Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 29

Abby

I get off at my stop and walk over to the restaurant. Just my luck. Karl is already standing outside with my daily coffee in hand.

I take it from him, unable to meet his gaze. Partly from anger, partly from embarrassment. If he only knew what I dreamed of last night. Knowing him, he’d probably love it. Then he’d suggest we make it reality. And honestly, after my failed attempt with Adam last night, I’m not sure if I would refuse.

“I hate him,” I think to myself, indiscernibly shaking my head slightly and avoiding his gaze. “Don’t even think about it. It was just a wet dream, and nothing else. Those dreams can happen with anybody.”

Almost as though he’s reading my mind, Karl gives me a curious look, and I feel warmth rush to my cheeks. His hair is the same as it was then, and the wind blows long strands of it down across his forehead. I can almost see my fingers gripping on to it. The corner of his mouth twitches, but he doesn’t smile.

“You, okay?” he asks. I force myself to look away.

“Fine,” I snap, letting the door fall shut behind me. He puts out a hand to stop it and follows me further into the restaurant.

“You sure? You’re acting a little funny.”

“I said I’m fine.”

I stomp across the dining room and shove my way into the kitchen. I can hear him trailing after me, but he keeps his distance, thank God.

I close my office door and sink into my chair. What has gotten into me? One stupid dream, and now I’m embarrassed to talk to him. What am I, a twelve-year-old girl? He’s my ex-husband, and he hurt me. Badly. He’s an asshole. A manipulator. A male chauvinist. He’s… sexy. He knows me. He’s good in bed.

I have to shake my head again to dispel the thoughts. Now isn’t the time to be giggling like an idiot because I had one sex dream about him. And besides, I’m probably just misremembering what sex with him was really like. It couldn’t have been that good… right?

Right. He’s awful.

I repeat it over and over until I’ve managed to shove the dream from my mind. I will not let my subconscious trick me into letting him off the hook. Good in bed or not, he’s got some serious groveling to do, and even that might not be enough. No, it’ll never be enough. I’m stronger than that now, and I won’t get back together with my ex. Not now, not ever.

Luckily, the dinner rush is especially frantic, and it helps me shove thoughts of that dream from my mind. But unfortunately, like most nights, the rush doesn’t last forever.

Karl hands me the chicken breast, and I cut it into strips. Part of prepping the kitchen involves cutting up ingredients for the line cooks, and Karl is helping me with it tonight. I have him cutting vegetables, and though he’s a lot slower than me, he’s doing an okay job.

He’s already managed to annoy Ethan, who was setting things up in the dining room with him earlier. Apparently, Karl just can’t stop himself from ordering Ethan around, even though Ethan outranks him.

“So help me god, if that little prick tries to boss me around one more time…” Ethan had been livid, his face redder than I had ever seen it.

“Don’t worry, Ethan,” I said, shooting an angry glance at Karl’s back as he stalked away. “I’ll handle him.”

“You had better.” Ethan’s voice was harsher than I expected, and seemingly harsher than he had expected, too. He softened a bit, and passed a hand over his weary face. “Sorry, Abby. I didn’t mean to snap at you. He just pisses me off.”

I sighed, squeezing Ethan’s arm. “Don’t sweat it. I promise Karl won’t be a problem anymore.”

“You’re getting good at that,” I say. Karl is faster with the knife now than he was when we started. Usually, I have him mopping floors and setting tables, but I figured he might as well help me and give everyone else a bit of a break. It’s my turn to take Karl off of their hands, like a babysitter tasked with handling an unruly toddler.

“Thanks,” he says, flashing me a grin. He wipes a stack of carrots off the end of the knife with his finger. “I do what I can.”

I can’t seem to help my answering grin. Last night’s debacle with Adam, and my inability to stop thinking about Karl, is one of the many things I’ve been mulling over. I let my mind wander, and guilt settles in. It’s not fair to Adam that I fell asleep thinking about Karl and not him. Adam did nothing wrong. He got a bit too drunk. We all do sometimes. Hell, I embarrassed myself in front of Karl not too long ago.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Karl asks as he grabs another carrot. He really is taking forever. I mostly just have him here to keep him out of everyone else’s way.

I shake my head. There’s no way I’m sharing any of my worries with him. There’s especially no way I’m telling him I couldn’t stop thinking about our old sex life. As far as he’s concerned, I never think about him at all.

“Nothing interesting.”

“I seriously doubt that.”