Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8)

by Heather Long

  “Bonjour, Rachel, espèce de salope sournoise!” I cried out, because she really was a sneaky bitch, knowing all about their plans and not cluing me in.

  Jake and Coop had plucked my leather backpack purse and carry-on from me before we’d even exited the terminal to the lounge area, so my hands were free. The rest of our bags were already on their way to our hotel. All good things, because I hurried across the space separating us.

  The red gloss of Rachel’s lipstick positively gleamed as she grinned at me. “Bonjour ma chérie.” She was still laughing when I reached her. She stood and had the wisdom to brace herself, because I half tackled her with my hug. “Bienvenue à Paris!”

  “Fuck me,” Coop muttered somewhere behind me. “I forgot how hot that was.”

  “Vous ai-je manqué?” she asked as she squeezed me tight before pulling back and giving me a once-over.

  “Terribly,” I admitted. Because I had missed her.

  “Liar,” she teased, tweaking me. “You look too fabulous to have missed me. And, bitch, you got laid on the flight, don’t even try to deny it.”

  I grinned. “I would never.”

  Her snort just ballooned the happiness in me all over again. “Right.” She flicked a gaze past me toward the guys, and for a moment, horror filtered through her expression as Coop gave her a hug.

  “Just shut up and take it, Manning,” he teased her.

  “Don’t touch me with your boner.”

  “I wouldn’t,” he promised, then dropped a kiss on her cheek. Jake burst out laughing at Rachel’s scowl, and I hooked an arm through hers as Jake followed Coop’s lead with an air kiss rather than a real one.

  Ian and Archie stared at her a beat, and then she glanced at me and groaned.

  “Fine.” Dropping my arm, she gave Jake a side hug, then crossed over to welcome Archie and Ian with air kisses to each cheek before backing off. Ian winked at me with a grin, and Archie rolled his eyes but his own smile warmed. “Thank you for bringing me Frankie.”

  “You’re not keeping her, Manning,” Jake said. “Just remember that. We’re sharing. ’Cause we’re nice like that.”

  “Really nice,” Ian added.

  “Like gift from the gods nice,” Archie tacked on, and I couldn’t smother my own laughter at their snarking.

  “However,” Coop said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I do insist that you do all the French from here out, because Frankie’s is way too much of a turn-on.”

  I elbowed him lightly, but he gave me such an intent look that I realized he wasn’t really kidding. Oh boy.

  I could have a lot of fun with that.

  “Let’s go, ladies. Frankie is starving.” Archie motioned us toward the doors. “The car should be here.”

  “It is,” Rachel said, falling into step with me and linking our arms together. “Your people swept in to pick me up last evening and moved me over to the new hotel… That was really not necessary, I was enjoying the hostel.”

  “You’ll enjoy five-star room service too,” Archie told her. “And there are enough arty types in Paris to distract the pair of you that I’d rather know you were somewhere secure at night.”

  “Aww, Rich Boy is worried that I’ll seduce you with my bohemian ways,” Rachel teased, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Nah, we’re pretty sure we have Frankie all locked up, but we don’t want her to have to keep telling you no. Then there are all the French boys.” Jake’s rumble carried just a hint of seriousness that I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Not that I expect you would,” he continued. “But I don’t want to get arrested on your first trip to Paris.”

  Outside, the cooler air hit me, and I shivered just a little. After the warmth of the island, it seemed awfully chilly.

  A car met us at the curb, and the driver was already out to take our overnight bags. We could have sent those with the other luggage to the hotel, but I’d wanted my laptop and stuff and so had the guys. Besides, we were heading there right after food. Rachel and I slid inside while the guys talked to the driver, who greeted Archie in English.

  “He’s cute,” Rachel said as soon as we were tucked in. “The driver. His name is Arnold. He’s doing this job to help pay for university. He’s twenty-two and very sweet.”

  I stared at her. “You learned a lot about him.”

