Page 44 of Blue Eyes & Paris Vibes

I sigh, adjust the strap of my bag, and lower myself onto the cool stone edge.

Pulling out the snack I packed, I sit there, waiting, watching, as the orange fully disappears from the sky, only the Eiffel Tower glowing in its golden light.

It’s just as pretty as I remember. A calmness washes over me, and a small smile plays on my lips as I take it all in: the cool spring air, couples around me on quiet dates, the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze.

I take the last bite of my baguette piece, letting a few crumbs fall into the water, far below my feet.

He's not going to come. But you know what? That's fine. I tried. It wasn't meant to be.

I close my eyes and take a deep, calming breath. It just means the universe has other plans for me.

And suddenly, a voice, familiar, low, unmistakable, sends a shiver down my spine.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Reed

"Oh,hey,careful."Myhand shoots out instinctively, catching her just in time as she stumbles slightly, clearly startled. I steady her, my fingers curling gently around her arm.

"What the hell?" she curses, looking at me like I’m a hallucination, mouth agape and eyes wide like saucers.

"I really missed you too, Abby," I say with a low chuckle and take a seat next to her, stomach bubbling with excitement and my heart beating into my throat. I can’t believe Zoey was right. "I have to admit, I imagined your greeting a little more…" I wave my hand through the air vaguely, not able to keep my smile at bay, "happy."

"Iamhappy," she admits, eyes still wide. "And surprised. I just never, ever in a million years thought this would work out."

"That makes two of us," I admit, turning around to just stare at her with a goofy smile.

God, she’s still just as beautiful as I remember her. At one point, I wondered if I was romanticizing, but seeing her here, right in front of me? My memory doesn’t do her justice. Her hair is a little shorter than the last time we met, and there’s an aura of maturity around her that wasn’t quite as intense last year.

"You know, after you never reached out, I wasn’t sure…"

"That’s where you’re wrong." She lifts her finger to my face, and I lean back the slightest bit to evade it. “I have a bone to pick with you, Mister.”

"What?" I lift my hand to clutch the fabric of my shirt, right over my thundering heart. She sounds serious, almost even more pissed than how she talked at me at the reception last year.

"The number you gave me was wrong," she accuses, and my heart drops. “I tried to call it, but a nice female robot voice informed me the number wasn’t connected.”

"No way." My eyes widen and I shake my head softly. Oh, Zoey is not going to let me hear the end of this.

"Yes way." She fumbles her phone out of her bag and pulls up my contact in her phone. "Here. See for yourself."

"There’s no way." I take the phone from her hands, pinching the bridge of my nose when I see that she’s right. "Fuck." My eyes jump between the phone and her narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I switched two numbers right there in the middle. I’m officially an idiot."

I hand it back to her, fingers tingling when I touch her hand as she takes it.

"Zoey’s going to have a field day with this," I mutter, and feel her freeze beside me. "My sister," I clarify quickly, and she instantly relaxes again.

"Right, your sister." She glances at me, and then suddenly her whole demeanor changes. “You know, at one point I wondered if you were secretly married or something.”

“Why would I do that?” I ask, amusement tugging at my lips.

“I thought that was why you gave a wrong number,” she admits with a shrug, hiding a yawn behind her hand. Then she turns to look at me with narrow eyes. "You lied to me," she suddenly says, her voice ice cold. "Were you ever gonna tell me about your real job? About who you are?"

"I was. I should’ve," I explain, grimacing at how weak my next sentence is going to sound. "I was going to tell you when you called me."

"How convenient." She rolls her eyes and leans back on her hands.

"Come on, babe." I freeze when the nickname rolls over my lips naturally, but she doesn’t seem to mind. I get up and offer her my hand. She looks up at me, still a little thrown, but takes it without hesitation, and I help her to her feet. "Let’s take a small walk? I think we have a lot to catch up on."

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