Chasing His Kickass Luna Back

Chapter 0266

I find myself laughing, really laughing, for the first time in two weeks.

“Okay, taste this,” I instruct, scooping a spoonful of sauce for them.

They oblige, and the looks on their faces tell me all I need to know.

“That’s the stuff,” Leah grins.

Chloe nods. “You’ve still got it, Abby.”

…

Dinner has long since been cleared from our plates. We’re already halfway through a second bottle of

wine, the sound of soft music playing in the background.

“Whew, I think I broke the seal,” Chloe giggles as she stands, her high heels discarded on the floor by

now. “Be right back, ladies.”

Leah and I watch as Chloe saunters off to the bathroom for the fourth time tonight, shaking our heads.

Once she’s gone, the room is silent for a moment, but it’s a comfortable sort of silence. That is, until

Leah speaks.

“Heard from Karl lately?” she asks, sipping her wine casually.

I shake my head, tracing the rim of my glass with a finger. “No, and I don’t think he’d want to talk.

After...well, you know.”

Leah sets her glass down with a soft clink. “I don’t, actually. ‘After’ what?”

I wince, realizing that I spilled my dirty secret thanks to the alcohol and there’s no turning back now.

“Promise you won’t tell Chloe.”

“Pinky.”

I take a deep breath, my voice lowering. “We almost… on the night of the cook-off. It was a mess,

Leah. I pushed him away, and he left, upset. We haven’t talked since then.”

Her expression softens as she fills in the blanks that I’ve left for her. “Abby, that’s rough.”

I laugh, the sound more bitter than I expected. “‘Rough’ is an understatement.”

Leah reaches across the sofa and grips my hand. “Tell me about it. Men… they’re about as easy to

navigate as a minefield.”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I don’t know, Leah. It’s like every time I get close to

someone, I’m just...waiting for the other shoe to drop. And with Karl, when it did, I wasn’t surprised, just

disappointed in myself.”

She squeezes my hand, the corner of her mouth lifting in a half-smile. “Disappointed because you did

almost something you didn’t want to or because you knew, deep down, that you’ve been wanting it

more than pretty much anything else?”

“Both, I guess.” I shrug, my gaze drifting to the grain of the wood on the coffee table. “I don’t know, it’s

just… It failed the first time. Why let it fail again via a natural course when I can just ruin it all myself

from the get-go, right?”

Leah’s laughter is soft. “Abby, you can’t just self-destruct every time you’re worried you might get hurt.”

I let out my own wry chuckle. “Why not? It feels safer this way.”

“Maybe.” Leah’s tone turns serious again. “But he was your sous chef for the cook-off. Does he even

know that you’ve been given this chance?”

My heart hammers against my ribs. “But what if he doesn’t care? Worse, what if he’s angry if I try to

reach out?”

Leah’s words make me soften a bit, as though my steely resolve is beginning to melt. Leah has always

been more supportive of me and Karl, more open to the idea of us working things out. And in a way,

maybe I need that kind of support right now, even if it winds up ending in disaster again. Content

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I finally nod, taking another sip of my wine.

“So?” Leah asks.

“So.” I glance up as I hear the bathroom door click open, and shoot Leah a look. I don’t have to say it

out loud, but she knows.

Tomorrow, I’ll call Karl. After all, it’s the right thing to do… Right?