Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 66: Practice Makes Perfect
Abby

My office is silent as I scroll through the new emails that have landed in my inbox. My fingers drum on

the desk, anticipating the one email that I’ve been waiting for the most—the details of the upcoming

cooking competition.

And then, there it is, bolded and marked with high importance: Cook-Off Competition Details.

Taking a deep breath, I click on it.

The email is concise but packed with information. Attached to it is a long list, detailing every possible

dish that might come up during the competition.

My heart rate quickens as I scan the list. Some dishes I recognize, ones I’ve made a thousand times

over in my career, but others are unfamiliar, exotic even, presenting challenges I’ve never faced before.

I won’t know which three dishes I’ll be asked to prepare on the spot. Which means only one thing: I

have to practice all of them. Every single one.

Grabbing a notepad, I jot down a list of ingredients I’ll need for the more exotic dishes, then turn my

attention to the restaurant’s supplier portal, adding item after item to the shopping list. The ingredients

range from the ordinary to the obscure. Each addition of expensive truffles, caviar, and fresh scallops

makes my anxiety spi ke.

How can I perfect so many dishes in such a short time?

Once the orders are placed, I stretch and push back from the desk, glancing at the clock on the wall.

It’s getting late, but there’s no time to waste. Without a second thought, I pull my hair into a messy bun

and prepare to head to the kitchen to get started.

Before I can leave, however, a sudden page over the intercom draws me from my task.

“Abby, can you come up front for a moment? I need help with the register.” It’s Chloe, her voice

strained.

the bar where Chloe is standing. Frustration is

register. “Hey, what’s going on?” I

she mutters, her fingers hovering

evening.”

the system. A

back to life, responding as it should. Chloe releases a breath

been holding.

I thought I’d have

problem,” I reply, giving her a reassuring smile.

She hesitates, her eyes flickering with an unspoken

night… I shouldn’t have snapped at

against the counter, crossing my

not,” she insists, her eyes earnest. “I’m your best friend, Abby, and I’m just…

I don’t want to see you get

words sting, echoing the fears I keep buried deep down, but I push them away, offering her

I already married Karl once, remember? Learned my lesson the hard way.

to happen again.”

you deserve so much better, and I can’t stand the

him hurting you again.”

gently squeezing her hand. “I appreciate your concern, Chloe, but

own decisions, and I don’t need to be monitored or told what

my gaze for a beat, a mix of

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

my voice soft, before turning

my way back to my office, Chloe’s

another part is frustrated. This entire situation, I realize, is

concern and independence,

friendship with Chloe. Our bond means more to

to trust me, to trust

all those years ago, who got lost in

broken. I’ve grown, learned, and changed. Why can’t

as though all of my friends just see me as a fool who would so easily fall

guy that’s bad

chair, though, a thought comes to

of Karl’s hands on me, the taste of his lips. Our intimacy in the kitchen, which we

spoken about.

A wonderful, horrible, delicious mistake.

…

long since fallen quiet, with the last employees heading home for