Page 24 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
“So why’d you call, Gabe?”
“I met with Nora.”
“For your PhD? Or are you finally resigning?”
I frowned. “Why would I resign?”
“Because you have a business you actually enjoy? Not to mention, it makes you a lot more money.”
Valid points, but my consultancy might not always do well. What if the market crashed and I lost my clients? I’d have to scramble to regain my footing instead of leaning on a strongcontingency plan. “I’m not resigning. She asked when I would rejoin the program.”
“Ahh.” Tala drew the word out into multiple syllables. “What did you tell her?”
“That I’d get back to her before the semester ends. I need to weigh the pros and cons of going back at this time.” I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel.
“And you’re sure youaregoing back?”
“That was always the plan.”
“You know that plans can change, right?”
“Not if I can help it.”
She chuckled softly. “That is such ayouthing to say.”
“What’s the use of planning if we don’t follow through? We’d go nowhere.” My parents had planned for a life together, only to falter and change their minds when things got hard. If they’d stayed the course, I’d still have an actual family.
“Or you’ll find something better than what you had in mind,” Tala said. “Do you think I planned to end the year in Manila?”
Maybe she hadn’t, but she’d always dreamed of it and the universe pulled through for her. It must have been meant to be. “Are you happier there?”
“I mean, I miss you and Luna,” she murmured. “I even miss Sterling. But, yes—I am happy. For now, I’m sure this is where I should be.”
“You didn’t mention Jason.”
“That’s a given. He actually wanted to visit for Christmas, but they have a game.”
“He didn’t consider skipping it?” The man almost passed on the NBA opening night and ring ceremony to see Tala. A normal game shouldn’t have been an issue for him.
“Oh, he did. I made him promise not to.”
I wondered how she convinced him to agree to that and quickly decided I didn’t need to know.
“By the way.” Tala hesitated, and I winced, guessing what she was arriving at. “Have you seen Luna around?”
That answered any question I had about Luna keeping her word. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel as I turned into my street. “I have.”
“Is she alright? She says she is, but I can’t tell if she’s only saying that so I won’t worry.”
“She seems fine. Healthy.” As though that was something I could determine from a passing encounter.
“Okay . . . I’m just concerned that with Christmas coming up, she might get homesick like I was. She’s never spent the holiday alone.”
“She has her friends.”
“They’re leaving to be with their families.”
Of course they were. That was what most people did during the holidays.
