stopped reading. Only one person could cause such a reaction. She scanned her surroundings. Only a tour group stood nearby.

  “In 1760 . . .

  ”a tour guide started but she didn’t pay any further attention.

  Gigi trudged forward, hoping to glean some new information she could pass on to the students.

  Her body swamped with sudden heat. “Sean, come out where I can see you.”

  Then, near the largest window frame, she saw him. Tilting her head, she asked, “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

  Staring at the interplay of shadow and sunlight on his frame, she lost her ability to speak. Sean faced her, and her body longed for him. He stepped inside the opulent room, and his fingers traced her body. She sighed, and he pulled her closer. He smelled like home again.

  She took a whiff and then moistened her lips to ask, “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

  “I have a new plan with you.”

  His words made her heart race.

  Her body’s overheating with need weakened her defenses. “What’s your plan?”

  “I decided I want you.”

  She pushed back in his arms. “Wait.”

  “What now?”

  She stopped struggling. “Did you tell David to take his pills last night?”

  “Yeah.”

  Relief washed through her. At least David’s accident wasn’t due to negligence on either of their pasts. Sean leaned closer to her, leaving no air except the shared space between them.

  She licked her lips in anticipation.

  Finally, he ended the torture and kissed her.

  His lips lit a match inside her, and her need for him grew.

  Sean twirled her to the window seat, pushed her backward, and tasted her neck and skin. His salty taste left her breathless.

  Gigi almost jumped out of her skin. Her body became engulfed with intense heat and she had no defense. Her body quivered from a mere taste of him.

  Sean had power over her but she didn’t care. She her hand ran through his hair, wanting more of him. She’d never forget him.

  She waited long enough, and her arm encircled his back. She needed him closer.

  Chapter 20

  Gigi’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. Her fingers stayed in Sean’s hair, then the ringing grew louder.

  With a heavy sigh, she withdrew her cell phone. Sean’s kiss had given her energy, but duty remained first.

  Sean stepped back.

  She stared at the caller ID and said, “One of the girls.”

  “Erica’s run off crying,” Kendra said.

  “Where are you?” Gigi heard the answer and finished, “Be right there.”

  “One of the girls needs me.” She propelled out of her seat, but her hormones off kept her unsteady on her feet.

  “Why did you kiss me?” she asked as he kept pace by her side.

  “I have a new plan regarding you and me, Gigi.” Sean winked at her.

  She swallowed and she imagined herself needy and weak, waiting for him on his bed. Something shifted inside her as she pictured them making love, as they had all those years ago. She shook off the visual and raced out of the house.

  First, she had work to do.

  Running hard and fast, Gigi focused on the task at hand and found Erica curled up with her knees to her chest on a park bench a short distance away. Catching her breath, she approached the girl and took the seat at the other end of the bench. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

  “No, but I will be once people leave me alone for a while,” Erica answered, staunch and firm. At least no tears were being shed.

  “I can’t help you if I don’t know what happened,” Gigi offered. “Mr. Collins, can you go find the others for me?”

  Erica waited for Sean to leave then admitted to Gigi, “I overheard Raphael talking to David. They didn’t know I was there, and you can’t tell them,” Erica said softly.

  “Sure,” Gigi assured her. “What did you hear?”

  “I’m a nice girl, but plain and ordinary.”

  “Ouch,” Gigi
said.

  “Teenage boys can be stupid, but they honestly don’t know better.”

  Erica crossed her arms. “They should. I want to transform myself into one of the cool girls, like Kendra, or put on leather pants to get noticed.”

  Gigi scooted closer to her. “Don’t do that. Transforming yourself into someone else denies who you are or what you want. Things happen in this world that we don’t want to happen, and events force us to change into people we don’t like sometimes. To change on purpose for someone else denies you your own destiny.”

  “Did Mr. Collins do that to you?” Erica gave her an assessing look. “Unlike Raphael, you should forgive him.”

  Gigi shook her head. “What happened wasn’t Mr. Collins’ fault. I’m the one that changed, no matter how much I didn’t want to.”

  “Ms. Dumont, that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing or no one can change who you are on the inside except you. All I want to do is change my clothes, to look pretty like Kendra. I won’t be changing 'the me' on the inside. I am unchangeable, and so are you. You’re a good person, Ms. Dumont.”

  Gigi paused. Erica had a point about being strong on the inside. “Do you want to ask Kendra for clothes and makeup help? She’d probably agree.”

  Launching off the bench, the girl shouted, “Great idea. Thanks. I’ll go find her.”

  Gigi stilled for a moment and stared as the girl bounded off.

  One again, with warning, goosebumps rose on her. The special goosebumps caused only by one person. Then, in the far right-corner near some rose bushes, she spotted Sean watching her. Anticipation built inside her, and her mouth watered to kiss him.

  Then a cold, sobering thought hit her. Sean needed to find a woman capable of loving him heart and soul.

  With hesitation, she forced herself to amble toward him. Should she look for a woman for Sean?

  She’d go with a free conscience. Freedom might be lonely, but it was best for Sean.

  Unaware of her thoughts, Sean walked over with his hands in his pockets and asked, “What was wrong?”

