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.

my laptop with a sigh, I head to the bar where Chloe

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

da mn thing,” she mutters, her fingers hovering over

evening.”

beside her and start navigating through the

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

been holding.

have

I reply, giving her a reassuring smile. “Anything

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

I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Especially not

against the counter, crossing my

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

want to see you get

I keep buried deep down, but I push them away,

“Chloe, I already married Karl once, remember? Learned my lesson the hard way. It’s not

to happen again.”

know,” she says softly, “but it’s just… you deserve so much better, and I can’t stand the

him hurting you again.”

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

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

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

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

my

way back to my office, Chloe’s words

by her concern, but another part is frustrated.

concern and independence,

Chloe. Our

to trust me, to trust my

those years ago, who

self-worth and got my heart broken. I’ve grown,

my friends just see me as a fool who

that’s bad

though, a thought comes to

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

spoken about.

mistake. A wonderful, horrible, delicious mistake.

…

quiet, with the last employees heading home for