Page 31 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
“I like it,” I murmured as I ran my fingers through the brief indentations.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She exhaled. “Good. I wasn’t sure you would. I spent my own money, too—part of my first paycheck. So you don’t have to worry that I mooched from Ate.”
I wanted to protest that I’d never said that, but I’d implied it multiple times, and we both knew it. Guilt curdled in my stomach.
“It’s not much, but I wanted to thank you for booking my flights.” She ducked her head so her hair hid the left side of her face. “I know you didn’t do it for me, but I had the best time with Ate in Santa Mila, and it wouldn’t have happened without you.”
“You don’t need to give me anything.”
“We don’t reallyneedto give gifts. That’s what makes them special.”
When I got home, I took out the glass and placed it on the shelf above my desk so I wouldn’t risk damaging it. As I stared at the glass with its endless sequence of numbers, I realized that, for someone who shouldn’t know me that well, Luna had gotten me a gift that was perfectly tailored to me. And somehow, she’d also given me one of the best Christmases I’d had in a while.
Who would have thought?
chapter eleven
luna
Kriz
LULU. You turned Shawn down??
Luna
He was too pushy. He sent me a shirtless selfie!
I’m not even sure he was wearing anything
Kriz
OOH let me see!! I’ll be the judge of that
“Hey, Luna,” Kaigreeted me with a grin as I walked into the store. “How are you?”
“Hey! I’m good, you? How was your shift?” I rounded the counter, letting my bag strap fall from my shoulder to my hand.
“Pretty chill. Sold a couple of planners.” He opened the cabinet where we stored our stuff during our shifts. “Here, let me put that away for you.”
Passing my bag to him, I said, “It’s definitely planner season. I actually got one for myself—don’t forget, we have an employee discount.”
“Yep, I might grab a couple of things. Maybe some merch to show off my school spirit. Which, speaking of, I see you got the shirt.”
I glanced down at my oversized tee with its retro font and couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. “I did.”
“It looks perfect on you.”
“Thanks. I love it.”
“Are we getting new stocks of that anytime soon?”
“They said it was a limited release, but who knows—they might restock it cause it was so popular.” We’d run out of inventory in less than two weeks, which made this gift even more special.
“You’re lucky you got to grab it.”
