The Odds of Happily Ever After (The Reyes Siblings #2)

Chapter 3

chapter three

gabe

Tala

Thanks again for making this trip with Luna possible. We really needed that.

Gabe

Don’t mention it. Regards to Jason.

Tala

He said he’s still waiting for the Brazilian soccer team to win the World Cup.

Gabe

Remind him it’s not for another two years. Also, it’s football.

My screen went blank as my client ended the video call. I finished typing my notes and confirmed that Felix’s investment portfolio was up to date. The next thing I knew, a notification appeared on my screen—a calendar reminder simply titled sanity check .

I froze, staring at the words that Tala had coined.

I’d had weeks to process the news of her departure, yet the reality hadn’t sunken in until now.

If it had been a regular third Tuesday of the month, I would be preparing to meet her for our catch-up dinner. It had been our tradition these past three years and the closest thing I’d had to a social life. I seldom dated and avoided socializing unless work demanded it.

The only exception was Tala.

Now she was living on a different continent and I had no one else to remind me to maintain some semblance of work-life balance. Not that I could blame her for moving back to the Philippines when her work visa hadn’t been extended. She’d missed her home for so long too.

Anyway, people leaving was nothing new. Ma left when I was fourteen to start a new family with her American doctor. Two years after, my father returned to Brazil, leaving me to live with our neighbor. Then there was Inez, my first and last girlfriend.

All things considered, I was a pro at being left behind. Tala was just another person to add to the list.

Saving my work, I got up and headed to my kitchen. I wasn’t hungry, but I needed a distraction. A brief scan of my refrigerator revealed that I only had enough ingredients for a couple of sandwiches while a six-pack of beer remained. My food to drinks ratio was off, which meant I’d need to make a grocery run soon.

Sandwich and beer it would be.

As I prepared my meal, it occurred to me how much it resembled my college diet. I might have graduated to higher quality ingredients and more expensive alcohol, but my cooking repertoire hadn’t really improved since undergrad. Some might argue, neither had my routine.

Which was fine by me. Routine meant stability and security—two things I’d lacked growing up. I would choose routine over the unknown any day of the week, never mind if other people called that boring.

People like Luna.

Her hurt expression when I told her we weren’t friends flashed in my head.

Guilt tugged at me. Had I been too abrupt with her? I’d already told her my stance on professor-student interactions in the past. The last thing she needed was to be involved in matters that would put her scholarship on the line—not to mention, tarnish the career and reputation I’d worked so hard to build.

When Tala told me her younger sister was moving here a year ago, I immediately went on guard. She made Luna sound like a sweet, sheltered child, but it seemed Luna had been content to be the pampered princess while Tala hustled to send money home. No wonder Luna was all rainbows and sunshine. She could afford to be, with Tala taking on the responsibilities.

I hated freeloaders—particularly those who thought they could skate by on their charm alone. They reminded me of Ma, who got tired of waiting for my father to strike gold and found another husband for herself.

They also reminded me of my ex.

Tala and I rarely had serious disagreements, but Luna was one topic we didn’t see eye to eye on.

“You’re spoiling her,” I told Tala a few weeks after Luna moved in and took up the only bedroom in her apartment.

“I’m not,” Tala said. “She cooks and helps with the chores.”

“You’re working two jobs and funding her existence. At least let her get a part-time job so she learns the value of money and independence.”

“I don’t want to pressure her right now.”

“Maybe she needs that pressure.”

Tala sighed. “Why are you so worked up about this?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I hate seeing you get taken advantage of.”

“I’m not. She’s family. We take care of each other.”

“It’s unfair.” The words came out in an angry burst that I didn’t anticipate.

Tala was silent for a moment. “Maybe it is, but that’s my choice. I need you to respect that.”

My breath left me in a gust of frustration. “Right. I’m sorry.”

“You know, Luna’s not like your ? —”

“Tala,” I snapped because I already knew where she was heading and I refused to go there.

“Fine,” she grumbled. “Just give her a chance, will you?”

Normally, I wouldn’t let someone talk me into conceding a point I strongly believed in, but Tala was the only person I cared about without reservation. She respected my boundaries and rarely asked for favors. I couldn’t deny her something that mattered to her.

So I promised her I’d try.

Maybe I had been wrong about Luna. She’d gotten a job—finally—and she seemed determined to be independent. For Tala, I would check on Luna every couple of weeks. She shouldn’t need more supervision than that.

With that settled, I opened a beer and dug into my sandwich. I was nearly done when my phone rang. I checked the caller ID and held back a groan. “Pai,” I answered.

“Gabriel!” My father’s deep voice blasted into my ears. “Como vai?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

He tsked. “Ah, Gabriel. Don’t you still know your language?”

“Sim. I just prefer English,” I said. Just like I had the last time he asked.

“You should visit so you can practice. You have not been to Rio in years.”

I took a drink of my beer. “I’m busy.”

“Still studying? Aren’t you tired of that?”

Of course I was—thus, why I’d taken a hiatus from my PhD. Not that I’d told my father. He’d traded me in for his homeland without hesitation and spent years barely acknowledging my existence. I doubted he even knew what I’d majored in, and I wasn’t about to enlighten him now.

“You’re wasting your prime,” he continued, saving me from inventing a response. “There’s more to life than school, Gabriel.”

Ironic how he chose to parent me when I was a grown adult, but not when I was younger. “I also have work outside the university, remember?”

“Playing around with money.”

“It pays the bills.” That was more than he had done for me.

His silence rang loud. After a minute or two, he said, “Money can’t buy you happiness.”

Maybe not, but it could buy food on a regular basis. A house and car. Security. Everything he and Ma had failed to provide their only child. “Let me worry about that. Anyway, I have to go.”

“Do you have a date?” His voice sounded lighter than it had before.

“Something like that.”

Technically, I hadn’t confirmed his assumption, so I had no reason to feel guilty about lying. Besides, he hadn’t been involved in my life for almost a decade. Just because he decided he was ready to pay attention to his only son didn’t mean I had to divulge the details of my private life to him.

We said our goodbyes, and I went over my bills and settled them early. Gone were the days when I had to rely on someone else for a place to live or gambled to pay my tuition. It had taken time, effort, and painful lessons, but I no longer had to count every single penny that came in.

I would do everything in my power to ensure I would never go back to that kind of existence again.