Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 103
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.

head to the bar where

register. “Hey, what’s going on?” I ask, striding up to

mutters, her fingers hovering over the register keys.

evening.”

beside her and start navigating through the system. A few prodded buttons

back to life, responding as it should. Chloe releases

been holding.

thought I’d have to

a reassuring smile. “Anything else I can

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

night… I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Especially not over

against the counter, crossing my arms. “Chloe,

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

get hurt again, fall

keep buried deep down, but I push them away, offering her a

already married Karl once, remember? Learned my lesson the hard way. It’s

to happen again.”

you deserve so much better,

him hurting you again.”

hand. “I appreciate your concern, Chloe, but I’m not a

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

for a beat, a mix of emotions swirling in her eyes, before she gives

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

my voice

office, Chloe’s words

is frustrated. This entire situation, I realize, is like

tightrope, balancing between concern and independence,

don’t want this to strain my friendship with Chloe. Our bond means more to me

to trust me,

same Abby who fell for Karl’s charms all those years ago, who got lost

heart broken. I’ve grown,

it feel as though all of my friends just see me

guy that’s

I sink back down into my office chair, though, a thought comes to

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

spoken about.

A wonderful, horrible, delicious mistake. And it can’t happen

…

fallen quiet, with the last employees