Page 28 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
“I’ll stay, okay?” Gabe moved his attention back to the dishes, and despite the clear annoyance in his tone—or maybe because of it—I grinned.
My phone went off again, like the buzzer at the end of a ballgame. And this time, I’d scored the win.
chapter ten
gabe
Yasmin
Merry Christmas, Gabe
Gabe
Merry Christmas, Ma.
Waving my handaway, Luna scooped another serving of spaghetti onto my plate. “I know, women don’t need to serve men, and we shouldn’t be expected to do that and everything else. But I love feeding people. I did this back home too.”
“Thanks.” The word came out brusquely, and I winced because I hadn’t intended it to. It just felt sostrangeeating alone with Luna. Before this, the only times we spent alone were when I gave her a ride somewhere, and they never ended well.
She put down her fork. “You know what? Go home, Gabe. You clearly don’t want to be here, and that’s fair. You signed up to drop off the gifts, and that’s already a big deal. I shouldn’thave forced you to stay. I’ll pack your food if you want. No pressure.” Pushing her chair back, she started to stand.
I spoke up quickly. “It’s not that.”
“Really?” She sat back down but remained stiff, her head cocked to the side. “What is it then? Because this wasn’t the vibe I had in mind for Christmas Eve.”
“Don’t you find this weird?”
She gave a short chuckle. “That I have to force someone to eat my cooking? Kind of. It’s definitely a first.”
“I mean that we’re eating here without your sister.”
Her shoulders dropped with the sigh she released. “I just figured it would be nice to have company for a change. I swear I’m not coming on to you or, I don’t know, trying to replace Ate. I could never.”
“I didn’t think that.” However, I couldn’t help but relate to the rest of her words. If I felt Tala’s absence this strongly, how much more did Luna feel it when they had lived together?
“Is it the student thing again? Because unless I’m delusional, I’m not in any of your classes.”
I hid a wince.
“And it’s not like I’m going to go around campus announcing I had dinner with you.”
“I would hope not.”
Luna’s smile pinched at the corners, stopping short of her eyes. “Whatever. Thanks for indulging me. I’ll grab some containers?—”
“Luna.” I spoke quietly. “I’m sorry I acted like an ass.”
“Acted like?” One brow winged up.
I nodded. “Was.”
“Better.” She grabbed her glass and took a sip. Waving the glass in the air, she said, “Go on.”
Despite the bizarre situation, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her response. “Enjoying this, are you?”
“Hell, yeah. It’s not every day I hear you apologizing to me.”
Fair. If I were in her place, I probably wouldn’t have let myself inside her apartment to begin with. “I’m sorry I was an ass. Would you do me the honor of letting me finish having dinner with you?”
