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.

to the bar where Chloe is standing.

with the register. “Hey, what’s

thing,” she mutters, her fingers hovering over the register keys. “It’s been

evening.”

the system. A few prodded buttons and adjusted

the machine whirrs back to life, responding as it should.

been holding.

have to do all the transactions

giving her a reassuring smile. “Anything else I can help

shakes her head. “No, that’s it. But…” She hesitates, her eyes flickering with an

the other night… I shouldn’t have snapped at you.

against the counter, crossing my

“I’m your best

I don’t want to see you get hurt

I keep buried deep down, but I push them

I already married Karl once, remember? Learned my

to happen again.”

says softly, “but it’s just… you deserve so much better, and

him hurting you again.”

squeezing her hand. “I appreciate your concern,

I don’t need to be monitored or told

of emotions swirling in

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

I say, my voice

way back to my office, Chloe’s words reverberate in my head. A part

concern, but another part is frustrated. This entire situation, I realize, is like

balancing between concern

Chloe. Our bond means more to me than

trust me, to trust my

charms all those years ago, who got

I’ve grown, learned, and

does it feel as though all of my friends just see me as

that’s

into my office chair, though, a

on me, the taste of his lips. Our intimacy in the kitchen, which

spoken about.

wonderful, horrible, delicious

…

has long since fallen quiet, with the last employees heading