Page 3 of Christmas in Paris
Myers. That was the first clue. And the blond hair, high cheekbones, and brilliant, spring-green eyes made the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. This was Ashley’s father. There could be no doubt about it. He looked just like her. Only older, and somehow devastatingly handsome.
“I’m Simon Taylor. It’s very nice to meet you. Your daughter is brilliant,” Ray said sincerely, offering his hand and trying to brace himself for the physical contact of touching this glorious creature. He tried to have good things to say about all of his students, but in this case, it wasn’t hard to find something.
“Thanks. I like her,” Ray replied, with an achingly beautiful little grin that Simon had absolutely no doubt had had people falling at his feet his whole life. He accepted Simon’s hand, and they shook, and the tingles which shot through Simon’s body at even so brief and professional a contact were signs that getting laid was a good idea. It had been too long if he was this shaken by such a small touch.
Shaking the other man’s hand briefly, Simon dropped it as soon as he could without being massively rude. The trick here was going to be to get rid of this man before he, Simon, made a complete idiot of himself. At this rate, that was seeming like it might be a pretty tall order, but he was going to have to do his best.
“What can I do for you?” Simon asked, slightly more briskly than he would usually be. He tried to be pretty open and friendly, and he knew that his students liked him for it, but right now was no time for that. Right now, he needed to get away from this man, who smelled far too good and who had little tingles of pleasure radiating out from where the simple touch to his hand had been.
“This is a little embarrassing,” Ray replied, and, as Simon’s mind screamed at him that this was a terrible idea, Ray went to the back of the room and quietly shut the door. But that was ridiculous. Why would Simon be freaking out internally about this? It was like something inside himself was saying that it was a terrible idea to be alone with this man? God, he had to pull himself together.
“It’s about the trip to Paris. I don’t think I can afford to send Ashley.”
Instantly, all warm, sweet, forbidden thoughts of sex went right out of Simon’s head. Of course that was what was going on. Of course that would be what happened because nothing could go right today.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Simon said carefully. “Ashley is my star pupil, no doubt about it. Of all of the kids I teach, I think she has the best chance of actually becoming bilingual.”
To his surprise, Ray suddenly looked like he had been punched in the stomach. That hadn’t been Simon’s intention, and feeling a little bad about it was natural, he supposed. But why did he feel like he’d kicked a puppy or something? Why did he care so much?
“I lost my job, and I’m not sure I can make rent.” Ray’s voice was steady, despite his stricken tone of voice, which Simon had to respect. “I was hoping that there was some sort of financial school assistance that I could apply for. I wouldn’t ask, but Ashley really wants to go.”
“There is, yes,” Simon replied, but his voice was distant, his mind busily churning away. Something was occurring to him even as Ray spoke, started by four simple words.I lost my job.
“I think there might be a way we can both help each other,” Simon admitted. He might end up regretting this, but on the other hand, why not? He was a forty-five-year-old man, and if he couldn’t control himself, even around someone so gorgeous, then there was something deeply wrong with him. But he could, he knew it.
“Oh?” Ray asked, and Simon fixed his gaze on the other man, although maybe he should back off a little bit because he could tell he was freaking him out a bit. He’d been told that he could be a bit intense, and he didn’t want to scare this man off.
“If you can pass a criminal record check,” Simon said because that was a qualification for what he had in mind, “then I think I’d like to take you to Paris with me for Christmas.”
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea. Maybe he would spend all month regretting that he was around such a sexy man who was so clearly off-limits. But, on the other hand, if it worked out, then the trip to Paris could happen after all. That was worth it, no matter how awkward it might be.
Chapter Three
Ray
At first, Ray couldn’t quite seem to believe his ears. For a second there, it had almost sounded like Simon wanted him to come on the trip with him. And for just one crazy, completely insane moment, Ray could almost swear that there had been a flirtatious invitation there, a warmth in those intelligent hazel eyes.
But that was ridiculous. Ray wasn’t into guys, and he had no reason to believe that Simon was, either. Besides, even if he were, someone who was as objectively handsome as this man wouldn’t be interested in someone like Ray. This man was accomplished and practically oozed self-confidence, and it would be ridiculous to think that he could ever want someone like Ray.
And anyway, some explanations made much more sense. It was funny. Ray wasn’t usually egotistical enough to think people were into him, to the point where he knew that he’d missed chances. But then, being paired up had never been that important to him, so it all worked out.
“Excuse me?” Ray finally managed, his voice coming out a little bit weak. Was Simon offering what it seemed like he was offering? Was that possible? No, surely it wasn’t. Things like that didn’t happen to Ray. He didn’t have that kind of luck.
“Look, I need your help as much as you need mine,” Simon replied. “I had the mother of one of my students lined up to come with us on the trip and help me chaperone. If you agree, then I’ll make sure your room and board are paid for, and the plane ticket. And we’ll definitely help get Ashley there, too. You said you lost your job, right?”
Ray nodded, and for once, he found that he couldn’t speak. His mind was racing, there were plenty of words there, but to get them from his brain to his tongue was a task that was, for the moment, quite beyond him.
It was a little overwhelming, it turned out, when someone walked up to you and just casually offered everything that you’d ever wanted into your lap. This was essentially a paid trip to Paris, a city that he had always wanted to explore but had never made it to. He would have been tripping over himself to accept this offer if it had been anywhere in the world, but this was a whole other level.
“Right. So it gives you a month before you have to worry about it. So, what do you think?” Simon prompted, and Ray shook his head, suddenly half-panicked that he was going to miss out on this chance because he couldn’t make himself speak. What a joke that would be. Funny in a horrible way.
“Yes,” he managed. There was no other answer to give, and once that one word had come out, he found that the rest flowed a little easier. At least he hadn’t lost the chance, that was the most important thing.
“Really?” Simon asked like he thought he was the lucky one. And here Ray was about two seconds from throwing himself at Simon’s feet to thank him from the bottom of his heart for this amazing opportunity.
Only if he got on his knees in front of this man, there would be bound to be some confusion. Wait, why had he even thought about that? He was having a weird day. There was no other way to describe it. Weird day, weird feelings.
“Yeah. I’ll come with you, and I know I can pass the criminal record check. I had one at my last job.” Not to mention, he thought, with a sort of dull bitterness, that he had been a parent for his entire adult life. He had barely had the chance to do anything that would get him in trouble.
