Gigi swallowed and turned toward the students, all gathered in groups and chatting excitedly. She should have been prepared for this possibility. She’d just trusted that Sean Collins kept his word, always.
Closing her eyes, she had to give up her plan to avoid Sean now. He’d stay in the same hotel. She’d see him everywhere she went. Opening her eyes, she realized she had fallen behind and ran to catch up.
Her eyes gazed at the numbers then stared at her phone. Her flight had been changed. She crossed her arms and asked, “Why are we in the terminal for private airplanes?”
Sean slowed down to get in step with her. “I called the parents last night. I got verbal permission last night then hand-collected a permission slip from every parent approving the change in flights.”
“The Collins jet is not okay, Sean.” She stopped mid-stride. “I don’t take private jets.”
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Sean gently touched her shoulder to get her to move, but she stepped away from him. Her arms waved in front of her and she shook. “Don’t. I’ll take my original flight and meet you there.”
“The law states chaperones of both genders. Get on the plane.”
Fear fluttered in her heart and tears swelled in her eyes. “Please. Don’t.”
Sean would think her crazy. She took a trembling breath and added, “Six years ago I took an offered ride from Prince Roberto. Our flight crashed. I thought I’d die. But I never had a scratch, and for six long hours, I nursed Roberto and his pilot to keep them alive. I swore to never trust a private plane.”
“I’d make sure you’re safe.” His hand brushed her arm, and her arm had electrical currents rushing through her. He whispered, “You know you can trust me. Remember?”
Sean wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he’d break her heart, if she let him in again. “You don’t talk like you hate me. You should. I need the buffer.”
“Gigi.” Sean put his hand on her shoulder again, and she moved in step with him. “Holding on to the past isn’t healthy. Let things go.”
“Says the man who bought a school because he didn’t like the principal.”
“I had my reasons.” He sighed. “You’re right, but unlike you, I don’t hide from the action.”
Could he stop knowing her so well? “I don’t hide.”
“You don’t live. You don’t leave your house.” He kept his grip firm and kept their pace fast.
“How do you know?” Did he spy on her? Avoiding his eyes, she inspected the carpet.
“I know your neighbors.”
“Stalkers. The whole family.” She stared at the smiling faces of her students, excited to get on the private jet.
Sean nodded at the agent but kept his arm around Gigi, insisting she get onto the ramp.
The teenagers flooded down the air the second they were signaled.
Gigi swallowed. She’d be strong for them. She wouldn’t do this otherwise. “You can take your hand back.”
“You are getting on the plane?”
“Yes. You’re right. I can trust you.”
The hum of the engines under her feet the second she stepped onto the flight brought back memories of the heat of fire about to consume her. Breathing deeply, she stared at Erica. Erica’s parents had scraped together the airfare, and Gigi had collected some money from her teachers at school to ensure the girl could afford Paris.
Gigi watched as Erica smiled and laughed with her friend, buckling up without a care in the world. For Erica’s sake and that of the other students, Gigi propelled herself forward till she sank into her seat.
Sean spoke to the pilot, and images flashed through her mind of her fighting off the un-noble royal. The jerk then stalked off to confide with his pilot moments before the plane crashed into a mountain. Sean’s help then would have been nice.
No. She would not think of the crash right now. Sean, she’d think of him. His name burned into her mind and vibrated in her body. He had been her best friend, first and best lover, and as far as she knew had never hurt anyone. The years might have hardened him, or maybe she had, but she trusted him. His lips tasted better than any French wine. Her gaze found his broad, strong back and she let her shoulders relax. He’d never let anyone hurt them. He’d keep them safe. Sean finished his conversation then turned in her direction. Her eyes met his stormy blue ones, and his lips curled the same way she remembered.
Memories slammed into her and she averted her gaze as heat rose in her body. She had destroyed them both. She had no rights to count on his strength.
A hand on her arm forced her to look up. Her racing heart grew faster on contact. Sean. He squatted next to her to whisper in her ear, “Everything will be fine.”
The concern in his voice captured her attention. She stared at his lips and another memory flashed. His hard lips had softened the moment he’d brushed against hers. Dropping her eyes, she hoped the heat in her face didn’t create a blush as she told him, “Thanks.”
“Just looking out for you.” He handed her a blanket and pillow.
She accepted them and tried to still her rising pulse. Sean shouldn’t care about her. She had no right to ask him for anything.
A week with Sean in Paris loomed ahead of her. Her eyes darted around the room. Her heart beat in her ears so loud, she drowned out the sound of the engines.
Chapter 4
“Please keep your seats in the upright position for landing.”
The plane landed safely at Le Bourget Airport, the closest private plane airport near Paris.