  “I’m experiencing the continent,” she told me, and her grin widened. “And don’t be so dirty. He knows a lot about the city and has a good eye for out of the way places. The place he sent me to for supper last night was divine. He also recommended a great café for us right near the banks of the River Seine so you can have your first truly French moment.”

  “I love you,” I declared.

  She wore a satisfied expression. “I know.”

  “Hey now,” Jake warned as he climbed in with us. “Remember, you love us too.”

  “I would never forget it,” I promised. I loved the fact there was real laughter and a gleam of teasing in his eyes. He’d never quite lost that growl of possessiveness, and I wasn’t complaining. But I was dying to roam Paris and to catch up with Rachel on everything.

  The café was everything Rachel said it was, and she only teased me a little about being so goggle-eyed at everything. She could afford to be cool and erudite, she’d been here for ten days already. Probably got her crazy American tourist out of her blood, but not only had I never been to Paris before, I’d never left the country.

  I mean, my first trip out of Texas had been Colorado, then Florida. Technically, I’d been to Fiji, and we’d landed in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai, but we hadn’t gotten off the plan in the last two. And the private island had been a heavenly paradise, but this was…

  “Champagne,” Rachel ordered, along with a series of appetizers.

  I apologized to the waiter and glanced at the menu. They had escargot but no one, no matter how French or urbane it was, could convince me a snail was more than a snail. Nope.

  Not happening.

  The menu was extensive, so I added beef burgundy to my order and a couple more appetizers.

  We were seated outside. Notre Dame was across the way, and I was torn on where to look. The Seine. The shops. The cathedral.

  So many places.

  The waiter returned with the champagne, and Jake hooked his foot against my chair as Coop tapped my foot with his from the other side of the table. Archie looked more amused than anything else, and like me, Ian studied our surroundings. There was a man with a guitar playing a few shops down, and if I strained, I could just make out the music.

  Everything was just so perfect.

  “So,” I said, glancing at Rachel and trying to rein in my wandering attention. “Tell me everything.”

  “Everything?” she dared me.

  “Yes,” I told her as the waiter returned, this time with cheese boards. I could probably eat everything on the table, so I settled for a drink of the champagne that tickled my nose. “Everything.”

  “Well, the first night I was here,” Rachel said, “I was exhausted from the flight. I couldn’t sleep the whole way over—which reminds me, you totally need to read this new series by Lucy Smoke, it’s dark as fuck, but I adore Avalon. And Dean has piercings…”

  The guys groaned, and Rachel smirked. I almost snorted my champagne, but saved myself. Just barely.

  “Anyway,” she continued, utterly in her element. “I found a little café not that far from the hostel I was staying at, then settled myself in for the next twenty-four hours. I basically slept, read, found something to eat, then slept some more until my body clock was on the schedule here. A really cute guy named Hans was in the room across the hall, and we hit it off.”

  “You picked up a guy your first night here?” Coop asked, almost looking impressed.

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “No, I wasn’t his type. However, he did show me where a few of the best bars were for picking up girls and guys, so we spent a couple of days seeing the sites.” She held out her phone for me, and by sites, she
meant sights. There were some beautiful girls and guys scattered amongst the shots from around Paris.

  When I found a shot of Mathieu, I glanced up. “You really did run into him.”

  “I did, at the Louvre of all places—see the Mona Lisa there in the background? He was there working on a university project with his girlfriend. That’s her in the next shot.”

  “Oh, she’s pretty.”

  “She is,” Rachel said, popping a cracker in her mouth. “By the way, I have to tell you—Mathieu…you might have missed out, just a little.”

  I widened my eyes, and the conversation among the guys ceased. “Excuse me?” Jake growled.

  “He and his girlfriend invited me over for the night.” Rachel grinned wider. “Just saying—the boy can do more with his tongue than speak French.”

  “Rachel.” Laughter exploded out of me, and I stared at her. She looked like the cat with the cream. Why not? She was single, free, and exploring her sexuality to her heart’s content.

