Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 379

Abby

As I step through the front doors of my restaurant, I’m met with the familiar, comforting sound of clinking tableware, voices, and soft music playing over the speakers. Chloe looks up from behind the bar, and her eyes widen as she sees me.

“Abby!” she exclaims as I walk over to her. She pulls me into a tight hug, grinning from ear to ear. “Show me the ring! Show me the ring!”

My cheeks flush red as I hold my hand out for her to see the sparkling engagement ring on my finger. The diamond catches and refracts the golden light that’s streaming in through the window, causing the little shimmery particles inside to seem to glow all on their own.

“It’s so beautiful,” Chloe breathes, holding my hand in her palm and turning it this way and that. “Even more beautiful than the first one, if I may say so myself.”

I blush, thinking back on the first engagement ring that Karl gave me leading up to our arranged marriage. That ring was just as beautiful, but this one holds even more emotion and beauty in my eyes after everything we’ve been through together.

“We’re going to try to set the wedding date for sometime soon,” I explain, gesturing to my belly. “I want to get married before I really start to pop.”

Chloe nods thoughtfully and leans on the bar. “I take it Karl’s father intends on helping to make that happen?”

My cheeks flush slightly red at the mention of Karl’s father. We only just returned from our three-day trip to the quaint little island, and already I feel tanner and more relaxed.

“We, um… We’re thinking of holding the wedding there, actually,” I say softly.

Chloe raises an eyebrow. “So does that mean…?”

I swallow. “We haven’t made any decisions yet,” I admit. “But we do love it there. And I keep thinking about what you said the other night, and…”

My voice trails off. It’s been a whirlwind of a few days, to say the least, and Karl and I have a lot to think about. With the baby and now a second wedding on the way, along with the issue of whether or not to move to the island with Karl’s father, it just feels like so much.

Chloe, noticing my apprehension, reaches out to touch my shoulder. “And I still stand by what I said,” she says gently. “About supporting you.”

A soft sigh of relief escapes my lips at her words. “You really mean that?”

“Of course.” Chloe nods vehemently. “Abby, I know I’ve been… unsupportive in the past. But after all that’s happened this past year, after seeing time and time again how much Karl cares about you, I can’t not support you in this.”

“That means a lot, Chloe.” I step forward and hug her again. We squeeze each other so tightly we might burst before we pull back once more. “I just worry about the restaurant, you know? I don’t want to abandon everyone, especially not so soon after we finally reopened.”

“Let me show you something.” Chloe nods her head in the direction of the kitchen. I follow her down the narrow hallway, past my little office, and the first thing I see is Ethan sitting behind my desk; he’s talking on the phone with a smile on his face and a stack of papers in front of him.

“Ethan has been doing such an amazing job as CFO,” Chloe explains softly. “He handles everything so well.”

“I can see that.” I peer a bit into the office to see that the piles of haphazard papers and folders are now gone, and the filing cabinets that used to be shoved into the corner are lined up neatly against the far wall.

Chloe grins. “Let’s keep moving.”

We keep walking down the hall, then stop just outside the server station, where a familiar voice comes to my ears.

“Remember, the customer is always right,” Daisy explains to a group of new servers. “And whenever they order a dish, make sure to suggest wine pairings. Never forget to offer dessert, either. Repeat after me: ‘Have you considered our dessert special today?’”

As the new servers repeat Daisy’s orders, I can’t help but turn to Chloe with a look of surprise on my face. “She’s certainly come far, hasn’t she?” I whisper.

Chloe smirks. “It’s a bit hard to believe where she came from, isn’t it?”

Next, the two of us walk further; we stop just outside the kitchen, where we peer into the porthole windows. Inside, John and Anton are behind the line, working like a well-oiled machine.

Completed dishes line the warming rack, soft music escapes through the crack under the door, and they’re laughing as they joke around. Through the din, I can just barely make out Anton’s thick French accent and John’s gravelly retorts.

“Not a single dish has been sent back,” Chloe says proudly. “In fact, people have been asking to compliment the chef nonstop.”

As Chloe speaks, I feel my heart tighten just a little. My ragtag little team really has shaped up.

Daisy, the ex-prostitute; Ethan, the war veteran with a limp; John, the former alcoholic with anger issues; Anton, the homeless man who just wanted to reconnect with his daughter; and Chloe, the young woman who once staunchly opposed the very concept of love.

And then there’s me, Abby: the divorcee who lost her self confidence, who worked damn hard to build it up again, and who discovered that maybe, just maybe, there’s more to life than old grudges and proving people wrong.

Tears come to my eyes. I quickly turn away, dabbing them off of my cheek before Chloe can notice. But she already has.

“Hey,” Chloe says softly, guiding me into the nearby pantry. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

I sniff and shrug at the same time. “It’s nothing,” I say. “It’s just… It’s hard to believe that we’ve all come so far. And I guess, in a selfish sort of way, it feels shitty knowing that I’m not really needed anymore.”

“Abby…” Chloe wraps her arms around me and pulls me into another tight hug. I sniffle against her shoulder as she rubs large circles on my back. “It’s not that you’re not needed. We still need you, but… maybe in a different way now.”

I pull back a bit and dab at my wet eyes with my sleeve. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” She bites her lip and thinks for a moment. “I mean that… Think of it this way: you’re like a parent, and the restaurant—and the people in it—is like your child learning how to ride a bike. You start by taking the training wheels off, but you still hold onto the handles, just in case.”

As Chloe speaks, realization washes over me. “I guess I can’t hold onto the handles forever,” I murmur.

Chloe shakes her head, and it’s now that I see that there are tears in her own eyes as well. “No. You can’t. But it doesn’t mean that your efforts meant nothing. You taught us how to ride without falling, after all.”

Chloe and I stand here in the pantry in silence for a long time as the sound of the bustling restaurant fills the background, and it’s then that I realize that she’s right.

I can’t hold onto the handlebars forever. At some point, I might need to let go. And at some point, I might need to take my own training wheels off, too. At some point, I might need to try riding down a different street of my own, and rest easy knowing that those who I’ve taught to ride can pick themselves up if they fall down.

“Hey, Chloe?” I whisper, finally breaking the silence.

“What’s up?” Chloe asks.

“I think… I think I want that fresh start after all.”