Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

#Chapter 80: New Horizons
Karl

The sun is barely hovering above the horizon as I pull up in front of Abby’s apartment building on

Friday morning.

I can’t help but smile as I think about the day ahead of us. My black car idles, the hum of its engine

drowned out by the pop song playing on the radio—a song I can easily imagine Abby singing along to,

although I don’t personally care for that kind of music myself.

With a deep breath, I turn off the engine and grab the to-go cup of her favorite coffee from the cup

holder.

She opens the door almost as soon as I knock, as though she was standing there, waiting. There’s a

look in her eyes that makes it seem as though she’s still on the fence about going. But the second her

eyes meet mine, the tension in her shoulders eases. Just a bit.

“Good morning,” I greet, handing her the coffee. “Figured you could use this.”

She grins, taking a sip immediately. “You read my mind.”

There’s a slight silence for a few moments. My eyes scan the inside of her apartment, where a bag sits

on the floor behind her; it’s packed haphazardly, no doubt. She’s never been the neatest traveler.

“Oh, one more thing,” she says before I can say anything. She slips her phone out of her pocket and

begins tapping furiously on the screen while her coffee cup balances precariously in the crook of her

elbow. “I have to tell Ethan—”

“Ethan will be fine without you,” I say, sn atching both the phone and the coffee cup away. “And so will

the restaurant. Just enjoy your time off, Abby.”

She glares at me for a moment, that signature stare of hers, but finally relaxes and lets out a deep sigh.

“You’re right.”

We hit the road within a few minutes. The morning sun streams through the windows, casting her face

in a warm amber glow. I plug in my phone and shuffle through a playlist I know she’ll love.

“So, long drive ahead. Music?”

“Surprise me,” she says, her fingers nervously tapping on the coffee cup.

I hit play, and the first chords of a nostalgic song—one that played at our wedding—fill the car. She

laughs, shaking her head. “Seriously?”

“Come on, it’s a classic,” I defend, bobbing my head to the beat.

Abby’s lips twitch upwards into a smile, but it quickly fades. I watch from my peripherals as she averts

of her coffee cup. She

forth to the song, ever so slightly. And that’s enough

comfortable silence for about half an

building off the main

that place?” she

spotting the outline of an

Woodpecker Inn,” I say, a smile forming on my own

than once.”

pauses, her voice taking on a more nostalgic tone. “You proposed to me

shaking my head. “Your memory is betraying

What was it called—La

look. “Karl, you’ve got it all wrong. You proposed at the

fireplace where we

momentarily, leaving space where our memories belong.

I try not to think about it, because if I do, I’ll

car off the road.

do near that fireplace, but no, Abby, I proposed at La Bella Vita.

out for disturbing the peace after

forth like this, both of us stubbornly clinging to our

a reminder of simpler times.

argument when Abby’s eyes widen, and she bursts

idiots,” she

ask, genuinely

tear from the corner

“The lighthouse?”

glance. “The one near your

restaurant attached?”

realization hits me like a bolt of lightning, and I burst into laughter

How could I

dinner at the restaurant there, and you proposed

then we went to the Woodpecker

in her voice, a glimmer of

the briefest of moments, and it’s as

those days, miss what we were. The regret hits me like a ton of bricks, settling

It’s a regret that’s been there for too long, lurking in the shadows even when I was

to acknowledge it.

after another hour and a half of driving, the towering trees give

haven’t been here in a few months now, but it feels just

Abby beside me.

that I don’t see any

though I catch a note of uncertainty in

into the driveway, the old mansion coming into view. Before

family butler for as long as I

“Mr. Karl!” he exclaims, shuffling out. “How nice

the moment his gaze lands

he asks, a thinly veiled

words.

her tone neutral. “I’m just

and though he says nothing more, his eyes say it all. Maybe I should

he has a problem with Abby being here, that’s

with, not ours.

her bag, but she’s already grabbed it. “I

have to resist