Page 17 of All the Gossip from Paris (Royal Fashion #2)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Liam raced back to his room and grabbed his smallest handheld camera.

He didn’t want to lug his whole kit around with him today, but he still wanted to capture the life of the city.

The cameras in mobile phones were good, but they couldn’t hold their own against a proper piece of photographic equipment.

When he returned to where Sophie was waiting, she took one look at his small satchel and said. “A lot of the designers won’t allow photography at their workshops, but we could still find some other places where you can take photos.”

“Speaking of photos, we need to discuss the bargain that we struck in New York. The one where we agreed I’d photograph you.”

The color drained from her face, and she stammered. “Oh. Oh no. That was just something I said that night. You know, a joke. I didn’t really mean it.”

He wasn’t going to let her squirm her way of their deal. “You gave me all those expensive clothes. I intend to hold you to your word, Sophie.”

“But not today. I mean we have places to go.”

Liam slowly nodded his agreement. The last thing he wanted was for Sophie to spend the day worrying about him and his camera.

“Today I’ll just take photos of the scenery. But our deal still stands.”

He really shouldn’t push the whole photo pact that they’d made—he should just let it go. They’d agreed to let everything else that had happened in New York stay in the past. Why was he so hell bent on taking her picture?

Because you want to show her how beautiful she is. Make her understand.

Sophie might well be dressed to kill, but Liam sensed it was all part of a carefully created facade.

A cover she used to hide the real Sophie from the world.

He’d caught a glimpse of that woman during the night they’d spent together in her hotel suite.

And he wanted to see more. To capture her essence.

But if there was one thing he’d learned during the bitter fallout from his failed engagement, it was that a wise man paid close attention to the obvious signs a woman was sending him.

The sudden tightening of his chest was a reminder of the heavy cost he’d paid for not having paid closer attention to the warnings of his heart.

Spend the day with her, and just roll with it. No pressure.

“Let’s discuss our agreement at another time. We really should be going. Our first visit is only a short walk from here, but I’d hate to be late,” said Sophie.

They would be walking. After the long flight from the US, Liam was keen to get out and stretch his legs. “How cold is it outside?” he asked.

“It’s three degrees Celsius. I’ve no idea what that is in your terms, but it is cold.

When I drove in from home just now, there was black ice on some sections of the road.

The traffic getting onto the A13 was super slow.

You should put something on your feet with decent traction—I’d hate for you to slip. ”

Liam chuckled softly. “I’m from New Jersey. There was snow on the ground when I left my apartment yesterday. Let me go grab my boots, and jacket.”

* * *

Sophie was embarrassed. Of course Liam would know how to dress for the winter. He was from the other side of the North Atlantic, not from the bottom of the world.

When he returned, he was dressed in a navy blue puffer jacket and had on a pair of dark brown hiking boots. With his camera strap slung over his shoulder Liam looked the epitome of a world travelling photographer.

His morning stubble which completed the rugged and sexy look, had her mind racing back to the morning he’d rolled out of her hotel bed. Bed mussed Liam was a thing of masculine beauty.

The things they had done as they tangled in the sheets. It was going to take some effort to keep her thoughts from straying to those hot memories.

“After we have been to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, I thought we could go to the Palais de Tokyo. The Palais is where many of the fashion shows are held during the Paris Fashion, and Haute Couture weeks. Then we can move onto the design houses of Givenchy and Balmain, which are both a short walk from the Palais. Then finally Dior. And eventually back here.”

Liam’s eyes grew wide as she rattled off the list of places she had planned for them to visit. “That’s a big day,” he mused.

Now that he mentioned it, yes it was a full itinerary. But in the run up to fashion week, she’d expect to visit ten or more different places on any given day, and not think twice about it.

“I have lunch booked for us at Monsieur Bleu which is also near the Palais de Tokyo. I would have taken you to Le Restaurant at the H?tel Costes, but I thought you might be too tired to walk all the way over to Rue Saint-Honoré.”

“Why don’t we take the Metro?” he asked.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “Um. No.” How was she to explain that in her world, things like public transport simply didn’t exist. Walking the streets surrounding the Royal Resorts hotel was the closest she got to living like the millions of other regular Parisians did.

“I’ve never been on the metro in Paris. When I usually come into the city, I have a driver who brings me. Though today, I drove myself.”

Instead of feeling proud of having successfully navigated the Paris traffic this morning, she was embarrassed. It occurred to her, that in his eyes she was probably nothing more than a spoilt princess. One who never lowered her lofty standards to actually get on the metro.

Camille had said it had taken her some time to get Ryan to see past her wealth and privilege.

That until she’d met her future husband, she’d never realized how hard it might be for someone who had an ordinary background to come to terms with her world.

That world, the one inhabited by billionaires and the super elite, was something Sophie had been born into—she didn’t know any different.

She’d been super proud of herself the day she got her driver’s license. Many members of her extended family, including her sister, couldn’t drive. They’d never needed to learn.

I expect Liam has been driving since he was tall enough to reach the pedals.

As an uneasy silence settled between them, Sophie quickly retreated into herself. She fiddled nervously with the silver ring, dotted with tiny diamonds which sat on her right hand. It was a gift from her twin sister, one which she treasured.

“Walking sounds fine. I’ll be able to take photos if we’re on foot,” said Liam, breaking the silence. He held up his camera. “How about I snap a quick photo of the two of us before we leave. It would be nice to have some pics to remind us of our day in Paris.”

“Really? That sounds a bit cliché,” replied Sophie.

The last thing she wanted was photographic evidence of today. She wanted it to be over and then go home.

“Hey, I’m an American tourist in Paris taking a photo. What bigger cliché can you think of unless of course you can get the Eiffel Tower in the background,” replied Liam.

“Fine. One photo. But no sharing it anywhere. You can send it directly to me.”

She quickly checked her hair in one of the nearby mirrors, and wiped away a stray smug of lipstick.

That should do.

Liam shifted a large vase of flowers from the main entrance table, and set up his camera. He scooted back to where Sophie was waiting, and slipped his arm about her waist.

“It will count down from five. When it gets to one, we both say cheese,” he said.

Cinq. Quatre. Trois. Deux. Un. Fromage!