Page 85 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
It told me that even though we weren’t on the same page emotions wise, I mattered to him. Enough for him to drive here even though he didn’t have to.
“So where to?” he asked after we had both settled in. He looked at me like he had all the time in the world. Like he would bring me anywhere I wanted to go.
I smiled, cradling the flowers in my lap. “The grocery store.”
chapter twenty-six
gabe
Tala
Did Luna get home okay?
You’re both not replying so I’m assuming you’re together. Tell her to reply when she can.
I studied theingredients taking up the entirety of Luna’s kitchen counter and thought of how much time and effort meal prep would take. “Are you sure you want to cook? We can order in, or I can go?—”
“I’m sure. But don’t think I’m doing this by myself.”
I looked at Luna. Again. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from her for more than a few minutes, even though I couldn’t tell why. Maybe it was because the last time I’d been with her was that trip to Atlanta and I was adjusting to the freedom of talking with her openly. After six months apart, being with her should have felt awkward. Instead, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
When we arrived at her apartment, she took a quick shower to “wash off the plane gunk” and emerged from her room in a loose, patterned dress. It was eye-catching and intricate with a mix of warm colors, and it matched her personality completely.
She’d fixed her hair in a long braid that fell over one shoulder, and for a second, I saw my hand wrapped around it as I kissed her neck. I froze at the clarity of that vision and the subsequent warmth that spread through my body.
Where the hell had that come from?
“Don’t space out on me, Gabe,” she said, her eyebrows drawn together. “You’re going to help cook.”
I yanked myself out of my stupor and pretended I hadn’t just disrespected her in my head. “What do you want me to do first?” Aside from getting my mind out of the gutter, that was. I rarely had time with her. I couldn’t ruin this with inappropriate thoughts.
Luna put me to work slicing garlic and onions while she boiled water for the pasta and prepared the ground beef and hotdogs. As we cooked, she told me about her trip, including Jason’s attempts at vegetarian Filipino recipes. I could have listened to her talk forever.
“Did you tell your parents about your minor?” I asked in the middle of dinner.
Her smile wobbled. “I didn’t want to kill the mood. I was going to tell them after New Year’s, but Papa started talking about my grades and how I should transfer my credits to a local school, and I chickened out.” She blew out a breath, her eyes dropping to her plate. “I was worried he’d insist on me staying if I told him about the fashion courses.”
“Could he keep you there if you didn’t want to stay?”
“I mean, he wouldn’t kidnap me or anything. But I’d find it hard not to obey him if he gave me an ultimatum. It’ll just be adding another item to his list of ways I disappointed him.” Lunathrew in that last sentence as though it was a bit of trivia about someone else rather than the revelation that it was.
I put down my fork. “Why do you think you’ve disappointed him?”
“Lots of reasons.” Raising her hand, she held up one finger. “First off, I’m not a guy. Papa and Mama only wanted one girl and one boy, and they thought I’d be the boy. Luckily, they got it right with Lonzo.” Two fingers. “Second, I was the worst behaved kid. I cried too much, and I would space out at random times. I broke his favorite mug. My grades have never been as good as Lonzo’s, and I didn’t study what Papa wanted me to study.”
“Management is a practical course.” I wanted to kick myself for that stupid response. She had shared something incredibly personal, and I should have given her reassuring words. A pat on her shoulder. Anything other than a comment on her degree of choice, for Christ’s sake.
If she was bothered, she didn’t show it. She seemed lost in thought, her gaze moving past me. “It’s not what he chose for me. Nursing was the logical way to go because I had experience with Lola, and it would be easy to find work anywhere. Mama said I picked up on it quickly. But after seeing everything Lola went through and going through parts of it with her . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t regret taking care of Lola because I love her, but that experience really affected me. I can’t do that again, even if it’s for people I don’t know.”
Hearing the tremor in her voice, I reached out and put my hand over hers where it was fisted on the table. Her hand tightened, and I started to lift mine, thinking she didn’t want to be touched. But then she opened her hand and turned it palm up, and what else could I do but let mine rest on hers?
The contact zinged up my arm, this sense of settling into place creeping through my body. I nearly removed my hand forthat very reason, but her fingers closed around my own. Her gaze held mine with a silent plea and I couldn’t let her go.
“I can’t imagine what that must have been like,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry for what you went through. You and your family.”
Her eyes grew watery. She blinked hard and blew out a breath. Squeezing my fingers, she murmured, “Yeah, well. Life can be unfair, right?”
I nodded. “Right.”
