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

1 the （not quite） meet-cute

luna

ATE

We’re waiting at the arrivals area. See you soon.

LUNA

Just landed, ahh!!! I can’t believe I’m here! Can’t wait to see youuu sparkling heart

Wait, who’s we??

LONZO

Right, who’s we?

My neck was stiff from over thirty hours of travel. My butt tingled from my three connecting flights, and my head pounded from the combination of irregular sleep and the wailing toddler in the seat right behind me during that final leg.

But I made it to the United States. On my own.

Not bad for a first-time traveler flying across the globe.

“Luna!”

My head snapped to the right at the sound of my sister’s voice.

Other travelers blocked my view as they rushed toward the exit. Then came a split-second gap, and I spotted Ate peering above a stranger’s shoulder and waving her arm at me.

A sudden lightness filled me.

Six years. I hadn’t seen Ate in six years, not since she left home to study college in South Carolina.

My face broke into a grin. I turned, dragging my suitcases behind me. And bumped right into a woman who cursed and glared at me.

I stumbled to a halt. “I’m so sorry,” I said, wincing. “I?—

She shook her head and strode away, muttering something too low for me to hear.

Okay then.

Suddenly, a man stopped beside me and reached for my biggest suitcase.

My eyes widened as my heart pumped faster.

What was it with strangers here? One minute, you had one who refused to accept an apology. Next, there was the random guy who might be trying to steal my luggage.

Not that I was going to let him. Eighteen years of my life were crammed in the two battered suitcases and single backpack I had with me.

I tightened my grip on the suitcase handle, ready to battle him for it.

One glance at his face, and the world stopped.

I learned that the sentiment was a cliché for good reason.

Blue-gray eyes so light they were almost translucent held me captive as they stared me down.

Clouds hinting at incoming rain. That’s what they reminded me of.

Rainy days were always my favorites.

“Lu!”

I blinked, and so did he.

Turning my head, I finally came face-to-face with my sister.

We grinned as we stared at each other. Would-be bag thief forgotten, I let go of my suitcases and threw my arms around her.

“Ate,” I squealed as I squeezed her.

Her real name was Tala, but to me—and to our younger brother, Alonzo—she was Ate. My mouth learned to form the Filipino term for older sister way before I knew her actual name.

“You’re all grown up.” The cadence of her English came easy, naturally, a sign of her years in America. “Why are you so tall?”

It was the one advantage I had over her—three inches, by my estimate. I joked, “You got all the talent in the family. Lonz got the brains. I might as well get the height.”

That wasn’t quite accurate. Ate danced like it was as easy as breathing, but she had more than enough brains and the drive to get a free ride to Sterling University. Lonzo had been accelerated through high school and scored a full scholarship in the University of the Philippines, and he had long overtaken my 5’6”.

Then there was me. The middle child who barely qualified for a scholarship—a partial one, at that—and had no discernible talent except for finding great bargains.

But I could find humor in most situations. When life seemed to cast most things in shadows, any ray of light came in handy. That’s what I liked to tell myself, at least.

Ate rolled her eyes. “Very funny. Are those all your bags?” she asked, reminding me that I had abandoned my belongings.

I whirled around and found my suitcases in the hands of the cloud-eyed stranger. “Hey, those are mine!” I stepped toward him with the intent of grabbing my bags.

Instead of escaping or defending himself, he simply raised a thick eyebrow at me.

Ate caught my arm. “Lu, this is Gabe. He offered to drive so we wouldn’t have to take the bus. Gabe, this is my sister, Luna.”

“Oh!” I gave him a sheepish smile. “Hi, Gabe. Sorry, I thought you were a bag thief.”

He dipped his head in the subtlest version of a nod but didn’t offer a word or a smile. Not even a twitch of his mouth.

Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

My smile faltered. “I’ve got it,” I told him as I reached for my suitcase.

“Focus on walking without bumping into people.”

His voice was deep and pitched low. Any other time, I would have thought it sexy, but his grumpy words canceled out his attractiveness.

“It was an accident, Gabe,” Ate said before I could snap at him.

“That’s what drunk drivers say. It doesn’t excuse carelessness.”

My mouth dropped. “I’m walking in the airport, not driving on the street. Exaggerate much? Also, there’s nothing in my bloodstream but water and caffeine.”

Now his mouth twitched.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Okay there.” Ate stepped between us, glancing from me to him and back. “He didn’t mean anything by it, Lu. Gabe’s just…intense.”

His eyes switched over to hers, and the two of them seemed to have a silent conversation.

We’re waiting at the arrivals area, she’d texted me earlier.

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no.

Turning to face my sister, I asked, “Ate, is he your boyfriend?”

She reared back. “What? No! We’re just friends.”

Gabe’s gaze landed on me again, inscrutable and dark.

I refused to flinch under his stare.

“Cut it out, Gabe. We should go—I’m sure Luna’s tired.” Turning to me, Ate said, “Give me your backpack.”

Despite my refusal to give up my bag, she wrestled it off me, leaving me with my purse. She asked about my trip as we walked to the parking lot. Meanwhile, Gabe trailed behind us with my suitcases like a brooding bodyguard.

Ate stopped beside a sedan that I could tell belonged to Gabe just by its color. Gray. I would have loved to say the car was ugly and drab, but nope, it looked sleek and sexy in an understated way with its slate gray paint glinting in the late afternoon sun.

Gabe popped the trunk and effortlessly loaded my suitcases inside, his biceps flexing under his white button-down shirt. Of course, it wasn’t enough that he looked good—the guy had to have muscles on him too.

