Page 75 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
I headed straight for the closet and yanked it open. A large, flat present wrapped in gold rested on top of my suitcase.
My heart pounded in my ears as I unlocked my phone and called Gabe.
He answered after the first ring. “Luna.”
“We said we weren’t exchanging gifts till we saw each other,” I blurted out.
Silence. And then he said, “I thought it would be useful for your trip. Are you done celebrating with your family?”
“No, but Ate told me to check my closet.”
“Did you open it already?”
“Not yet.”
“Good. Go spend time with your family. Afterward, you can open it and let me know what you think.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.”
“You don’t even know what it is yet.”
“I’ll love it because you got it for me,” I said with maybe more honesty and feeling than I should have. But it was the truth, and he deserved to know.
His breath hitched, and mine seemed to catch in my throat. “Just like that, huh?”
“I remember you saying something similar last Christmas.”
He chuckled, and I squeezed my eyes shut at the pure joy that shot through me.
I would give anything to hear his laughter multiple times a day. The lightness it carried made my heart expand.
“You should go back out.”
Definitely. Because if I talked to him any longer, I might just say things neither of us were ready for.
gabe
My loneliness disappearedat the sound of Luna’s voice. Every word she said danced in my ears after we hung up, warming me better than the bottle of cachaça I’d opened.
I refilled my glass and leaned back in my armchair. The leather upholstery molded to my body perfectly—a detail I had never noticed before but now screamed of how often I sat here. Working. If I were to clock in those hours, how many weeks, months, years of my life would they add up to? How much had I missed out on in the process?
My eyes lifted to the rocks glass sitting next to the books on my shelf. I hadn’t used it, though I caught myself staring at it from time to time. The gift was too important to risk breaking.
As I sipped my drink, I went through my emails and tried to ignore how my gaze kept flicking to my message thread with Luna. She hadn’t replied to my last message, so she was probably still with her family.
I couldn’t wait to find out what she thought of my gift. I would have wanted to see her reaction, but the timing worked out better this way. There was something satisfying about catching her off-guard. She never seemed to expect anyone tomake a special effort for her, which was not what I had expected from someone I’d thought was a spoiled princess.
It compelled me to make up for every negative thought I'd had about her.
Luna
I just opened your gift!!
It’s so nice and light! And the yellow?? I love it, Gabe. Thank you so so much
Just texting coz Lonzo’s here in the room and my parents are still outside
No wonder she hadn’t called. I wished I could hear the breathless lilt of her voice and the stream of thoughts she unleashed when she was excited. Better yet, see the way her entire body lit up when she was happy.
