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.

the bar where Chloe is standing. Frustration is evident on

what’s going on?” I ask, striding up

mutters, her fingers hovering

evening.”

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

as it should. Chloe releases

been holding.

I’d have

a reassuring smile.

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

shouldn’t have snapped at you. Especially not over

counter, crossing my

earnest. “I’m your

don’t want to see you get hurt again, fall into another

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

Karl once, remember? Learned my lesson the hard way.

to happen again.”

softly, “but it’s just… you deserve

him hurting you again.”

hand. “I appreciate your concern, Chloe,

decisions, and I don’t need

of emotions swirling in her eyes, before she

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

say, my voice

way back to my office, Chloe’s

another part is frustrated.

balancing between concern and independence, friendship and

with Chloe. Our bond means

the same time, I want—no, need—her to trust me, to trust my

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

broken. I’ve grown, learned, and

it feel as though all of my friends just see me as a fool who would so easily fall

guy that’s

back down into my office chair, though, a thought comes to mind. A

me, the taste of his lips. Our intimacy in

spoken about.

delicious mistake. And it can’t

…

long since fallen quiet, with the last employees heading home