After arranging my luggage, he opened the back and passenger doors. Ate headed for the passenger seat, and I watched as Gabe waited for her to settle in before closing the door.

He turned to me. “Do you prefer the bus?”

Just when I was beginning to think he was a gentleman. I aimed my brightest smile at him because he seemed the type to hate happiness. “And miss the chance to get to know you? Of course not.” I got in, half-expecting him to pull me out. Instead, he said nothing, only closing the door for me like he did for Ate.

I might have preferred that scenario. It would have made it easier to dislike him.

“What do you want to eat? There’s this great place in Sterling that does pizzas by hand,” Ate said as Gabe started the car. “I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Cheese and grease—two things I rarely passed up on. The problem was, I felt too greasy myself to hang around in public. “Pizza sounds great. Only, can we get takeout or delivery? I’m dying to shower.”

“Oh, right! I should have guessed. They don’t have delivery, but I can order it for pick-up.”

“I’ll get it after dropping you off.” Gabe said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Maybe we can grab it on the way to the apartment so you won’t have to make another trip,” I suggested, not wanting to be a burden on him.

“It’s on the other side of town,” Ate said. “Sterling’s not big, but it’ll take an extra thirty minutes or so.”

“That’s okay. I can wait.”

Gabe spoke up again. “I’ll get it. You need to shower.”

Great. As if I didn’t feel filthy enough, now I wondered if I stank up his car. I hated that I had made a bad first impression on him, even though he didn’t make a good one on me either. I shouldn’t care what he thought of me, but he was Ate’s friend…potentially more.

My eyes met Gabe’s in the rearview mirror. Despite my annoyance, I felt my skin prickle with awareness at the intensity in his gaze.

His eyebrows drew together, then he blinked and focused back on the road. Ate and I spent the hour-long drive from Charleston to Sterling chatting about our family, with her pointing out landmarks to me every so often. All along, Gabe remained silent, commenting only when Ate prompted him to.

I tried not to let it get to me. Maybe he just took time warming up to people. Yet even though I reminded myself he was off-limits, I couldn’t deny the way I kept glancing at him in the mirror, wishing I’d catch him looking back.

Of course, he didn’t.

The aroma of fried dough and tart tomatoes hit me as soon as I opened the bathroom door.

Could anything feel more heavenly than this? To be freshly scrubbed and showered, wearing a comfy pajama shorts set and knowing that you had delicious pizza waiting for you.

I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror one more time to ensure I looked okay. Part of me wanted to break out my foundation and eyeliner, but it felt stupid to go through the trouble when we were staying in. I didn’t want to seem like I was trying to impress Gabe.

“Good shower?” Ate called out.

“Yeah, your water pressure is amazing.” Unlike the shower we used to share at home, the water didn’t sputter or run cold every couple of minutes. I could get used to that.

Well. I had to get used to everything here.

Ate glanced up at me and chuckled. “I forgot about the shower. Didn’t Lonzo fix it?”

“He tried, but it keeps acting up.” I glanced around the open space and noted she prepared two place settings. “Where’s Gabe?”

“He had to do some work, but he said to enjoy the pizza.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

She nodded. “He didn’t let me pay. Said it was a welcome gift for you.”

The revelation surprised me. “Tell him thank you. I didn’t think he liked me,” I said as I stood by the seat opposite her.

“He’s not big on socializing in general. Don’t take it personally. Also, he’s an adjunct professor at Sterling U, so he has a thing about being seen with students,” Ate explained. “Especially someone he might end up teaching.”

My mouth hung open. “No way. What does he teach?”

“Finance, which means there’s a big chance you’ll be in his class. It’s actually how we met—he was a TA in my class and helped me out when I was struggling with the lessons.”

“Seriously? Did you, like, keep in touch all the while?” Also, did she not realize how that sounded like the setup for an R-rated movie?

“Of course not. We ran into each other in town after I graduated and just became friends, I guess.” She pulled out her chair. “Sit down.”

I smiled awkwardly and followed suit. “Thanks.”

“You don’t have to wait for permission. I know it will take some getting used to, but this is your home now too.”

Home. I always thought the word could only refer to one place at a time. It might have seen far better days, but the house we’d grown up in was home. Manila was home. Who knew, though…maybe one day this place could be a close second.

“We have margherita and pepperoni. You should try both.”

“I can’t wait.” I opened the box on top and pulled out a slice of the margherita. Gooey cheese stretched in the air as I held up the slice for Ate.

“You first.”

I placed the slice on my plate. “This looks and smells incredible.”

“It tastes even better.” She got a slice of her own. “By the way, you can have the bedroom. I’ll take the sofa bed.”

“What?” I frowned at her. “That’s your room. I’ll take the sofa.”

She shook her head. “I sometimes have night shifts at the care center, so I’ll mess up your sleep if you stay out here. Take the room. Maybe next year we can move to a two-bedroom place if I find one in my budget.”

“I’ll look for work.”

“No, you need to focus on school, especially this first year. When you’re used to the pace and life here, we can look into a part-time job for you.”

I opened my mouth to argue that she got a part-time job as soon as she moved here, but she beat me to it.

“You’re on scholarship, so that has to be your priority now. Try the pizza before it goes cold.”

Ate had a scholarship back then too. I guess the difference was she didn’t have anyone with her to help out with living expenses.

The weight of how much I owed her settled on my shoulders. One day, I would pay her back. In the meantime, I would focus on being the best sister she could ever want. I’d cook for her because she hated cooking, and I’d help keep the apartment clean. And I would definitely not crush on her friends, no matter how hot they were.