  “You’re not mad, right?” Rachel hesitated, and for the first time in a long time, I caught a little worry in those dark eyes of hers.

  “Not even a little bit. I’m happy for you.” I just wished…

  “I’m not you, Frankie,” she said with a flash of relief in her expression. “I haven’t found the loves of my life hiding in plain sight.”

  And that made me kind of sad.

  Jake grumbled, and I elbowed him, then handed him my empty champagne glass with a pointed look. He gripped my nape as he took the glass from my fingers, and his mouth closed over mine. The heated kiss demanded a response, and I licked and sucked at his tongue until he settled.

  “You good, Captain Caveman?” Rachel asked as I caressed Jake’s beard. He’d let it all grow in, and it was well past the prickly stage.

  “I’m fine,” he said, not looking away from me. “You don’t feel like you missed out, do you, Baby Girl?”

  Jake had not liked Mathieu. Not even a little. Neither he nor Archie had even made an attempt. But that was all water under a very far away bridge. “Not even a little,” I assured him.

  “Good,” he grunted, then frowned. “You know…”

  “Jake, no explanations are necessary.”

  “She knows we hated Frenchy,” Archie said. “But Frenchy is also not our problem. Or a problem. Rachel can totally take him for the team.”

  I groaned, and she snorted. “Yes, that’s totally why I rode his face—so I could take it for the team.”

  “We really don’t need the salacious details,” Archie began. “But if you want to compare tongue technique, tell me, did he pass your test?”

  Oh, God. They were both going there.

  Jake refilled my glass, then Rachel’s with champagne.

  “He excelled,” Rachel said, then glanced at me. “How many times in one session have they made you come?”

  “Oh hell no,” I commented. “You two leave me out of this.”

  “I think our record is seven right now,” Archie said. “Or is it eight?”

  That earned a speculative look from Rachel.

  “Still think she missed out?” Archie snarked, and I stared up at the sky.

  “Until she tries vag, I’m always going to think she’s missing out,” Rachel countered, and I did snort my champagne this time.

  “Anyway,” Ian intruded. “We’re going to talk about the places and things you’ve seen and not the people you’ve done. If you girls want to catch up on that later, that’s fair.”

  “Spoilsport,” Rachel teased, then slanted a look at me. “He did ask about you.”

  That surprised me, but I smiled. “I hope you told him I was well.”

  “I told him you’d stopped denying your boyfriends and the five of you were living in a life of poly hedonism. He was very happy for you.”

  I grinned.

  “Poly hedonism,” Coop repeated. “I like that. And there, I didn’t think Frenchy was so bad.”

  I just rolled my eyes, but Ian nudged him and muttered something about ‘move on,’ and I shot him a grateful look. Teasing was fine, but this was apparently going to be a sore point for some time.

  Rachel, bless her, let it go, but I made a mental note to ask her for more later. If she needed to talk about it, she could absolutely tell me.

  We spent a couple of hours at lunch and finished a bottle of champagne and then one of wine while we ate. It sounded like Rachel had an amazing adventure so far, but she promised that she had saved the Eiffel Tower for when I got there. She also didn’t mind retracing her steps with me.

  I was lightheaded and relaxed by the time we went for a walk along the river. Yes, we needed to head to the hotel, but I wanted to see some things before we did. Ian and I made a beeline for the guitar player.

  I was glad I wasn’t the only one who wanted to hear the music. We put some money into his case as he played. The others drifted over to join us, and Ian wrapped his arms around me from behind as we swayed to the music.

  After, we wandered down to some of the shops. In the very first one, I found a selection of berets and bought several ’cause I had no idea what Chloe’s size was. I also found a couple of things for Patience and for Kelly, Hank’s wife. There was an apron that Coop popped around with that said something about Paris and the food and we got that for Jeremy.

  Just ’cause.

