The Wrong Blue Eyes_B.B. Reid

  Copyright © 2021 B.B. Reid

  The Wrong Blue Eyes by B.B. Reid

  All rights reserved.

  Chief Editor: Rogena Mitchell-Jones of RMJ Manuscript Service

  LLC Co-editor: Colleen Snibson of Colleen Snibson Editing

  Both of Two Red Pens Editing www.tworedpens.com

  Cover Design by Amanda Simpson of Pixel Mischief Design

  Interior Design/Formatting by Champagne Book Design

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author or publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use the material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained from the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, are coincidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Also by B.B. Reid

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Epilogue

  Also by B.B. Reid

  Contact the Author

  About B.B. Reid

  Broken Love Series

  Fear Me

  Fear You

  Fear Us

  Breaking Love

  Fearless

  Stolen Duet

  The Bandit

  The Knight

  When Rivals Play Series

  The Peer and the Puppet

  The Moth and the Flame

  Evermore (novella)

  The Punk and the Plaything

  The Prince and the Pawn

  Standalone

  Lilac

  The Wrong Blue Eyes

  NOELLE

  Four days until Christmas

  LAST CALL FOR FLIGHT 1719 TO ASPEN, COLORADO. THE BOARDING DOORS WILL BE CLOSING IN FIVE MINUTES.

  Shit.

  “We’re going to miss our plane,” my boyfriend griped for the fortieth time since he opened his eyes this morning. I felt Paxton’s glare as I shoved my beanie over my black hair, but I ignored him anyway and grabbed my coat from the bin. True, our flight was leaving in five minutes, and we’d just now made it through security, but how was this my fault? “Are you happy, Noelle?”

  I turned to him since he was so determined to have this fight.

  There was a gleam in his blue eyes as if I’d fallen for some hidden trap.

  His dark hair was perfectly styled despite the early morning hour, and his long, athletic body was encased in a white sweater, gray overcoat, and blue jeans. I watched his jaw—which looked sharp enough to cut diamonds—flex as he waited for me to piss him off.

  Paxton was breathtaking, but he may as well have been covered in boils and slime right now.

  “Why are you blaming me?”

  “Maybe because you thought it was a good idea to pack on the morning of our flight? We should have been here hours ago!”

  “I’m sorry that I didn’t see the need to pack three months in advance or sit in an airport for six hours just so your anus could relax.”

  “If you had let me pack for you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “We’ve been dating for three years, and you still don’t know what brand of tampons I use. So why would I trust you to pack my clothes?” If I’d left it to Pax, I’d be spending my entire vacation with my headlights on and socks that didn’t match.

  “You—”

  “Guys?” The soft sound of my best friend’s voice drew my attention away from my prick of a boyfriend. Felicity’s green eyes were wide, and her cheeks were flushed pink. When I looked around, I realized why. All eyes were on us. “Please, let’s just go? We can still make it if we hurry.”

  I watched my boyfriend as he visibly softened as he stared at my best friend.

  Felicity playing referee was nothing new. In fact, she’d been doing it for most of our relationship, but lately, it’d become sort of a full-time job for her.

  The first year between Pax and me had been great.

  The sex was amazing, our conversations flowed, and even though we were complete opposites, I used to believe he was good for me. Balance, you know? Lately, though, I couldn’t help feeling more stifled than stable, and everything that once made me believe we could work had faded a long time ago.

  First, the all-night pillow talks, and then eventually, the sex.

  It’s been three months since Paxton and I fucked, and my fingers were no longer enough.

  “Yeah, let’s go,” Pax agreed before flashing Felicity that same charming smile I’d fallen for. Felicity smiled back before looking at me, and I could see the question in her eyes.

  Are you okay?

  I answered the unspoken question with a shrug.

  Paxton being annoyed with me was our new normal. I swear it was like if I breathed too heavily, he’d up and disappear for hours. I used to cry myself to sleep, knowing my boyfriend didn’t love me anymore, but now I’d grown used to being nothing more than his baggage.

  I don’t know why I didn’t just end it.

  I’d tried to work up the courage many times, but then I’d see his face and couldn’t imagine walking away.

  Literally.

  I’d see his face and get the urge to jump his bones rather than leave him. It was the strangest thing.

  At this point, my only hope was to pack my bags and send him an email once I was gone. Harsh but necessary.

  After a record-breaking sprint across the terminal, the three of us arrived at our gate with only seconds to spare.

  Pax and Felicity immediately rushed toward the gate, completely unaware that my feet had become glued to the floor. Leaning over the gate desk was a familiar set of broad shoulders. The man attached to them had been flirting with the pretty agent behind it when he suddenly turned at the sound of our arrival.

  Tall.

  Dark hair.

  Blue eyes.

  Athletic body.

  And a jaw sharp enough to cut diamonds.

  Sound familiar?

  “Hey, Pax! What’s your rush?” the man called out with a teasing smile.

