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

Chapter 44

chapter forty-four

luna

Luna

Finally done with finals! Talk soon?

I’d held off on that conversation with my brother, but after I completed my requirements for the semester, I knew I couldn’t procrastinate any further. I didn’t expect to hear back from Lonzo for a couple of hours, but my phone rang less than thirty minutes after I texted him.

So much for having time to prep for this conversation.

Taking a deep breath, I hit accept. Lonzo’s face appeared on my screen, looking like he’d just showered. “Did you just wake up?” I asked in greeting. It was eleven p.m. in Sterling, which meant it was eleven in the morning in Manila.

“More like I just finished my workout,” he said as he toweled off his hair.

“On a Saturday morning?” I shook my head, secretly thankful for the easy back-and-forth. “What happened to sleeping in?”

“I did sleep in. You know I’m usually out for a run before six.”

“But it’s the weekend. I cannot.”

Lonzo laughed. “How was finals?”

“Pretty good.” He’d given me an opening, so I went for it. “I was mostly worried about econ, but I had a good tutor.” I held my breath in anticipation of his reaction.

His brows slammed together. “Don’t tell me you’re talking about that guy.”

“His name is Gabe.”

“I don’t need to say it because he’s not relevant to me.”

“If I matter to you at all, then it is relevant to you,” I shot back. “You need to get used to hearing it because he’ll be in my life for the foreseeable future.” Hopefully, forever.

His eyes widened. “No.”

“Yes. I’m in love with Gabe, Lonzo,” I said firmly despite the scowl he leveled at me. “And I’m not telling you that you have to like him, but if you care about me and my happiness, then you’ll at least give him a chance.”

“He’s too old for you.”

“How about you try to get to know him first, and then you can judge? You’re in pre-law. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“That doesn’t always apply.”

“It should when it comes to your family.” I glared at him, hurt by his harsh words. “Look, if you don’t trust my judgment, you should at least trust Ate’s. She’s known Gabe longer than I have and she supports our relationship. Why can’t you?”

He shook his head. “Her judgment isn’t exactly sound when it comes to him.”

“And yours is? You decided to dislike him the moment you met him.”

“Because he’s messing around with you!”

My head pounded, and I tipped it backward, closing my eyes. “I’m not going over this again.” After the long week of studying, I was all out of energy and patience.

Lonzo sighed. “Look, it’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s him .”

I opened my eyes and stared at my brother.

“Maybe he isn’t an asshole who’s taking advantage of you. He could even be as great as you two claim he is. But we already lost Ate to Jason—and I like him, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t want to lose another sister to some guy who’ll keep you away from here for good.”

Of all the reasons I’d come up with to explain his animosity toward Gabe, this one had never crossed my mind. “Lonzo . . .”

He pressed his lips together and stared past the screen.

“I had no idea you thought that about Ate,” I said. “You know she’s not going to abandon our family, right? Even when they get married and they decide to move elsewhere, she’ll always come back to Manila. That’s the same for me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Swiping his hand through his hair, he blew out a breath. “I know it’s stupid. It just sucks being the one always left behind.”

My lips parted as understanding slammed into me. I always figured I knew my brother well, and yet I’d been clueless about his feelings all this time.

“I have to help Mama with lunch.”

“Wait,” I blurted out. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” he muttered.

“Okay.” I bit my lip. “Please don’t tell Mama and Papa about Gabe yet. I want to talk to them myself.”

He clenched his jaw. “Yeah, yeah. Bye, Ate.”

We hung up and I slumped back onto my pillow. It was ironic how I’d brooded over my middle child issues without considering that my siblings might have their own problems too. Even though I didn’t get to be with them often, I could have put in more effort to check in with them.

Exhaustion pulled my eyelids closed, but before I nodded off, I shot Lonzo a message:

Luna

I know I don’t say this often, but I love you Lonz. No guy is ever going to change that.

gabe

My father let out a heavy laugh that reverberated through the living room, setting off a round of barks from the dog, squawks from the parrot, and more laughter from the guests.

Despite the chaos that rocked my system, I smiled. My father was in his element here, his joy palpable. Seeing him surrounded by family and friends, I finally understood what he meant when he said that Rio was home. I could no longer fault him for needing to return here when he was at the lowest point of his life. This was his anchor, the place where he felt most alive.

Just like Luna was mine.

“Gabriel!” Tia waved me over from the kitchen entryway.

I hurried there to find her lighting the candles on a massive chocolate cake. She gave me a pointed look, which I took as a prompt to carry the cake outside. As she swung the door open for me, she began shout-singing the lyrics to a Portuguese song I vaguely remembered from my childhood birthdays.

Other voices joined in and soon the house shook with the force of their singing and clapping. At the center of the revelry, my father grinned, his eyes bright as he watched me approaching him. The song ended with his name yelled out, and since I was setting the cake on the table in front of him, the roars came at me too.

“Parabéns, Pai,” I greeted him.

He barked out a laugh and blew out the candles, then he made quick work of slicing a generous portion of cake. Transferring it to a plate, he held it out to me.

I blinked at him. “Go ahead. It’s your birthday.”

But he shook his head. “You’re my son and you’re here. Finally. This is for you.” His eyes were glassy as he spoke, and the emotion in his words made my chest swell.

“Obrigado,” I said, accepting the plate with hands that weren’t quite steady.

“Thank you for being here, Gabriel. This is my birthday wish come true.”

Leaning over, I embraced him, absorbing his claps across my back. The last-minute travel preparations and separation from Luna was worth it for this moment alone. I couldn’t imagine missing this, and as I pulled back from my father to grin at him, I promised myself I wouldn’t miss more.

luna

Gabe’s face glowed with happiness as he told me about his father’s birthday party. I rejoiced for him too because for the first time since I’d known him, he seemed at peace with his family, and he deserved every bit of it.

“So, are you planning another trip back soon?” I asked him as I swirled the cup of boba he’d had delivered an hour ago.

“Not yet,” Gabe said, looking handsome despite the long night he’d had. “The next time I visit, you’re coming with me.”

I smiled. “It’s a plan. But you’re going with me to the Philippines too.”

“Of course.” He turned solemn. “How are things with Alonzo?”

I had told him about the talk with my brother yesterday and he’d been almost as surprised as I was by Lonzo’s revelation. “Okay, I guess. He texted me earlier that he would try to give you a chance but we’ll just have to see.”

“I can understand his feelings about being left behind, even though our situations are different.”

Gabe sounded casual, but I heard the words he didn’t say—that most people in his life had left him in some way at one time or another. He’d gotten so used to goodbyes that taking this risk on me, a girl who might end up leaving the country like my sister did, felt even more significant.

I hesitated, wondering if I should bring up the issue I’d been worrying about, but then I figured it wouldn’t do me any good keeping it in. “Gabe . . . You know that I’m planning to apply for a work visa after graduation, right? What if, for some reason, I can’t get one and I’ll have to move back to Manila?”

“Then I’ll go with you,” he answered like he’d thought of it already. “I can do my work remotely, and there’s nowhere else I’d want to be than where you are. If you’re okay with that,” he added.

“I’m more than okay with that. But I really hope I get a job here.”

“One thing at a time,” he reminded me. “How do you feel about your interview tomorrow?”

“I’m as ready as I can be, I guess.” It had been a long shot, but I’d scored an interview for a summer internship at Renewed Look. If they liked me well enough, maybe it could be my ticket to a work visa after graduation. How amazing would that be?

But I was getting ahead of myself. I needed to get the internship first.

“You’re going to do great. Then we’ll celebrate when I arrive home.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.”