Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 76: All Buttered Up
Abby

My apartment door shuts behind me with a satisfying click after a long day of being away from home.

With a sigh, I throw my bag on the couch, and flop down beside it.

But it’s not long before I’m on my feet again, pacing my apartment floor as I chew on my lower lip.

Karl’s proposition still lingers in my mind: going with him to the pack? To our old home?

My first instinct screams at me to not go, of course. To return to our old home together? How is that not

a recipe for disaster?

As I finally decide to pour myself a glass of wine to calm my frayed nerves, I think to myself that right

now, I really do have it all. A successful career, friends who love me, and the cook-off coming up. Why

throw a wrench into it by letting Karl back into my life in that way? We’re doing just fine as friends,

keeping everything at arm’s length between us. There’s no need for it to become more than that.

But then, there’s still a tiny sliver of myself that almost considers going with him. My life was once

entwined with his, after all. The long talks in our garden at sunset, the joy of cooking in a kitchen I had

designed myself.

But that was a lifetime ago.

I take a sip of wine, letting the bitter flavor linger on my tongue before swallowing. “Tomorrow,” I

resolve, “I’ll tell him I can’t go. It’s for the best.”

…

The scent of freshly brewed coffee greets me the moment I walk into the restaurant. It’s comforting and

slightly bittersweet, but also unexpected. I should be the only one here right now, and I didn’t see

Ethan’s car on the way in; but I’ve hardly made it halfway through the door when Karl suddenly steps

of sight, a coffee

eyes searching mine for something—confirmation, maybe, or

reassurance.

reply cautiously.

cup out to me. “Wanted to get some prep

and light, just the way I like it. But I

to butter

a low and surprisingly

a slightly serious tone take over my voice.

Karl, but I can’t come with you.

flickers across his eyes is subtle

nods. “I

argument, no second attempt to change my mind. Just those

I’ve heard

I’m surprised. “That’s it?” I find myself saying. “You’re not

anyway?”

your decision whether

little time off. But if you

to leave, and I’m left standing here, coffee cup in hand, my eyes wide with

night was to assume that he had ulterior motives behind inviting me

I’m starting to wonder if that was ever

…

eyes dart to the clock again—2:37 p.m., the post-lunch lull when the restaurant can

before

immediate fires to put out or crises to deal with, I decide to leave the sanctuary of

around the floor. But as I do, I notice Karl

first instinct is to approach them, maybe crack a

mood as I suspect that the

stand here, just out of their line of sight but close enough to

of food do you like?” Karl asks. His voice is

to a pretty young

just love Italian food,” Daisy says.

the rest of my life

heart.

did!” Daisy exclaims. “It’s the best dish on the menu, in my opinion! I kind

dishes like that.”

response. I can hear the note of pride in

it makes my heart wander