  Pax, already one foot through the gate, came to a screeching halt when he finally noticed his brother.

  His twin brother.

  “Nick?” Pax did an about-face and met his brother halfway for a manly hug. “I thought you’d already be on the plane.”

  Excuse me…what?

  I guess now I knew why he insisted we bring Felicity along. This was never meant to be a romantic getaway. Any hope I had of us salvaging our relationship died a quick and grisly death.

  “And if I knew you wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t have bothered showing up two hours early. Thanks for the heads up, bro.” His gaze then shifted to Felicity standing next to his brother before quickly dismissing her and moving on. A deep frown covered his face when he didn’t find who he was looking for—me. “Where’s Elle?”

  Elle.

  The pet name Nick had taken upon himself to call me despite my insistence that he didn’t.

  As if Pax had only just realized I was missing, he looked around with a frown until he spotted me still standing in the hall amongst the thick crowd.

  I watched as he wordlessly nodded my way before giving his brother a look I couldn’t read. Something passed between them that had my hackles rising, but before I could call them both out on their shit, Nick was suddenly barrel
ing my way.

  “Elle!”

  I squealed my surprise when he yanked me off my feet and pulled my body to his until my tits were smashed against his hard chest. I felt his lips on my cheek, but thankfully, before I could embarrass myself, he set me back on my feet.

  “Whatcha been up to, party girl?”

  I offered up a smirk since he already knew the answer. “Partying.”

  We were in our fourth year of university, so Paxton had been on me more than usual to study harder. My grades were fine. He just never missed an opportunity to criticize me. My clothes, my hair, my grades, my dreams—nothing was off-limits. Paxton always knew one day he’d be a powerful man, so he had this vision of how the woman on his arm should act and look.

  “Look at Felicity,” he’d say. “Why can’t you be more like Felicity?”

  See, Felicity was a party girl like me. However, she appreciated a heavy hand much more than I did. Her father was a retired colonel, so she’d grown used to the stern, rigid, alpha male types. Fel was a submissive in and out of the sheets, which is where she and I differed significantly.

  I only liked being told what to do when my ass was up in the air.

  “That’s the spirit,” Nick praised. “I want a chance to win back the fifty bucks you cheated me out of.”

  “It’s only cheating if I’d shown my nipples too.”

  Yeah, that’s right.

  I flashed him my boobs to win a drinking game.

  Some might think it’s over the line, but President Grant and I would disagree.

  “Is that right?” Nick questioned in a low tone.

  The look in his eyes made me shift on my feet. I was afraid to name it, but I was sure it wasn’t the way a man should look at his brother’s girlfriend.

  Thankfully, the boarding agent chose that moment to order us to board the plane.

  Nick gestured me ahead of him, and I actually felt myself blush when I obliged. Call me crazy, but I could feel his gaze on me the entire way down the jetway. Paxton hung back to walk beside his brother, and I could hear them both whispering while Felicity kept giving me weird looks.

  We made it onto the plane, and surprise, surprise, we were the last ones.

  Glancing at my ticket, I quickly found my seat by the window and stowed my purse. When I looked up, I was surprised to see Nick flopping down into the seat next to me.

  “Wha—” I looked across the aisle in time to see Paxton settling in next to Felicity.

  She looked just as bewildered as I felt, but of course, she didn’t speak up and made herself as small as possible—which was saying a lot considering she was already tiny.

  “So you’re that upset you can’t even sit next to me?” I questioned Pax.

  “No,” he answered while staring at his phone. “I just don’t want to spend the entire flight fighting, Noelle.”

  The way he said my name always sounded so rigid and cold compared to the warmth and adoration when Nick called me Elle.

  Suddenly, it dawned on me what they’d been whispering about just before we boarded the plane. Paxton must have asked Nick to switch seats with him.

  Wow.

  I scoffed as I sat back and shook my head.

  Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was nothing to salvage after all.

  Still, the question remained why he even suggested this trip. It’s not as if we’d planned it a year ago or something. We made plans three months ago, and not once did he ever seem to have second thoughts.

  “I can’t really be that bad,” Nick said. I tore my gaze away from the window to see him watching me. “Do I smell? Is it my hair?” He reached up and playfully shoved his fingers through the gorgeous black strands. “No, it can’t be that. My hair is gorgeous.”

  I didn’t want to.

  I fought really hard.

  In the end, I couldn’t help my smile and the laugh that burst free.

  “I would have to agree. Your hair is fabulous. It’s how much time you spend in the mirror I can’t quite cope with. Do you ever take a break?”

  “It depends on the view,” he whispered while holding my gaze.

  My response got caught in my throat as the plane pulled away from the gate. We managed to taxi down the runway and take off before I dared to exhale.

  Was Nick flirting with me?

  Or had I sunk so low I was hoping for the possibility?

  NOELLE

  “Wow,” Felicity gasped as she stepped from the taxi and looked around.

