Page 22 of All the Gossip from Paris
Liam began packing his camera equipment away. He was happy for his brother and Camille. But right now it made sense that he kept away. They should be able to enjoy their moment without him hanging around on the sidelines.
After buckling up his satchel, he picked up his bag and headed for the elevator. He was well on his way to the nearest subway entrance when his phone pinged a few minutes later. It was a message from Ryan.
Where are you?
Going to RR hotel in Manhattan for a drink. Join us?
Sorry had to leave. Will catch up later.
Congratulations on your engagement.
Meeting them for drinks would be a bad idea. He needed time to figure out how he was going to handle future encounters with Sophie. Their agreement to forget about last night was no longer such a simple plan.
His brother was about to marry her sister. Right now, Liam hadn’t a clue as to how he should behave around Sophie the next time they met.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Paris, France
12 weeks later
Air France flight AF7 landed a little after eleven am. Liam, and his parents had taken the overnight flight from JFK, New York to Charles de Gaulle, Paris. They were in France for Ryan and Camille’s wedding.
Camille’s parents had paid for the First Class tickets. The cost was likely small change for the members of the billionaire Royal family, but it was a generous gift by anyone’s standards.
During the eight hour flight, Liam had indulged in the luxury that only a First Class ticket could offer. French champagne. Gourmet meals served on fine china.
Stepping off the plane, his complimentary pair of Air France PJs were neatly packed in his inflight bag.
At the end of the airbridge the Collins family was greeted by two gentlemen. They both wore crisp black business suits. Within a matter of minutes Liam and his parents had been VIP fast tracked through French immigration.
From customs they were ushered straight through arrivals and toward the front door. When Liam gestured toward the bank of baggage carousels, he was politely informed that their luggage had already been collected.
Outside arrivals, a long black Mercedes Benz limousine was parked at the curbside. One of the VIP team members hurried to open the door. Liam waited while his parents climbed into the back of the vehicle, before following them.
Brenda and Pete were busy fiddling with their seatbelts and getting comfortable. “I can’t believe we are in France,” said Pete.
“I know. How amazing will it be when we see the Eiffel Tower for real?” replied Brenda.
While Liam was glad that his parents were so excited over their first international trip, he held off on joining the conversation. His mind was elsewhere.
The limousine’s soft leather seats had reminded him of that warm night in September. To the town car which had taken him and Sophie to the Royal Resorts Manhattan.
One thought quickly led to another, and soon he was grappling with the memory of how it had felt to hold Sophie in his arms. Of the long hours they had spent in that big bed talking, eating cookies, and watching TV. But mostly he thought of her soft cries of pleasure as he’d brought her to orgasm.
And soon he and Sophie would be seeing each other again. How were they going to be around one another? Was this a ‘hey, how are you?’ situation, where both of them did their best to pretend nothing had happened in New York?
That made logical sense.
He kept reminding himself that this trip to France wasn’t about him or Sophie—it was about the union of their respective siblings. About the future parents to be.
Damn. She and I are going to have to cross paths again once this baby is born, what with all that uncle and aunt stuff. Christenings. Birthdays. Christmas.
He could just picture Sophie’s father, BBQing steaks on Bastille Day, while he sunk a cold beer or two. Liam chuckled at the thought of the stiff and proper Frenchman necking a Modelo Especial while wearing an apron which said, ‘kiss me I’m the chef’. Then again maybe billionaire families didn’t do family gatherings like his did.
His thoughts returned once more to Sophie.
I really don’t know how I’m going to handle being around her.
