Chapter 0266


    I find myselfughing, reallyughing, 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 tes. We’re already halfway through a second bottle of


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


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


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    now. “Be right back,dies.”


    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 afortable sort of silence. That is, until


    Leah speaks.


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


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


    After...well, you know.”


    Leah sets her ss 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 nks that I’ve left for her. “Abby, that’s rough.”


    Iugh, 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’sughter 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


    belongs to Dr?мanоvels


    I finally nod, taking another sip of my wine.


    “So?” Leah asks.


    “So.” I nce 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?