Page 47 of Blue Eyes & Paris Vibes

“Wait, what? Is she alright?”

“Oh yes, don’t worry,” he assures me quickly. “She just broke her arm a couple of months back, after going on an unauthorized ski trip with her friends. Broke a couple of ribs too, but she’s healing fine. It’s not a big deal.”

He says it like it's nothing, and I shake my head at him. “I can’t believe you’re calling that ‘not a big deal.’”

“Well, wedidthink for half a day that she was about to die,” he adds, his face stretching into a grimace. “So trust me, in the grand scheme of things, it really wasn’t a big deal.”

“That’s…” I start but don’t even know what to say.

“A story for another day,” he finishes for me, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “We’ve got all the time in the world, babe.”

“Do we?” I ask softly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I sure hope so,” he replies confidently, his words washing over me like a warm wave of love. “So anyway, my sister told me to come back here on what would be an anniversary of our time here. I wouldn’t have thought of that in a million years, but you’re here… maybe it’s a girl thing? Did she send you a telepathic message?”

“It’s aromancething,” I reply with a grin, rolling my eyes playfully. He pinches my waist and I squirm in his hold, giggling. “My brother had to convince me too. But seriously… what now? We’ve met each other again, for what? Another vacation fling?”

“Yeah, you see, that’s not going to cut it for me,” he whispers, his eyes darting all over my face, searching for the answer to an unspoken question.

“Really?” I ask, my voice cracking.

I’ve dreamed of him saying that. At night, during the day, I imagined a million versions of how a conversation like this could play out. It would be a lie to say I didn’t hope for this. But now that he’s actually said it, it still feels like a dream, too good to be true.

“But how?” I ask. He mentioned the logistics, but I can’t imagine it. He lives in America, I live in London, how does he expect this to work?

“Remember how I mentioned one of my brothers lives in London?” he asks with a grin, and I nod. “I think it’s time I spent more time with him.” He winks at me, and a glimmer of hope ignites inside me, excitement making the butterflies in my stomach flutter harder than ever. “You know, bother him about one of his guestrooms, or at least a hotel recommendation.”

His fingers slip under my sleep shirt, tracing soft paths down my back, sending a shiver down my spine and goosebumps all over my skin.

“I want to do this the right way,” he continues, with a seriousness I’m not used from him and I bite my lip as his hand continues to trace soft patterns over my skin. “I want to take you on dates. Woo you. Have a romantic kiss at whatever romantic spots you have in London.”

I can’t help but break into a grin, which he promptly kisses off my lips.

“I’d really like that,” I whisper against his lips, seeing happiness dance in his eyes.

“No pressure,” he whispers back, his hand returning to the side of my face, thumb tracing circles over my cheek. “And from here on, honesty.”

“I’ll try,” I tell him, furrowing my brows. “You know… I’ve spent a year imagining this. I’m scared, Reed. What if it turns out we’re only good for a vacation fling?”

“I don’t think so,” he says with a chuckle, pressing his lips against mine again. Then again, like he can’t stop himself.

“But how do you know?”

“I don’t.” His expression turns serious again. “Just like you don’t know whether wewon’twork out.”

He reaches for my hand, pulling it gently to his lips, pressing a soft kiss into my palm.

“There’s only one way to find out. And I believe in us.”

“I believe in us, too.” I pause, still trying to process it all. “But really? Just like that?”

It all feels so simple, too easy. Like there’s something I’m missing.

“Just like that,” he whispers back, his voice steady and sure. “You know, the bonus of having a brother in high places is that he can clear my calendar whenever I need him to. Or find me jobs anywhere in the world.”

“You would do that? For me?” My voice is barely a whisper, a mix of disbelief and hope. He would actually leave his whole life in America behind to give us a shot?

“You’re worth so much more than that,” he murmurs, his fingers tracing a gentle path up my arm, then threading through my hair. “So… what do you say, beautiful? Are we giving this a try?”

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