Sean kept his gaze on Gigi, realizing he was no longer angry at her. The past was the past, and he had a second chance at life. No cancer. No Jennifer. But Gigi still held the flames in his heart. Flames that now grew wildly. His new plan must work, or tonight he’d buy boxing gloves.
The tour stopped at Sacre Couer and the teenagers and Gigi climbed out of the bus. Soon, they followed the crowd and climbed the tower. Sean kept back to read what his brother reported. He’d then find Gigi for a candle ceremony.
His new plan would help her forget the past.
Earlier that morning, when David had talked to his oncologist, Sean had experienced his first epiphany. He had never claimed to be the inspired, creative type, but he realized that Gigi still held on to the past. She’d never mourned what’d happened to both of them. All their losses. When his grandfather had died, the mass had been solemn and hard. Afterward, though, remembering his granddad had become easier.
And after he completed his plan, he’d keep tossing grenades of truth, love, and desire in her path until she either exploded at him or explained herself. Direct confrontation became the most direct route to victory.
Soon his life would be back on track.
He read the text from Liam.
Gerard and I will call you tonight about a case we worked together five years ago. We tried to tell you the day you married Jennifer.
Odd. No memories surfaced where his brothers had not talked to him candidly. He remembered his brothers telling him not to marry Jennifer.
They’d even argued with him ten minutes before the wedding ceremony.
Sean stared at his phone and scratched his neck.
Years ago, Gerard had said something strange about sex changing a woman. Liam had said something about women taking after their mothers. But no one had mentioned Gigi. Sean remembered those comments because they stuck out as strange.
He put his phone in his pocket then sped up to rejoin the group. Sean caught the tail end of the tour guide who explained to the group how the French Revolution split the political and religious classes into different factions. The students’ ahs made the exercise worth the trip.
Gigi surprised him and she stood next to him. She brushed against his hand and said, “This is still amazing. I never came here when I lived here.”
“On and off for ten years, and you skipped one of the best views in the city?”
“As you might imagine, Churches weren’t on my radar, no.”
“I’m sorry things were so hard for you. I know now that you were all alone. I at least had my family.” He took her hand in his and squeezed, and this time she didn’t run away. Instead, her smile beamed from her face, making her beautiful.
Now. He quietly led her to a small candlelit area.
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s this?”
“When we were children, you wanted an outdoor wedding and you never wanted your mother invited.” Sean hadn’t been sure how to phrase his question and the statement plopped out. Gigi stared at the altar. Nodding, he bowed his head. “I hoped you’d indulge me in lighting a candle in memory of that child, our child, that we were never able to have.”
“What?” She stepped back, her body stiff and frozen. “But, Sean, you know me. I’ve never been religious.”
Sean kept his hands to his sides and stared into her brown eyes. “You weren’t hiding from me, then. Gigi, whatever your mother did to you, it’s done. She’s dead and can’t hurt you anymore.” He picked up the elongated wooden matches. “This is for us. To remember.”
“Sean, the students.” Her eyes widened. “We can’t do this here.”
““The students are busy at the moment. Please, let’s do this together. We need to mourn to move on.”
She hesitated a moment, then her fingers met his on the match. Her eyes stayed closed for a long while until she blinked a few time, and met his gaze. “Okay.”
He let her take the match to the candle, and his hand found a place to touch her on her upper arm. She solemnly lit the candle. “For what might have been,” she said softly.
“For what still may be,” he said as he ran a finger along the top of her hand.
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Once upon a time, you trusted me to help you. I can’t pretend to understand anything or give up anything until you remember that I’ve always been there for you.”
She stepped away from the altar and pretended to be interested in a delicate statue of a young girl. “But thank you for this. I stopped letting myself care of what might have been our future. You’re right. I never took the time to mourn.”
“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Gigi. You have students who adore you and your strength, but this time you need to fight for you.”
Nodding, she stared at the candle a few more minutes. He waited until she was ready then led her back to the tour. No one had even noticed them gone.
A short while later, the bus returned them all back to the hotel.
Gigi stayed near him, but told everyone in the lobby, “Now we practice.”
He listened to her for a few minutes strategizing with the students on how to be successful on stage. The group then went to the penthouse.
Sean held back, and at his first chance, he went back to his room to call his brother Gerard. Liam’s text still struck him odd. Sean attached his phone to the television for the video conversation.
On the second ring, Gerard’s face appeared. “Hey, bro, you’re in.”
“Sean, wow. Good timing. I need to talk to you.”
The seriousness in Gerard’s tone put Sean’s question on hold. “What’s happening?”
“You’re in Paris with Gigi Dumont?” Gerard asked.
“Yeah. I want to ask you—”
“Wait,” Gerard interrupted. “You bought the school she works at?”
“Yeah, it’s the one I worked at. Why?”
