Page 126 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
He flattened his lips and returned to what he was doing. “Hi.”
My steps faltered. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“That doesn’t sound like nothing.” Stopping in front of the counter, I studied him. He avoided my gaze, and my shoulders tensed. “Are you . . . mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad?”
I stayed quiet.
Finally, he looked me in the eye, none of his usual easy cheer on his face. “It’s Professor Martins, right? The guy you’re in love with.”
My pulse raced as I looked around, double-checking that the store was empty. Lowering my voice, I said, “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“A professor, Luna? Really?”
“I was never in any of his classes, okay?” My fingers curled around a wad of my skirt. “We know each other because he’s my sister’s best friend.”
“You couldn’t have told me about him?”
“I didn’t tell Chloe either. Kriz was the only one who knew I had a crush on him. Then Gabe and I became friends?—”
Kai shook his head. “He’s taking advantage of you.”
“Trust me, he isn’t. If you knew?—”
“But I didn’t, did I?” he muttered. “Not until he showed up at your party.”
My skin felt hot, and I had to fight to keep my voice even. “Because I invited him. It wasmybirthday. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads-up, but I’m not sorry that he came. And I’m definitely not apologizing about my feelings for him. Weren’t you the one who said I was entitled to whatever feelings I had?”
Releasing a sound of frustration, Kai flattened his palms against the counter. He exhaled roughly.
“I need to prep for my shift,” I said when he didn’t say anything else. “Can we talk about this another time?”
He dipped his head and moved away from the counter. He was putting on his backpack when he turned to me. “I won’t tell anyone, but we weren’t the only students there. You should know that I already heard people talking about Professor Martins partying with students.”
My mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
“What did you expect, Luna? All the girls are into him, and he never talks to anyone outside of class. Of course he’s not going to go unnoticed when he suddenly shows up at a damn club.”
After hitting me with that revelation, Kai left me alone with my fears and thoughts of worst-case scenarios. I wanted to call Gabe and check if things were okay with him, but students began trickling inside the store. I managed to shoot him a quick text, and then I put on a smile for my customers.
But as I tried to focus on doing my job, I couldn’t stop worrying about how I might have cost Gabe his.
chapter forty
gabe
Gabe
Are you okay?
Luna
Me?? What about YOU?? Kai said people are talking about you
I knew I shouldn’t have asked you to go
