Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 258

Abby

The smell of roasted coffee beans and fresh pastries fills the air as I step into the brunch spot where Chloe, Lea and I meet up once a week. It’s been a tradition of ours for years, and I’m glad to have things back to normal now that the cook-off is over

Normal.

The word feels foreign. After losing the cook-off, followed by Karl’s departure, ‘normal’ feels like something strangely new now. It’s weird how things can go precisely back to the way they were before, only for it to feel entirely different than ever.

It’s been two weeks since Karl left and since I lost the cook-off, and time feels like it’s both standing still and moving too fast all at once.

I feel like I’m lost in a mountain of paperwork and managerial duties, half-finished wine bottles and crumpled books. Right now, my life feels unendingly, irrevocably boring.

And maybe ‘boring’ is exactly what I need right now.

“Hey, Abby, over here!” Chloe’s voice cuts through the low hum of chatter and clinking silverware. I wave, spotting her and Leah at our usual table by the wide bay window.

As I navigate my way through the tables, I rehearse my spiel in my head—because I know they’ll ask. I haven’t set foot in the kitchen for more than five minutes at a time in the past two weeks. Instead, I’ve been occupying myself with managerial duties at the restaurant, spending the days in my office.

I know that they’re worried about me. It’s probably why they reinstated our brunch tradition—as an intervention of sorts. But I can’t go back to the kitchen, not now. Maybe not ever.

I slide into the booth, offering a weak smile. “Morning, you two.”