“Someone filed a charge that you hired a hitman in Los Angeles, had Jennifer followed and killed before she boarded that plane to Tibet.”
“What? That’s insane.” Sean felt his mouth drop open, and he squeezed his eyes shut. That was the year he’d battled cancer in Boston and he’d spent the year recovering on the Cape. No one could possibly believe that.
“I know, it’s stupid and I’m already on this, bro. Don’t worry, but the papers are drawing conclusions.”
“Strange.” A sickening rush of adrenaline coursed through Sean. Jennifer, somehow, had struck back at him from beyond the grave.
Then a memory flashed in his mind of when he’d told her he had cancer. She’d blamed his disease on his still obsessing over his baby-killing ex-girlfriend. How he wished he’d never told her but Jennifer had been his wife and at the time he’d trusted her. “Why did you bring up Gigi?”
“Two reasons. In the complaint, she’s listed as your motivation.”
Sean shook his head. This made no sense. “I hadn’t seen Gigi in years. Why the hell would I kill my soon-to-be ex-wife for a woman I hadn’t seen or heard from?’”
“Complaint reads that because you discovered her mother set up that abortion, not her that you decided to reunite with your long lost love. And you wanted to go find her,” Gerard told him. “This investigation is nonsense and will go away, but I think the complaint might be from the woman who will inherit if Gigi doesn’t fulfill her end of her mother’s will. Here in the States, the press is talking up this story.”
Sean picked up a glass of water and swallowed the cold liquid. He calmed his pulse, struggling to gather his thoughts.
“Who’s set to inherit if Gigi doesn’t meet the conditions of her mother’s will? And what exactly are the conditions?” “Mrs. Dumont’s will reads desperate and pathetic.” Gerard untied his tie. “I read it fifteen minutes ago. Gigi’s to live in the house for a year, hold down a job, stay on budget, stay in the country unless her job necessities require a short-term change, and not get married or have a family within that year.”
<
br /> “For a full year?”
“That part of the will is unenforceable in any court. Any decent lawyer would tell her that.”
“Gigi might not have asked a lawyer,” Sean countered. “I think she may view this as penance and a way to free herself from her mother once and for all.”
He added, “She’s been grieving alone for a while now.”
“Put her on the phone, and I’ll tell her.” “She’s not here at the moment but you or I will tell her soon.”
He paused then asked the question that had been on his mind since he’d received Liam’s cryptic text. “On the day I married Jennifer, you talked about sex changing a woman. What did you mean?”
“Sean . . .” Gerard stopped moving and Sean met his gaze. “Are you having sex with Gigi again?”
No, but it was none of his brother’s damn business. “Don’t be crude.” He’d soon have Gigi back and not be subject to family gossip. Sean set his jaw and refocused the conversation. “What did you mean at my wedding?”
“Look, Gigi should tell you. Lovers share secrets from their pasts, bro.” Gerard crossed his arms. “Ask her about New York that summer, and tell her I still think of her as family. Liam and I worked hard to bring that bastard her mother hired to justice when you wouldn’t listen to us.”
Sean realized he’d missed something big. “What are you talking about? What happened? And no stalling.”
He ran a hand through his hair, making the short strands stick up on end. “We tried to tell you, but you were adamant about moving on with your life.” Gerard started pacing. “We thought it best to let you lead the life you chose. It’s not like we had much of a choice. Accept that woman in our family or lose our brother.”
“You’re right. I am stubborn.”
“We’re all too damn stubborn in this clan.”
Sean face tightened but kept his gaze alert. There was something Gerard wasn’t telling him and he needed facts. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.
“What happened?” Sean asked again. He kept his voice calm, but he refused to let this go. Gerard would speak. Then he’d get Gigi to tell him later.
“Her mother needed cash that summer. She intended to sell Gigi. I found out, and Liam and I called in a favor in New York. Some man had bought Gigi in New York. He found her and kidnapped her. We were able to send the cops to her rescue and she escaped unharmed. She wouldn’t know any of that, other that her mother sent someone to attack her.”
Sean’s entire body shook inside, but he held together. “Lillian was something.”
Gerard nodded. “Physically, nothing happened to her, and she never knew Liam or I helped her. Then you stood at that altar waiting, not knowing anything.”
Sean sighed and closed his eyes. “Knowing Gigi was in danger would have stopped my wedding.”
“Then I should have insisted.” Gerard stayed quiet, and let Sean digest. On the day of his wedding, Gigi had gone through hell.
Gerard coughed then finished, “At the time, we hadn’t known what to do. I’m sorry.”
“I’m the idiot for not listening. Not that I wouldn’t have married Jennifer shortly after that. Like you said, I was, still am, a stubborn man.” Sean curled his hands into fists “You know that Jennifer married me for my money. She claimed to have no family of her own. I’d like to see if Jennifer was somehow connected to Lillian in any way other than neighbors. The timing makes no sense, and I’d guess Lillian and Jennifer plotted a few things together.”
