Chapter 18

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

It took us a second to work it out.

But now we know.

It’s not us she’s worried about, it’s them.

~ Ethan

“DID YOU SAY Paris? As in Paris, France?”

Chloé eyed Shayla over the rim of her coffee mug and nodded. “Oui.”

“Justin?” Shayla looked across the bar of JULIEN to where Justin stood with a bar towel over his shoulder. “Tequila. Now.”

His eyes widened. “It’s ten o’clock in the morning.”

“Did you not hear what she just said? Your fathers are shipping her off to France.”

Justin grabbed a bottle of Patrón off the back shelf and put a shot glass on the counter.

“They’re not shipping her off anywhere.” He poured the shot and slid it across the counter, then looked over to Chloé. “They’re giving her one of the most incredible opportunities in the world.”

So he did know. She’d been wondering.

It’d been nearly a week since their fathers had come to her with this life-changing opportunity, and Chloé had done nothing but think about it since.

She knew that doing this, that taking them up on running JULIEN and living in Paris, was a gift unlike any other. Not only would she get to live in a city she absolutely adored, but she’d also be able to train and learn more about her craft from some of the best in the world.

Europe was known for its food culture. She could hop on a train and visit so many countries and experience some of the most exquisite meals ever created.

All she had to do was say yes. So, why hadn’t she?

She held Justin’s stare as she put her coffee cup down. “You knew they were going to ask me.”

“I did.”

“And you didn’t think to say anything to me?”

“It wasn’t my place to say anything.”

“Oh, come on. They tell you they’re thinking of sending me to Paris—”

“Offering you a chance to live in Paris,” he corrected her.

“And you just decide to keep that to yourself?” Chloé shook her head, her mind spinning over the fact that her fathers had been sitting around talking about this with Justin instead of her.

“Like I said, it wasn’t my place.” He reached across the counter and put his hand over hers. “They wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, I am surprised.”

“I was too.”

“I am also,” Shayla piped up, and reached for the bottle of tequila still sitting on the counter.

Justin blew out a breath and leaned against the bar. “Chloé, this is a huge decision—”

“I know. I haven’t been able to think about anything since.”

“That’s not what I was getting at. It’s a huge decision that only you can make. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t want to influence you one way or another.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“Not intentionally.” Justin ran a hand through his hair. “But when they first told me, you know what my response was?”

Chloé shook her head.

“I told them that I didn’t think you were ready.”

“Justin.” Shayla leaned over the bar and punched him in the arm.

“I know. It was a shitty thing to say.”

Yeah, it was. She’d worked her ass off to get where she was in Père’s kitchen, so to hear Justin doubt her? Those words cut deep. But before she could tell him, Justin continued.

“It was a knee-jerk reaction. A selfish one, based on my own fear that you would say yes. And why wouldn’t you? It would be an incredible experience.” He shook his head. “Look, a lot has changed for you this past year. First, with your relationship with Ethan and Zayne, then moving out, and now this? My little sister in another country? So yeah, my first thought was that I didn’t want you to go. My second was, who’s going to look out for you? I just… It’s been a lot.”

Chloé stared at him. His words nearly mirrored her own thoughts. “I get it.”

And she did, because the idea of leaving her family and moving across an ocean was the one thing she was having the most difficult time wrapping her head around.

Yes, she loved Paris. But she’d only ever vacationed there with family or the knowledge she’d be home in a couple of weeks. If she did this, home would be thousands of miles away. Family would be in a different country.

“Yeah…” Justin crossed his arms, a smirk playing at his lips. “But then I got to thinking what a complete asshole I was being. Of course you’re ready for something like this. Our fathers wouldn’t suggest it if you weren’t. Plus, there’s no way Ethan and Zayne aren’t going to go with you, and that made it easier for me to deal with. That you’ll have someone there to look out for you—two someones, actually.”

“Ugh.” She dropped her head down on her arms. “That’s the other thing.”

“What is? Don’t tell me they said no.”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that.” She looked back up at the two of them. “But I can’t just ask them to up and move for me.”

Shayla cocked her head. “Um, why not?”

“Because they have a life here.”

“So do you, but you’re thinking of going.”

“Yeah, but that’s different. I’m thinking about it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me.”

“And they’re thinking about it because you are the once-in-a-lifetime chance for them.”

Justin winced. “Do I really need to be here for this?”

“Yes.” Shayla eyed him. “You could do with a bit of help in the love department.”

“Uh, this is a tutorial about women. Not really my scene. Plus, I do just fine, thank you very much.”

Shayla arched a brow in her cousin’s direction. “When was the last time you went on a date?”

Justin opened his mouth to respond, but she quickly held up her hand.

“And I don’t mean a hookup.”

“I date.”

“Uh huh.”

Justin rolled his eyes and looked back to Chloé. “And you wonder why I selfishly want you to stay?”

She grinned but totally understood where he was coming from. Truth be told, if this was the other way around, and Justin was the one telling her that he might be leaving the country—she would not be handling it this well.

“Anyway…” Shayla swiveled on her seat and reached for Chloé’s hand. “What did Ethan and Zayne say when you told them about this?”

