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

Chapter 48

chapter forty-eight

gabe

Unknown number

Congrats on your office.

Gabe

Who’s this?

Unknown number

Alonzo.

Gabe

Thanks, Alonzo. Appreciate it.

Alonzo

Make sure you take care of my sister.

Gabe

With my life.

Luna was walking out the door with her friends when I pulled up in front of Chloe’s house. Kriz spotted me first and nudged Luna, who beamed the second she looked my way.

I could never get tired of seeing her smile. Knowing she did so because of me felt like the biggest achievement in the world.

Getting out, I rounded the car and approached them.

“Hey, Prof Martins,” Kriz greeted.

Chloe smirked at me. “Luna’s looking a lot less stressed these days, thanks to you.”

Kriz stifled a laugh, while Luna elbowed Chloe.

“You look pretty damn relaxed, too,” Chloe continued, nonplussed.

Did I? Because this conversation was making my collar seem tighter. Then again, it might have been the fact that I was officially meeting Luna’s best friends—my former students—as the man she was dating.

“Chloe,” Luna groaned as she stepped up to me and wove her fingers into mine.

Everything inside me settled at her touch. I wanted to whisk her away but I needed to learn to get along with her friends too. “Thanks,” I told Chloe though I suspected there was more to the compliment than I could read. “Call me Gabe.”

“It’s about time,” Kriz said, grinning at me. “We’re so happy for you guys.”

Chloe nodded. “Uh huh. Lulu was in dire need of good di?—”

“Okay, bye, guys,” Luna blurted out, tugging my hand.

Her friends burst out laughing and called out their farewells.

When we were safely in the car, I asked Luna, “Do I want to know?”

“Definitely not.” She latched her seatbelt. “How awkward was that for you?”

“It was better than I expected,” I said as I started driving.

“Can you imagine how things would have turned out if I’d been in your class with them?”

I winced.

“Gabe.” She spoke slowly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Glancing at her, I finally admitted what I should have a long time ago. “I swapped classes with Max.”

She gaped at me. “You mean I was supposed to be in your class?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“I never thought you were the type to swap classes.”

“I’m not. It was the only time I did.” I gave her a small smile. “I’m not the type to fall for a student either. Apparently, you’re the exception to all my rules.”

“Look at you, saying the sweetest things.”

“I haven’t said enough of them to you.”

“Oh, trust me, you’ve said plenty,” she assured me as she took my hand. “I guess it’s a good thing you did that, or we might have never ended up here.”

I didn’t want to imagine an alternate reality where I didn’t have her by my side. Squeezing her hand, I said, “Definitely. How was your study date?”

“It was fun. We didn’t get to do a lot of studying, but I did get to brainstorm for my entrepreneurship project.” She told me about her social media-based thrift shop idea and how she’d gotten her friends to agree to model the clothes for her. “What about you—how was your day?”

“It was interesting,” I said. “Guess who texted me?”

“That real estate guy? Is he signing you already?”

“No. Your brother.” From the corner of my eye, I saw her mouth drop open.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m happy to confirm that I am not.” Then I recounted the exchange that had me running late for a meeting. It was worth it though.

“Did he threaten you or something?”

“No.” On second thought, I amended, “Not explicitly.”

Chuckling, she shook her head. “He is a future lawyer. Of course he’s not going to put that in writing.”

“Smart of him.”

“I’m glad he reached out to you even though your opening was like a month ago.”

“I can’t complain when I don’t process things easily, either,” I murmured.

She put her hand on mine, understanding clear on her face. “It’s not about how fast you get there. It’s getting there and what you do when you’re there that counts.”

When I parked at our usual spot near the kalachuchi tree, I unbuckled my seatbelt so we could switch seats for her driving practice. But as I reached for the door handle, Luna said, “Wait.”

And then she crawled over the center console and wedged herself onto my lap. “Hi,” she smiled down at me.

I wrapped my arms around her back. “Hi.”

“Now give me a proper greeting.”

Grinning, I pulled her down for a kiss that might have gone a little too far. But she asked for a proper greeting, and I aimed to give her exactly what she wanted. I made sure she enjoyed every moment of it.

luna

“Luna!” Gabe hollered from the dining table. “We’re going to be late.”

In my bedroom, I checked my reflection one last time. “It’s just a call. We don’t have to be there on the dot.”

“I’m trying to make a good impression.”

I bit my lip. “Right. I’m sorry.”

Heading into the kitchen, I stopped next to Gabe where he sat with my laptop already open. A glance at the clock told me we had three minutes to spare, so I wove my fingers in Gabe’s hair and held his gaze. “No matter what happens, remember that I think you are extremely awesome.”

His mouth twitched. “Not just plain awesome, huh?”

I put on an exaggerated air of seriousness and pretended to reconsider. “Well, if you’re satisfied with that . . .”

He chuckled. “I’ll take the adverb, please.”

“Good.” I pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you, Gabe.”

“I love you, too, Luna. But we should really call your family now.”

Papa cleared his throat. “Gabriel, right?”

“It’s Gabe, Papa,” I corrected him, knowing full well that he was aware of that.

Gabe held my hand, and I didn’t know if it was for my benefit or his. “My given name is Gabriel,” he said. “But most people call me Gabe.”

“Congratulations on your office,” Papa asked.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Luna sent us photos from your opening.” Mama grinned at Gabe. “The space looks beautiful and it’s an amazing achievement for someone your age.” A wince flashed across her face, as though she remembered his age wasn’t the best topic to bring up.

“Thank you,” Gabe repeated. “I appreciate that.”

“He worked really hard to make this happen,” I said. “I’m so proud of him.”

“You don’t plan on finishing your doctorate anymore?” Papa asked Gabe.

“Not for now, no. I want to focus my efforts on building my business and supporting Luna in her senior year.”

Papa grunted. “She told us you helped her with her classes.”

“She’s not giving herself enough credit.” Gabe glanced at me, his eyes warm. “I helped her review for her economics finals last semester but she got through majority of the work on her own. She would have done just as well without me.”

Squeezing his hand, I smiled at him.

Papa nodded, then his eyes shifted to me. “How are your classes so far, Luna?”

My nerves flared at the question, but I kept my tone casual. “Great! I like how we’re getting more into the application side of things.”

“And you’re enjoying your fashion classes?” He sounded awkward yet sincere, and the fact that he’d asked at all had me breathing easier.

“I am, especially coming off of my internship. I really think it’s a great blend for me since the fashion industry is growing and the business side of it is changing so quickly with social media and tech.”

“Good. I’m happy for you.” Papa cleared his throat and looked at Gabe again. “When will you come here?”

“We are hoping to visit next year. Luna tells me Christmas is the best time to go.”

“We do have the best Christmas season. Make sure you start planning for that.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tito,” Papa said abruptly.

Gabe paused. “I’m sorry?”

“Call me Tito.”

Gabe and I exchanged glances. My dad had just told Gabe to call him uncle , and it was a sign that Papa was willing to give Gabe a chance.

“Alright,” Gabe told him. “We’ll be sure to celebrate Christmas with you next year—Tito.”