  “Girl stuff. Clothes. You wouldn’t understand.” She answered Sean in a happy tone. He smelled good, fresh, linen mixed with almonds.

  “Women troubles. I fall into that, no matter what I do.” He winked at her, and scooted closer to nudge her. “I’m so thankful every day I have a son. Daughters are far too dangerous.”

  Add a great mother to the list she’d create on the perfect woman for Sean. She also had to appreciate his good qualities. If she made him happy, her would be at peace.

  “You’re looking at me funny,” he whispered into her ear.

  Growling, she admitted, “I am.”

  “Hmm.” Sean took his hands out of his pocket. “What’s your new plan, Scout?”

  “I’ll tell you later.” She opened her mouth to add something, but he caught her lips in a fast kiss.

  The world spun. She clung to him, and he became the center of her universe. Nothing else mattered.

  Her fingers tugged on his back, and he let her go. But he kissed her forehead, and promised, “Scout, you are going to give us another change.”

  No. He had everything upside down. She’d never be his.

  Without a word, he grabbed her hand and directed her toward the reflecting pool. Washington DC’s reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial was a direct replica of Versailles. She and Sean had visited that on their eighth grade field trip together. Nearing the water, he twirled her around. She laughed despite her worry.

  He wrapped his arm around her waist. She stopped mid-stride and her body heat index grew. Then with a grin he took her other hand and changed them both in a dance pose. A giggle emerged from her. “What are you doing, Sean?”

  “Reminding you what you forced me to learn.” He guided her body into the dance.

  Waltzing in broad daylight made her laugh. “I preferred dancing to battling you in tackle football.”

  “You played me twice a week,” he reminded her.

  “You won every game, but I won a dance. To me, the games were fun.” She laughed, and remembered how important she’d considered herself back in high school.

  Sean Collins had loved her and had kept her close. Nothing else had mattered.

  Life before she ruined everything had been idyllic with Sean. He’d made her forget her home life and dream of a possible future together, one far away from her uncaring mother.

  Sean twirled her around, then unexpectedly swung her into a low dip.

  Claps rang out.

  Gigi knew her cheeks were tinged with red.

  Raphael called out, “Mr. Collins, men don’t dance fancy like on television. Stop. You’re embarrassing our kind.”

  Gigi dropped her hands, then almost fell out of Sean’s arms. Sean caught her, and protected her. Just like he always had.

  “Wrong. Don’t stop.” Kendra said with her brow crinkled and her arms crossed. “David will learn how to dance if he plans on taking me to the prom. If you want a woman, you better know how to dance.”

  “She’ll dance salsa. I’m Cuban and Puerto Rican,” Raphael countered.

  “Ms. Dumont needed a dance,” Sean called, mischief dancing in his blue eyes. “So, are we hungry for lunch now?”

  Cheers of yes echoed in her ears, but her thoughts stayed with him. Sean pointed in the direction of the crowd then took her hand.

  She stayed back, his gaze flashed toward her. He slowed his pace as the group left. He neared her and she whispered, “Sean, I don’t know what your plan is, but—”

  Thud.

  He had turned around, and let her walk straight into his arms without her even realizing it. He kept his arms on her back and whispered, “My plan is seduction, Scout. The thing you wanted to do to me last night.”

  Her entire body heated. She hadn’t expected his blunt answer, though she could feel a huge smile spread across her face. “Sean, I can’t marry you.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.” His fingers traced the outline of her spine, creating a tingling sensation on her body.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to have to table this, uh, discussion. Right now we’re going to act like responsible adults.”

  Sean moved fast and she almost fell forward. Then he stepped out of her way. His hands steadied her, then held her. The teenagers hadn’t seemed to notice. Instead the teenagers sat down, ordered sodas, and talked about winning the competition, and she and Sean took a second table. She ordered a bottle of water.

  She kept her gaze on Sean and, finally, the waiter returned and Gigi gulped down the cool drink.

  Sean stayed in his chair next to her, picked up her bottle, and poured himself a glass. She stared at his every move. “You and I, this whatever it is between us will burn out fast.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Sean asked her. “You’ve never left my heart, even if you did disappear for a decade. You’re still there, Scout.”

  “That’s not good.” But how did she argue with him when her heart soared? He’d been her one true love.

  “Then tell me you don’t love me.”

  “It’s not important.” She had always loved him. The fluttering in her stomach from his every touch couldn’t be stopped. And he’d never know. “What matters the most to me is you’re happy.”

  “Glad we agree on one thing.” Laughing, he drank his glass of water, and she clutched her bottle. Then she let it go. He wanted more from her than just water. She needed to convince him she would be the worst possible candidate for a wife and mother to his son. Why did she have trouble controlling her heart now? He put his empty glass down. “I agree with you on one thing. I should be happy. And so should you.”

  She cleared her throat and dizziness threatened to take over. “Sean, you need to let me go.”

  “After you stop confusing me with your mother. We don’t look alike. I’m much cuter. You tell me you don’t love me and I’ll leave you alone.�
�� He leaned closer, fixing a piece of her hair. “Your mother did this to us, and despite everything, you can’t say no to me.”

  Gigi watched as Sean sat back and glanced at the menu. How would she get through today and stick to her plan? But was Sean right? Could she be one for him?

  Chapter 21