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

Chapter 18

chapter eighteen

luna

Kriz

Sooo how was the road trip??

Luna

Great! We’re on our way back now

Kriz

Call me as soon as you get here!

“I still can’t believe you won twice!” I said as we drove down the highway. Gabe had shocked us all, and Miles declared him one of the best card players he’d ever seen. Even Lonzo had been impressed, though he tried to hide it. “Swear it was your first time playing pusoy?”

“I swear.” Gabe’s lips twitched. “Lucky night, I guess.”

“Uh huh. You’re a hustler, aren’t you?”

His grin popped out. “I had to pay for school somehow. It’s called leveraging my strengths.”

I gaped at him. “You played cards to pay for school?” That didn’t sound like the Gabe I knew. “Was this in college?”

“And part of high school.”

My chest tightened. Did that mean his parents didn’t cover his tuition? I knew it was normal for students to pay their way through college, but high school ?

“Ma sent some money, but my father couldn’t pay for his half of my tuition after he moved to Rio,” he said, as if he could read my mind. He raised his shoulder. “I found a way.”

I ached for the boy he had been. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t be. It taught me that I could count only on myself. That was the best lesson my parents gave me.”

Maybe it was, but it seemed like the saddest one too. I bit my lip and gripped my hands on my thighs to keep from reaching out to him. Sneaking a sideways glance, I caught him looking at me.

Whatever he saw in my expression had him facing the front again. He clenched his jaw. “Don’t pity me, Luna.”

“I don’t. You succeeded on your own. I admire you for that,” I told him.

“The funny thing is my girlfriend back then, Inez, broke up with me because she didn’t think I could give her a stable future,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

My mouth fell open.

“I can’t blame her, given my track record.”

That snapped my jaw back into place. “What track record? Your parents messed up—not you. If she loved you, she should have understood that and backed you up. Hell, if she knew you at all, she should have known you would find a way to get ahead.”

For a moment, he was quiet. Then he murmured, “Do you believe that?”

“A hundred percent.” My voice came out loud, but I couldn’t help it. His ex hadn’t just dumped him when he seemed to have been at his lowest—she’d also made him feel inferior.

Was there any wonder he was so driven to succeed?

“Where is this girl anyway?” I muttered.

He glanced at me, his eyebrows raised. “Why do you ask? Are you planning to beat her up?”

“Of course not. I’m just going to tell her that she made the wrong decision and that she’s missing out.”

A hesitant laugh escaped him. “You think so, huh?”

“I know so.”

He smiled at me softly. “Thank you, Luna.”

Going by instinct, I reached out and put my hand on his forearm. It was the first time I’d touched him since he was sick. His muscles grew rigid, but he didn’t move away.

A breath whooshed out of him. “Anyway. Playing cards came naturally to me because it boiled down to numbers and patterns.”

“And reading body language,” I added.

“ That part didn’t come naturally. But I did my research and I observed. It paid off.”

Lucky for us, we’d only played for bragging rights. “I’ll win next time,” I said playfully.

I held my breath while I waited for him to tell me there would be no next time, but he threw me a half-smile instead. “I’ll count on that,” he said, and it took all of me not to dance right there in the passenger seat.

My happiness felt so big and bright, I wondered how I didn’t burst with the force of it. I looked out the window and pinched my lips together to keep from grinning like a looney tune. He’d think I was a silly girl with a crush, and he might have been right, except this didn’t feel like just a crush.

“You and Miles got along well.”

My head whipped around to face Gabe. “He’s an easy guy to get along with,” I said, wondering where that comment had come from.

Gabe drummed his thumb on the steering wheel. “You didn’t go with him to that party.”

I laughed incredulously. “You know that was a joke, right?” After we’d played cards last night, Miles had invited me and Lonzo to a club we were definitely underage for. Lonzo would have gone if Ate didn’t decline for the both of us, but all I’d wanted was to enjoy sleeping on my huge, ultra comfy bed.

“He’s interested in you.”

I gaped at him for a full minute. “You’re kidding. Like I could pull the Miles Gomez.”