  I could only nod because I had to concur.

  The ski resort we’d be spending the Christmas holiday was top-notch. I didn’t even want to know how much it cost because I could never afford it. Nick and Paxton’s parents were both high-powered attorneys, so they’d grown up around money, and each had sizable trust funds.

  Nick attended university with us for two years before dropping out and starting his own business, while Paxton chose to follow in his parents’ footsteps and study law.

  I was the only one out of the four of us who didn’t come from money, so I was grateful for Fel’s reaction, making me feel less out of place.

  “What do you think?” Nick asked as he came to stand beside me. Since the airport, he hasn’t been too far away.

  “I think I could live here if it weren’t for the cold.”

  “Yeah, I’d choose sand and hot sun over snow and frostbite any day, but baby bro loves the slopes.” He shrugged.

  “You’re six minutes older than him.”

  “And I made every second count.” Then, winking, he turned to Paxton, who was paying the cab driver, and said he’d check us in before jogging inside.

  Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I watched him go.

  He wore jeans, boots, and a black wool overcoat, identical to Paxton’s gray coat, over his black sweater, and I couldn’t help but admire how much better he filled out his clothes.

  Pax spent more of his time in the library than the gym.

  One time, after more begging than I care to admit, I convinced him to fuck me in the stacks. I promised to be quiet, but after knocking nearly all the books off the shelf and screaming through my orgasm, we ended up having to make a run for it.

  It was the most fun I ever remember having with him.

  As usual, sadness swept over me when I wondered how much longer he’d be mine.

  I loved Paxton and didn’t want to lose him, but…I wasn’t in love with him, and I didn’t think he was in love with me.

  “Ready to go?”

  I was startled from my thoughts when I realized Paxton was standing next to me. He hadn’t spoken to me since the plane, and I’d pretty much resigned myself to being ignored the entire weekend.

  I shouldn’t have. That was weak shit. It was just that I no longer knew what I was fighting for.

  “Yup. Ready to go.” I smiled at him, and he surprisingly smiled back.

  The three of us headed inside, and then Paxton told us to wait before joining Nick at the check-in counter. Spotting the bar, I grabbed Felicity’s hand and led her across the lobby.

  I needed a drink, and I needed it now.

  “Is it me, or are they up to something?” Felicity asked me while looking over her shoulder and chewing her lip.

  “Oh, definitely, but the question is what?”

  “Hmmm…maybe they want to have a freaky threesome with you,” Felicity whispered before giggling at the perplexed look on my face.

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s it. Paxton’s pretty possessive.”

  “I bet Nick is, too,” she mused. “They’re twins, after all.”

  “Yeah, but only in looks.” Their personalities were like night and day.

  Nick was the bad boy womanizer who liked to take risks and live in the moment but seemed deathly allergic to commitment.

  Pax was the scholar. He was ambitious and disciplined yet demanding. I used to get off on it, but now it was just a drag.

  “So, do you think you and Paxton can fix whatever’s going on
with you two this weekend?” Fel asked me. “I think you should. You guys were great together once, and I think you can be again.”

  “Sorry, but I think that ship has sailed.” Which meant we were all up for one hell of an awkward weekend.

  “Think about what you’d be throwing away, Noelle. Paxton may have high expectations of himself and everyone around him, but he can be kind and sweet and generous when he wants to be. He’s also smarter than anyone I know and reliable. You’ll never have to worry if you can count on him to be there. You’d never have to worry at all.” Fel was practically gushing with stars in her eyes as she blushed. “Not to mention he’s sexy too,” she added in a whisper.

  That he was.

  I pursed my lips as I considered her words though perhaps not in the way she had intended.

  I almost did it.

  I almost suggested that she date him if she thought he was so great, but I didn’t. I knew she was only trying to help. She felt she was looking out for me, and that was okay. I just needed her to understand that no one knew what was best for me better than I did.

  Felicity cleared her throat and looked away when she noticed me staring and began twisting her hands in her lap. She only did that when she was feeling guilty or nervous about something.

  “You’re right, Fel. Paxton would make some girl out there the luckiest woman alive. The right girl. It’s becoming apparent to me that I’m not that girl. I want someone I can stand beside, not behind. I want to be with a man who doesn’t make me feel like a child for wanting to have fun. I’m twenty-one, for fuck’s sake. I want to enjoy being carefree before all the real-world problems come crashing in like a never-ending tidal wave. I want a partner, Fel. I already have a father.”

  Felicity swallowed before giving a slight, reluctant nod.

  “Ladies,” the bartender greeted while wiping down the bar space in front of us. “What will you have?”

  “Two Jack Frosties, please.”

  “Oh, I’m not drinking,” Fel announced, making me turn my head her way. “I didn’t get the chance to tell you, but Paxton offered to teach me how to ski.” She paused as if realizing how strange that sounded, considering he was my boyfriend, and this was supposed to be a bae-cation. “Is that okay?”