Sean kept his gaze on the students and closed his file as the plane’s tires bounced on the tarmac. Everyone stayed calm in their seats. Good.
His gaze wandered back to Gigi. With her eyes closed, Sean Collins couldn’t see her brown eyes. Her light brown hair with curls at the ends hadn’t changed. He could still close his eyes, and remember her berry smell of that hair the moment he’d first kissed her.
But at his birthday party, she’d marched in and told him what she had done. She had shook her head and walked out of his life.
Sean turned back in his seat.
Once the plane stopped at the terminal, Sean stood and stretched. He gazed at Gigi who suddenly rushed to the bathroom. One of the students, Kendra, the cheerleader, whispered to the boy student, David, “I can’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower. It’s like my dream.”
Erica, the more studious girl, whispered to another female student, “Ms. Dumont and Mr. Collins took us to Paris to win, not for us to go to a on a vacation.”
“We can do both.” Sean answered, but his stomach clenched. Sean sucked his cheeks inside and turned away so the teenagers could not see him and counted to ten. One. Two. Three. She hated him. Four. Five. Gigi lived a party. Six. Seven. She should not be a teacher. Eight. Nine. He didn’t know what he wanted. Ten. Sucker. He breathed then turned to the students. “Let’s go collect our bags and carry them to the private bus. I’ll get Ms. Dumont.”
The students gathered their belongings. Sean watched and waited. She stayed in. So he banged on the bathroom door, tapping his fingers after. “Gigi, do you need help? We’re supposed to be watching your students.”
“One minute.”
She moved swiftly in the bathroom. He could hear the sounds of running water, sounding innocent. Liar. His lips flattened when she fell out of the small room. “Do you need me to get anything for you?” He offered, hoping he’d force the tension on his back to roll off.
“I’m good.” She reached for her carry-on bag stored in the overhead compartment but he grabbed it before she could.
“Let me.” Sean’s body tightened. He needed to storm away from everyone and go get the car.
“Sean, I can carry my own things. I don’t need your help.”
He dropped her bag. “I was trying to be helpful.”
“I can take care of myself.” She had her hand on her hips. “Just leave me alone.”
“With pleasure.”
A rock fell into his stomach.
She stormed off to lead the children off the ramp. He lost sight of her for the moment. His ex-wife hadn’t hurt him, not like Gigi had. Gigi had left him bitter and cold. He followed behind the group and his gaze found her. Her swaying hips made him want to grab her and her eyes . . . Why did her eyes haunt him? He needed to let her go.
Sean sighed, ran his hand through his hair, and he focused on his goals. She hadn’t wanted him. Not now and not then. This week he’d find a way to get over her. Seeing her again meant staring at the death of his own innocence.
Outside, he hailed a jumbo limo and called out to the group, “This way.”
The children all stopped in their tracks and a limo door opened for Sean and the group. He waited for everyone to pile inside.
She wiggled past him. She still smelled of berries. He took a deep whiff. Then he rolled his back. Giovanna Dumont did not factor into his future. She represented the past.
Chapter 5
The chauffeured limousine kept the group in close quarters. Gigi’s eyes narrowed in on Kendra and David. She noted how close they sat together, and the way his hand brushed hers. When had they begun dating?
Her gaze drifted, encompassing all her students.
“Buckle up, everyone,” Sean said, and stuck his head into the door. “It’s about ten miles between us and the Eiffel Tower near where our hotel is located.”
“Miles or kilometers?” Erica asked.
Winking with an easy grin, he replied, “Miles. I calculate based on what I know.”
“The European system makes more math sense.”
“I’m American, though.” Sean stared at Gigi for a minute and squeezed into the too-small group. “And last time I checked the passports of this group, everyone here is, too.”
Gigi craned her neck, stared out the window, and frowned. She had booked a cheap hotel in Chinatown.
“We should have taken the bus I set up. We’ll seem out of place.” Sean must have read her blank look while she reached for her necklace. “I changed our hotel reservation to one of my family operations. It’s five star and the entire staff will report any movements out of teenage rooms. This way we don’t have to take turns staying up at night. My people will see.”
Moans came from the teenage voices. Gigi schooled her emotion the best she could. She’d never played poker for a reason. “We’ll talk when we get to the hotel, Sean.”
He inched closer and whispered, “It wasn’t for you.”
“I didn’t think so.” Gigi fixed her stare straight out the window. She’d never tell Sean how often she dreamt of him. In the daylight it was easier to lose herself in the daily routine, not thinking. If she stared at him now, she’d see how she’d almost had everything.
He wrinkled his nose. She saw his reflection in the mirror as he told her, “It’s to see that my investment at the school has credentials favoring Collins Enterprises.”
“You don’t have to explain to me, Sean.” She squeezed his arm. What did she say that could make this better? The limo went faster on the highway.