Chloé looked between Justin and Shayla and gave a little shrug. “They said they’d come with me, no questions asked.”

“Then you’ve got no reason to feel bad.”

“I have to agree, kiddo. They don’t exactly strike me as the type of men to do something unless they want to.” He quickly turned and pinned Shayla to the barstool with a fierce stare. “If you so much as try to make a sexual innuendo about my sister with what I just said, I will hurt you.”

Shayla laughed. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly. But I didn’t have to make one—you already went there.”

“Gross,” Justin and Chloé said at the exact same time, and Shayla tossed her head back and really started to laugh.

This right here was what she was going to miss most—family. Her brother. Her cousins. Her fathers…

She had such a big, close-knit family, and the idea of going off and leaving them? Well, that was one of the reasons she’d never seriously entertained the idea. She just assumed she was going to work and run JULIEN Chicago, but now here was this incredible chance to live and work in France.

She had no idea what to do. No idea what she wanted to do. And while her gut reaction was to immediately jump at the opportunity and throw caution to the wind, her brain wouldn’t seem to let her.

“Chloé?”

“Sorry.” She blinked and stared at Justin. “What did you say?”

“I just asked you what you’re going to do.”

Yeah, that was what she thought he’d said—the problem was, nothing they’d just said had made this decision any easier.

“I don’t know.”

* * *

“DO YOU REMEMBER the first time we pulled up at this house?” Zayne glanced over to Ethan, who had just turned off the engine.

“I do. We dropped Chloé off after her car broke down.”

“I think calling that piece of shit a car is being a little generous. Don’t you?”

“I think you might be right. But at least she’s not driving around in it anymore. The thought of it breaking down on her after a late shift at JULIEN horrified me.”

“Her fathers too. I think that was the first time Priest ever smiled at you. The night you told him it was gone.”

“Smiled might be a bit of a stretch. But he glared at me a little less.”

Zayne chuckled as they climbed out of the car, then he took Ethan’s hand and they headed toward the front door.

It’d been nearly a week now since Chloé had told them about Paris, and much to their surprise, she still hadn’t made a decision.

Zayne had figured it would be a no-brainer. She loved Paris. She loved cooking. She loved the staff of the restaurant over there—she’d told them they were like a second family to her. So her reluctance to accept this amazing opportunity had them a little bit worried.

So much so that they were willing to brave a one-on-one—or, should he say, two-on-three—with Chloé’s fathers.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Zayne held his breath as they waited for someone to answer. He wasn’t sure why, but suddenly he felt nervous.

Maybe they should’ve called and asked if Chloé’s fathers would be home today, instead of just taking a chance that they might catch them at home this weekend.

But this had been a last-minute kind of decision on their behalf. One they’d made after talking over breakfast, and realizing just what might be going on.

When a couple of minutes passed and still no one had answered, Zayne shrugged. “Maybe they’re not home.”

“Maybe. Let’s give it another minute or so.” Ethan knocked again, and Zayne looked over his shoulder to the naked tree that stood tall in front of the house, its leaves carpeting the ground.

He could imagine a little Chloé running around under it with her brother as their fathers watched on, and had a feeling that he and Ethan were on the right track here. One of the main reasons she wasn’t immediately saying yes to Paris had a lot to do with the men she would be leaving behind.

The sound of feet on the stairs had him turning around just in time for the door to open, and they came face to face with Julien in a robe and pair of slip-ons.

His hair was damp and spiked and water clung to his insanely long lashes, and when he smiled, Zayne could see exactly why he had become a household name.

“Bonjour,” Julien said, gesturing for them to come inside. “What a wonderful surprise.”

“Bonjour,” they said in return as they stepped inside and Ethan shut the door behind them.

“We were hoping we might have a few minutes of your time this morning if you’re all here.”

“Of course.” A knowing light flickered in Julien’s eyes, then he led them up to the main floor. “We were just up in the hot tub having a morning soak. If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, we’ll make ourselves decent and be right out.”

“No rush,” Zayne assured him, as Julien disappeared up another set of stairs.

They headed into the living room to wait, and Zayne stopped by the stereo console and picked up the photo there. He’d seen it before. It was a snapshot of the three men, arms wrapped around each other’s waist, and in the middle, up on Priest’s shoulders, was Chloé, all russet curls and apple cheeks as she smiled brightly for the camera.

“This is such a cute photo. How old do you think she is here?”

Ethan walked over and looked at the picture. “Three, maybe?”

“Actually, she’d just turned four.”

They whirled around at the sound of Priest’s voice, and Zayne quickly put the photo back as though he’d been caught stealing a precious jewel.

In a way, he guessed they kinda had.

Priest looked relaxed in a pair of black sweat pants and grey knit sweater, and like Julien, his hair was damp from his time in the hot tub.

“It’s a great shot,” Ethan said.

Priest nodded and looked at the frame Zayne had just put back on the stereo. “It’s one of my favorites. She is one of my favorites.”

So don’t ever hurt herwas the underlying message there.

“Can I get you gentlemen a coffee…? Or something stronger?”

