Paris Was The Place I Met My Billionaire Lover (My Sweet Billionaire Love Story Series) by Kiera Zane

yet dead.  No, mille fois, non! ”
    Getting the gist of what he said if not the exact letter of it, Caitlyn said, “Well, what do you suggest?”
    “ Mon Dieu , anything at all would be better than that!  Take some time away from school, get a real education.  University will always be available to you.”
    “That may be true,” Caitlyn said, “though I don’t know that I’ll always be able to count on the funding.  And Paris isn’t going anywhere, right?”
    “Paris?  No.  Paris will remain.  But time; Caitlyn, time slips away so quickly.  Of all the things in this world; love and food and wealth and pleasure and pain, time is the only truly finite resource.  Time is the one thing we cannot afford to waste.”
    “S’funny,” Caitlyn said, eyes cast up at the wondrous cathedral only a few yards away; greater than anything she could ever accomplish in her lifetime, or in ten of them.  Built over centuries, a monument to what mankind can achieve; and to what Caitlyn herself knew she never would.  “I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but killing time.”
    “Then now is the time to change that pattern,” Julien said, his voice quick and smooth, with an urgency that made it sound almost like a plea.  “Now is the time in your life when you must embrace change, Caitlyn, take in all that the world has to offer you.  Laissez l'aventure commencer; let the adventure begin!”
    Caitlyn turned her attention back to Julien.  She knew the subtext of their conversation, and knowing it was something she enjoyed.  Even pitting her wits against this formidable and impressive man, so sophisticated and experienced, Caitlyn was holding her own.
    Caitlyn lobbed, “What’s the offer?” with a little smile.
    Julien said, “Stay here in Paris, with me.  Forget going back to school.  I can teach you what I know about the business world, skills that will keep you living well for the rest of your life; real world experiences that are education enough for a lifetime.”
    Caitlyn allowed herself to drift even closer to Julien, their faces only a tantalizing few inches apart.  With a slinky pout in her voice, she asked, “Is that all you’re going to teach me?”
    “What I can teach you cannot be described,” Julien said with a sexy growl.  “It must be experienced.”
    They kissed again, the spark between them only growing hotter with each passing moment, every kiss increasing the pitch of their intimacy, their cheeks trembling with every little caress.
    “I do not believe you are taking me seriously,” Julien said, his eyes fixed upon hers.
    “It’s not that, I know you’re not a frivolous man.  And I’d like to stay here in the land of dreams and romance and passion with you -- ”
    “Then say you will.  Simply ask, and everything the world has to offer will be yours -- ”
    Caitlyn smiled, but the discomfort was changing the shape of her lips, bending them downward at the corners as her shoulders arched upward toward the bottoms of her ears.
    A digital coo leaked up out of her purse.  Daddy’s cell phone! Caitlyn realized.  Crap!  It’s been in my purse the whole trip, I never called him to check in or anything.
    “You’re expecting a call?” Julien asked.
    “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, pulling the phone out and raising it to her lips.  “Hello?”
    “Caitlyn, it’s your father.”  His voice was quick and level.  Something was wrong.
    “Hi, Dad!  Hold on a minute.”  She cupped her hand over the phone and called, “It’s my dad, Jenny, I’ll be right there!” loud enough for him to hear, then raised the phone back to her ear.  “What’s up?  How’s everything back home?”
    “Not so great, sweetheart.  We got a very troubling call from your friend Jennifer’s parents.”  A cold stone of dread sank in Caitlyn’s stomach, the few seconds between her and the truth she’d have to face burning painfully away.  Harrison added, “Turns out your friend is