Gigi swallowed, and she slumped her shoulders. “Thank you.”
He rearranged his seat nearest the door. Gigi scooted further in, and sat next to Erica and the window. She reached up to finger her necklace, but she stopped and dropped her hand then straightened her clothes.
Gigi swung her gaze back to her students. Erica’s parents were religious, and Erica never got to travel to see her own country. The girl stared outside with wide-eyed wonder, and Gigi understood her implied promise to keep an extra close watch on her. Erica stared continued on to Raphael, the Puerto Rican boy in her French class. Raphael never noticed Erica, but Gigi could sense the girl’s innocent crush.
Erica whispered, “I thought for sure yesterday this wasn’t going to happen, Ms. Dumont.”
“No. Have faith in people and your dreams.” Gigi’s gaze took in Sean’s intense blue eyes. Once she could have been his.
“You, too. Maybe you’ll get married one day, Ms. Dumont.”
Gigi crossed her arms. “We don’t need relationships to make us whole.”
Erica laughed. “Mr. Collins is nice and he watches out for you and he’s hot, Ms. Dumont. Marry him,” Erica said loudly.
Gigi cringed as Sean laughed.
Gigi flinched. She’d once believed in fairy tales. Stealing a glance at Sean, she spotted lines on his face that made him appear overtired. He used to get cranky without a bagel in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and bit her lip. Why did she remember that?
She sighed, straightened her shoulders, and avoided his gaze for the rest of the ride.
After about twenty minutes, she turned toward the students and said, “After we check in, let’s head to the Eiffel Tower. Walking will be nice.”
Cheers sounded throughout the limo.
Sean smiled, though the fatigue lines near his eyes gave his true state away. Empathy swelled in her chest when she thought how he’d almost died. Cancer sucked, but he didn’t look sick. He had his hair, a great tan, and his sexy, kissable lips. His strong arms had once made everything else in her life disappear. The disease had aged him, but the overall passage of time had made him hotter and rugged. Would he still make her body tremble in desire?
Wait.
She rolled her shoulders. She had no right to daydream about him.
She forced her gaze onto the excited teenagers.
The white streets and fashionable people in the square gave her an idea of where she was. Trocodero Circle. She parted her lips, but her mouth was so dry. She cleared her throat then asked, “Hotel’s around here?”
Sean read something on his phone for a second, “No, but we’re getting close. We’re staying on Avenue de Montaigne on the other side of the Seine, on the way to the Champs-Elysee.”
“Near the Arch De Triumphe?”
“Walking distance.”
His hotel must be luxurious. The exclusive location sounded dreamy.
Erica asked loudly, “When you lived here, Ms. Dumont, did you leave near there?”
“No. I basically lived in the outskirts of Paris and for a millisecond in Chinatown. This is the rich people section,” she replied.
“You lived here?” Sean raised a brow at her.
Hadn’t he known? Her heart fell in her chest. But they’d never spoken again. Smiling up at him, she answered, “Oui, monsieur. Deux ans.”
He stared straight at her and her courage wavered. The limo hit a small bump and then drove over the short, decorated bridge above the Seine. Oohs and ahs echoed in the back seat.
The limo slowed to a stop at a white marble mansion that had been transformed into luxury hotel. They piled out and Gigi took in a deep breath of air.
Sean offered his hand. She accepted, then coughed.
So much for elegance.
Sean hadn’t noticed. “Let’s put our stuff in our rooms and meet downstairs in the lobby in ten minutes. No one is to bring more than twenty-five euro on their person.”
Gigi understood. Theft happened every day there. Blinking, she added, “No purses. We can come back here to get money for dinner.”
The students paid them no attention and stared in awe at the whitewashed gleaming hotel.
“The hotel used to be an elegant, imperial theater designed for Napoleon,” Sean explained. “But we transformed into a posh hotel.”
“And we get to stay here?” Kendra’s eyes brightened and took a step to go inside. The others followed Kendra.
Erica stayed firmly planted on the sidewalk outside, and her jaw hadn’t quite closed. Gigi came over and stood next to Erica, her favorite student. “Are you good?”
“This is beautiful. I don’t want to touch anything.”
“Go ahead, Erica. For a week, we live here.”
The girl didn’t budge. “I don’t know how.”
Gigi took the girl’s hand in hers and whispered, “Pretend you’re one of the rich girls off on an adventure in P
aris from your novels.”
“I’ll try.” Erica nodded then skipped off with her friends into the lobby.
Sean carried a bag over his shoulder and waited for her. Imagining him carrying her in his arms, Gigi felt the heat in her cheeks grow warm. His lips moved. She stared blankly then realized he’d said something. “What?”
Chaperoning Paris (Collins Brothers) Page 4