Page 39 of Blue Eyes & Paris Vibes

"No, way," he says softly, slowly turning back to me, his eyes wide and mouth agape. "What did you say his name was again?"

"Reed," I whisper, eyes still stuck to the magazine cover. I finally try to tear them away from it when the girls shoot me weirded out looks.

"Reed… Walker, by any chance?" Max asks in a hushed whisper, and I slowly shake my head.

"I don’t know. He never told me his last name. But he said he was some kind of consultant."

"Abby, look at me." My eyes jump to his, and I suck in a sharp breath at the seriousness in his voice.

"We’re talking about the youngest Walker brother here. His family is all over the entertainment industry, his brother is the fucking CEO of Croney, just about the biggest management company in the industry. They’re a big deal." He holds up his hands to show scale. "Huge! No wonder he didn’t want you to know."

I still feel like I’m caught in some kind of joke. My heart is pounding in my throat, clammy hands trembling, the mug I’m still clutching in my hands clattering against the saucer.

"He’s famous. He’s rich,” he continues in a whisper. “He’s probably one of the top targets in the gold digger community. Of course he wouldn’t go around advertising it."

"But he lied," I say, still not over the betrayal while Max stirs a packet of sugar into his coffee.

"Well, do you think he did it out of malice?" he asks, pointing his spoon at me.

I take a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I don’t know anymore," I admit, my voice shaky. “What do I even know about him now? Does he really like art, or was that just another lie? God, I feel so stupid.”

"Hey," Max says, gently peeling one of my hands from the mug and holding it in his. "He’s still the same guy." He breaks into a wide grin. "But damn, sis, you had a vacation fling with asupermodel."

"I did," I whisper, still trying to make sense of all of it. What do I even do with that information?

Reed - 9 Months Later

"Youreallydroppedtheball, didn't you?" Zoey asks amusedly, and my eyes dart to her, confused.

We're in a hospital room, the constant beeping of the machines she’s hooked to almost driving me crazy, the hard plastic chair making my butt hurt.

A lot has happened in the past months. Adam got a girlfriend and after a falling out with Jackson, things are starting to turn around. Suddenly, he’s not overworking himself anymore or riding my ass about helping out on short notice ‘for the sake of the company.’

No, now he’s actually unreachable after five, barring an absolute emergency. And all it took was getting Lily, his girlfriend, to kick his ass.

The four of us brothers were supposed to be on a trip to Amsterdam to mend the cracks in our relationship, while Zoey excused herself, saying she had to prepare for university exams.

I hate admitting he's right, but ever since Zoey left for university, it felt like the strings that kept us brothers together were starting to fray, each of us drifting in their own direction with no real incentive to keep in touch anymore. Hell, Jackson even moved to London to get some space.

So, Adam summoned us to Europe.Family trip,he'd called it, an attempt at fixing our family, and I have to hand it to him, I think it helped. A bit at least.

It was weird, being back in Europe. While not Paris, I still caught myself glancing over my shoulder, hoping every brunette walking past me might be Abby.

We had a fun time, hanging out with old friends and making some new ones, until Zoey decided to crash it, making us rush back to the states in a panic when Adam got a call that she was in the hospital.

"What are you talking about?" I raise an eyebrow at her. She groans, trying to reposition her arm that's in a cast and scoot up her bed so she can sit a little straighter.

"Hey, should I—?" I ask, already jumping up to help her.

"Don't you fucking dare," she hisses and glares at me before I can even take a step. "I don't need help for every single inch of movement. You all need to relax."

"We're just worried," I assure her, fighting the urge to jump up and fluff her pillow so she can lean against it better. “Cut us some slack, we thought you were about to die. Now, what do you mean?"

"Well, you could've been the first one coupled up, and now you're the last," she says as nonchalantly as though she’s telling me it’s raining outside and shoots me a wink. "I mean, Adam got together with Lily in the summer, Jackson found his girlfriend sometime after that—I'm still not so sure about their timeline, but I’m working on it. And now, Tanner is together with Luca's sister," she says, counting them off on her fingers.

"They’re not together,” I point out with a grim head shake. “Not now that he disappeared on her without a word."

Zoey rolls her eyes, reaching for a bottle of water, and I fight the urge to walk over and open it for her. "I swear to God, I love you guys, but sometimes you all have the emotional intelligence of a piece of bread."

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