“If it were anyone else involved, I’d say you were crazy. But with Lillian, anything’s possible. I’m on it.” Gerard pushed a button on his tablet. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
Sean nodded then hung up the phone. He had so much to process and he wouldn’t have a moment to himself anytime soon. That night he and Gigi would take the students on an evening cruise on the Seine. Tomorrow night, Gigi had the night off to see her friend Cary. In two days the big competition began, and he’d have the night off. But the answers couldn’t wait until then.
Chapter 22
Gigi’s feet hurt from walking up hill, and she longed to take a nice long bath in the huge tub in her hotel room, to forget tonight. A romantic evening cruise should be avoided. Besides the aches in her muscles would thank her for slowing down. She rubbed her feet and sighed. Tonight wasn’t about Sean and Gigi. Tonight was about chaperoning.
Change was in the air, and she kept ending up on her own two feet. She wiggled her toes and relaxed her shoulders. She loved him and had stayed away to protect him. Maybe she’d been wrong.
Then she bit her bottom lip and stood up. She changed into her red dress and high heels. Red had a way of empowering her walk, and she needed the help. She kept her chin up in the mirror, and promised herself to follow through. Tonight she needed action or she’d pass out.
The red helped her get her head into her goal.
Sashaying off to the lobby, she enjoyed strange men appreciating her figure. That meant Sean would notice too. Her silver shoes clinked onto the marble, and she inhaled through her nose. She needed Sean to understand she controlled the situation. But the second she caught Sean’s full attention and he stared at her up and down, every cell in her body activated.
“Ms. Dumont, you clean up good,” David called out then Kendra clamped her hand on his mouth.
Sean’s entire body tilted toward her and he gazed at her up and down again. Good. She said in a sweet voice, “Let’s get going. Dinner and dancing sound amazing.”
His blue eyes sparkled, and the fluttering in her stomach increased.
The students filed into the limo Sean must have ordered. He stared at her legs, and she took every step in a more dramatic way with him tuned in as her personal audience. The headiness made her want to jump and dance and run in the same millisecond.
Erica stopped her. “You made the transformation without changing your soul, Ms. Dumont, and you look pretty.”
Gigi slowed down and gave her attention to her student. “Thanks. There is music and dancing tonight for the finalists. You’ll have a great time.”
Erica added, “I’m looking forward to meeting the French high school students.”
“Good.” Sean joined the conversation with his hand on Gigi’s back, to escort them into the limo. Skin to skin sent her heart into a race, but she never once became dizzy. Her heart beat in her chest that echoed in her ears, but she kept her desire in check. She had a job to do.
Soon enough, the limo stopped at the dock, and she blinked. Lights from cameras flashed everywhere on the street. From a quick glance, her eyes burned and left her almost blind from the constant flash.
Gigi fought to see. Sean’s hand squeezed her knee.
“Are they here for us?” one student asked.
“Who are these people?” asked another.
“Listen.” Sean’s voice remained firm. Her eyes locked on his. “Everyone walk fast, two at a time, and go directly onto the ship. The press cannot follow us onboard, but they are notorious for getting a rise out of you. No one say a word.”
Kendra said, “But I want my picture in the news.”
“You’re not movie star Nicole Wyman.” Gigi added fast.
Sean shook his head, “No, but you don’t want this attention. They are not here to cover a school event,” Sean warned her. Gigi bite her lip, and leaned closer to him to hear every syllable. “You want to be good famous, not part of a scandal you know nothing about.”
“A scandal?” Gigi’s mouth dropped to the floor. Had she done something? Or was this Collins family related. They were rich and targeted. She wet her lips, determined to defend him. “What?”
“I have news.” Sean gave every one of them a stare down. Pressing her lips together, she became singularly focused on his words. “Back home, in Cape Cod, my brother told me someone complained I killed my ex-wife. It’s untrue and false.”
“Sounds like Mr. Murray,” Raphael said. “He told my mother I earned a detent
ion because I hit someone when it was really because he’s racist. I’m the Hispanic boy at the school.”
“Don’t let them shock you and get an ugly picture.” Sean turned to Gigi and took her hand. She kept her eyes on him, and studied him for any hurt. “I’ll call everyone’s parents when we get on board.”
“You didn’t kill her. It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You’re the biggest pushover I know.” Gigi’s stared and witnessed his eyes snapped. She uncrossed her legs, and squeezed his hand. She’d never betray him. Sean Collins remained the sweetest most loving man in the world. She’d find whoever did this to him, and expose the truth. She told the students, “Okay, two at a time. Walk fast. Don’t talk.”
Chaperoning Paris (Collins Brothers) Page 13