  There was also a stuffed black cat that reminded me so much of Tiddles that I couldn’t help cuddling it. I hadn’t been away from my cats this long in forever. A wave of melancholy hit, and while part of me knew it was the wine, I still wished I could hold one of them.

  Archie plucked the cat from my arms and handed it to Ian along with our other purchases. I really didn’t need it, but we all went a little crazy, leaving that shop and then the next few with more and more bags.

  Rachel laughed at us, particularly after I picked out a rather obnoxious and colorful scarf and found one for her too.

  Another thing I noticed, no one seemed at all askance when I kissed Coop or Ian or Archie or Jake one after the other. I’d walk into one store tucked against Ian and leave under Jake’s arm.

  “It’s Paris,” Rachel reminded me as we walked a little ahead of the guys. I was still tipsy, but a good tipsy and not quite so lightheaded. “They love love here, and you are surrounded by love. Of course they adore it.”

  “I’ve missed you, Rach.”

  “Of course you have,” she said. “Because I’m me.”

  I laughed. We were in Paris. We were young, and she was right—I was in love.

  “Come on,” she told me, clasping my hand and hauling me forward abruptly. “We’re going to get caricatures made of us…”

  I didn’t know how she’d spotted them ahead of us, but there were a bunch of artists.

  We didn’t get out of there without spending most of the euros we had in our pockets, but not only did I get caricatures of all of us, I found a stunning scene of the river itself painted from just that vantage point.

  Some memories got selfies. Some got souvenirs.

  This counted for both.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  French Kissing and Other Things

  Frankie

  We had a huge suite on one of the upper floors, so we had a long, and private, elevator ride. Our first twenty-four hours here had been a bit of a blur. After our wine and shop hop along the Seine, we retreated to our hotel where we unpacked, settled in, and the guys left me and Rachel in her room to catch up.

  I had fallen asleep in there, but I woke up with Coop and Archie, Jake and Ian were heading out to explore while they also went for a run. I’d given it about five minutes of thought and went back to sleep after I gave them perfectly reasonable kisses. The next time I woke up, it was just me and Coop and it was dark outside.

  Coop snored lightly next to me, but his hair was damp and his cheeks shaved. The rest of the room was empty, so I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, and showered. Okay, I hadn’t expecte
d jet lag to kick my ass quite so hard, but when I came back into the bedroom in a borrowed T-shirt, fresh panties, and damp hair, Archie waited for me.

  “Come eat,” he said, holding out his hand. “Then more sleep. You’ll be great by tomorrow morning.”

  I glanced at Coop, but Archie just shook his head as he ushered me out into the sitting room. Jake and Ian were sprawled on the sofa, a movie up on the TV that they’d paused. Rachel had nail polish out and was working on her toes. She shot me a grin, and I managed a yawn.

  Honestly, my brain was so stuffed with fuzz, it wasn’t funny. It wasn’t fair that everyone else looked normal. I was pretty sure they’d talked and teased, but I basically ate mechanically anything they put in front of me, drank a lot of water, and then kissed everyone goodnight, including Rachel, before I wandered back into the bed and crawled in with Coop.

  Jake followed, chuckling as he tucked me in, and then kissed my head. That was the last memory I had until early the next morning when I woke up refreshed and in desperate need of coffee.

  The plan was ten days in Paris. Then we were going to go across to London to see Torched for their very last concert. KC was excited. I’d talked to her on the phone for five hours the night before. Coop hung out with me on the balcony long after the guys had gone to sleep, though he had his ear buds on and seemed more intent on being there for company than anything else.

  A year ago, if someone had told me that Kaitlin Crosse would not only have my number and I would have hers, but that she would blow up my phone and my email, I’d probably have laughed my ass off. She was a good kid though, a little lonely, despite her best friends who toured with her. Though she said they were more family than friends now, so they didn’t count.

  What she loved about me? I was ridiculously normal. The fact she enthused about my “normalcy” in the same conversation as demanding the details of our island escape and Disney World vacations prior to the private plane flight that brought us halfway around the world to the most romantic city?