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.

sigh, I head to the bar where Chloe is standing. Frustration is evident

as she fiddles with the register. “Hey, what’s going on?”

mn thing,” she mutters, her fingers hovering over the register

evening.”

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

the machine whirrs back to life, responding as it should. Chloe releases a

been holding.

have to do all the transactions

reassuring smile. “Anything else I can help

But…” She hesitates, her eyes flickering with

about the other night… I shouldn’t have

counter, crossing my arms.

insists, her eyes earnest. “I’m your best friend,

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

sting, echoing the fears I keep buried deep down, but I

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

to happen again.”

just… you deserve so much better, and I can’t

him hurting you again.”

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

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

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

reluctant nod. “I understand.”

say, my voice soft,

make my way back to my office, Chloe’s words reverberate in my head.

her concern, but another part is frustrated. This entire situation, I realize, is

balancing between concern and independence, friendship

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

the same time, I want—no, need—her to trust me, to trust my judgments and my decisions.

who fell for Karl’s charms all those years

my heart broken. I’ve grown, learned,

of my friends just see me as a fool who would

that’s bad

chair, though, a thought comes to

me, the taste of his lips. Our

spoken about.

horrible, delicious mistake.

…

kitchen has long since fallen quiet, with the last