His brow furrowed as he looked at me. “Why couldn’t you?”

“Um, he dates gorgeous models and actresses and probably billionaire heiresses.”

“You’re beautiful too.”

When I could finally pick my jaw off my lap, I said, “Was that a compliment?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my gaze.

My heart thumped so loud, it was a miracle he couldn’t hear it. “Thanks. But I’m not into Miles like that.”

“No?”

“That would be like crushing on Jason’s brother. Super weird.”

Blue-gray eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “Right. Weird.”

Gabe insisted on bringing me up to my apartment, and I didn’t protest because this might be the last time we got to hang out for a while. Tomorrow, we’d go back to distant greetings around campus, so I would take as much of him as I could before then.

“Thanks again for the road trip,” I said as we reached my door. “That was fun.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Admit it. You had fun too.”

He smiled, and it was like sunlight breaking through the clouds. “It wasn’t bad.”

“Uh huh.” Unlocking the door, I swung it open, and Gabe put down my bag just past the doorway.

He straightened and placed his hands on his thighs. “So. I’ll see you around.”

I wanted to step right up to him and hug him, but he held himself stiffly. Even though he seemed comfortable hugging Ate, he might reject that show of affection coming from me, and I didn’t want to risk ruining the progress we’d made.

I settled for a wave instead. “Bye, Gabe.”

“Take care, Luna.”

My smile lingered long after he’d left. As I chatted with Kriz about the weekend, I felt full of air and out of breath at the same time.

“You know Chloe’s going to ask about Gabe, right?” Kriz said. “You guys were on the jumbotron, like, twice.”

Of course—the cameras loved to follow Ate now that everyone knew she was dating Jason. “It’s not like we were sitting beside each other.” Lonzo made it a point to sit between me and Gabe, and honestly, I was thankful for that. I might not have been able to pay attention to the game otherwise.

“I’m guessing you won’t tell her who you rode with?” Laughter filled Kriz’s voice.

“Probably not.” I could already imagine how Chloe would react. I’d just been through another round of ride-related innuendos with Kriz. That was more than enough.

“Can you believe you’re actually hanging out with the professor now? Talk about a plot twist.”

“It was just one trip.” That was what I reminded myself anyway.

Scrolling through my camera feed, I found a selfie I’d taken at the arena. The left side of Gabe’s face was cut off, but he was smiling in that subdued way he did in public.

“Are you in love with him yet?” Kriz teased.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not like that.”

The doorbell rang, and I sat up, looking at the door.

“Is that him?”

“Of course not,” I said even though I wished it was.

“I’ve got to run to the gym,” Kriz said. “Text me if he came back to profess his love.”

“You’re insane.”

Despite what I said, my pulse thundered in my ears as I rushed to open the door. A delivery guy stood waiting outside with two plastic to-go cups.

“You have the wrong address,” I told him. “I didn’t order anything.”

He checked his phone. “Luna Reyes?”

I frowned. “Yes.”

Holding the drink carrier out to me, he said, “Then this is yours.”

“Oh.” I took it because he knew my name. Was I supposed to tip him when I wasn’t the one who ordered? “Hold on?—”

“All good.” He waved his phone at me, then turned to leave.

I called out a thank you and locked my door. Placing the carrier on the kitchen counter, I lifted one drink. The black pearls sitting at the bottom of the cup gave it away. I stared at it, puzzling out its presence.

Then it clicked.

Only three people knew I’d wanted a boba yesterday. One of them was on a plane to Manila and the other was attending press cons with her boyfriend in California. Which left one option.

Grabbing my phone, I called Gabe. “Did you send me boba?” I asked as soon as he picked up.

“You weren’t able to get one yesterday,” he said. Like it was common sense that he would get it for me today instead.

A lump settled in the base of my throat. “So you bought me two to make up for it?”

“I wasn’t sure if you still wanted it with coffee, so I got one with and one without.”

I dropped in a chair, my boba in one hand and my phone in the other.

I was definitely in trouble now.