“A coffee would be great,” Ethan said, as the three of them headed toward the kitchen. “We’re sorry if we’re interrupting your morning.”

“You’re not. We’d just finished.” Priest turned on the cappuccino machine, and Zayne had a feeling he wasn’t talking about a soak in the tub. “Plus, we figured you’d show up eventually.”

“Then you know why we’re here,” Ethan said as Priest set five coffee cups out on the counter.

He eyed the two of them as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out the milk. “Well, since Chloé has yet to give us an answer to our offer last week, I’m assuming it has something to do with that.”

“That’s right.”

Priest looked between the two of them for what felt like an eternity. “Tell me the truth. Did you tell her not to go?”

“No. We would never do that,” Zayne said, immediately on the defensive. “We did the exact opposite.”

Priest’s eyes narrowed. “You told her to go.”

“We didn’t tell her anything,” Ethan said. “This is her choice, all we did was let her know that no matter what she decides, we support her.”

Zayne nodded. “And that if she goes, we go too.”

“Good.” Priest’s lips twitched. “That’s the right answer.”

“It’s the only answer,” Ethan said. “We love her.”

Priest shut the fridge door and nodded. “Yes, I believe you do.”

“Believe they do what?” Robbie walked into the kitchen in a pair of white sweats and a light pink crochet sweater, Julien right behind him still in his robe.

“Love our Chloé,” Priest said, and the look on Robbie’s face went from curious to overwhelming joy as his eyes began to well.

“I knew it.” He sniffed and looked back to Julien. “Did you hear that, Jules? They love our little angel.”

“Of course they do.” Julien put a hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “She’s parfaite.”

“She really is,” Ethan agreed. “You’ve raised an incredible woman. One we want to do everything in our power to make happy, which is why we’re here.”

Priest placed the milk down on the counter and joined the rest of them. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Zayne shrugged. “We all know how much Chloé loves Paris. So the fact she’s not jumping over the moon about this sent up some red flags.”

“It is a little strange,” Julien said, worry crossing his handsome face. “We noticed that too but chalked it up to shock, and maybe a few nerves.”

“It could be,” Ethan said, finally getting to the main reason they were there. “But we think it’s more than that. We think it’s the idea of leaving all of you.”

* * *

ETHAN LOOKED BETWEEN the three men standing across from him and Zayne, and couldn’t believe it had taken them this long to figure out what was really holding Chloé back from making this decision—her family.

Unlike the two of them, Chloé came from a very close one. Her fathers and brother were the most important things in the world to her—until they’d come along.

“Look.” Ethan thought carefully about his next words. “We all know that Chloé wants to say yes to you. That what you’re offering her is everything she’s every wanted. But she’s scared.”

“Scared?” A baffled expression crossed Robbie’s face. “Chloé’s Miss Independent. She’s always talked about going to Paris.”

“I don’t doubt it.” But Ethan knew how stressful it could be when everything you knew suddenly changed, and that was exactly what was happening with Chloé. “But talking about it and actually doing it are very different things. She knows how Zayne and I feel, that we’re with her all the way. But still, she hesitates, because this isn’t about us. It’s about you.”

“You think we pushed too hard.”

“No.” Ethan looked at Priest. “I think you gave your daughter the gift of a lifetime. But that gift is four thousand miles away from everyone she loves.”

Robbie brought his hand to his mouth and shook his head. “I didn’t even think about it like that. I just figured she’d be so excited she’d jump on the next plane.”

Zayne scoffed. “I mean, we haven’t heard from her all morning—maybe she has.”

Julien hugged Robbie into his side. “Clearly we misjudged this situation.”

Ethan thought about that, thought about the excitement he’d seen behind the hesitation when she told them, and shook his head.

“I don’t think you did. I just think she needs a little bit of reassurance.”

Priest eyed him closely. “Such as?”

Ethan wasn’t about to beat around the bush. Priest had never asked them for advice—he doubted he ever asked anyone—but he wanted the truth now. So Ethan was going to give it to him.

“Such as—how often will she see you? Will you still be as close as you are now? Will you miss her? Will you still love her, even though she’s not here?”

“That’s crazy,” Robbie said, but Ethan didn’t take his eyes off Priest. “Of course we’re still going to love her. We’ll miss her terribly.”

“But she needs to hear it.” Priest looked to Julien and Robbie. “We were so excited to tell her about Paris because we knew how much she wanted it. But they’re right—somewhere in amongst our excitement, we forgot to tell her how hard it would be to watch her go.”

Julien sighed. “Oui. What must she be thinking?”

“I think she’s overthinking,” Ethan said.

Robbie glanced at Julien. “We need to talk to her.”

Ethan agreed. “I think that’s a great idea. In fact, once we put together what was going on with Chloé, Zayne and I set up a little surprise for her.”

“A surprise? She does love a good surprise.”

Priest chuckled and rubbed his husband’s back. “Like father, like daughter.”

Zayne grinned. “We think it’ll help with the transition. We set it up for tomorrow morning hoping that you could maybe help us out.”

“Definitely,” the three of them said, and Ethan nodded.

“Great. Then let me tell you what we have planned…”