Chasing His Kickass Luna Back novel Chapter 34

Abby

I climb back into my seat and give Adam an apologetic look. “Sorry,” I say.

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I have to get up early, anyway.” He adjusts his seat and gives me a small smile.“I’ll stop by tomorrow night.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

There’s a brief silence. Adam gestures to the paper bag sitting on the center console. “Wanna bring those?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Nah. You can have them. Thanks, though.” I give him a quick kiss, then climb back out onto the sidewalk. He starts his car and backs out of the spot in a fluid movement.

Karl watches him drive off, then turns to look at me. I sigh and walk away from him. At what point is going to get the hint, and just leave me alone?

I head for my apartment door, and he follows.

“Abby,” he says, reaching for my elbow. I pull my arm out of his grasp and spin around to face him. We’re standing close again. Too close. His touch makes me recoil, especially after he just interrupted an intimate moment between me and my fiance.

“Why are you here, Karl?” I growl.

“Freddy interrupted us.”

“There’s nothing else to say. I’ve moved on.”

His gaze narrows, almost as though he doesn't believe me, but I continue. “I’m getting married, and I have a life of my own. I don’t know why you’ve insisted on inserting yourself back into my life, but I’m not interested in playing along anymore.”

He reaches out and wraps his hand around my arm. “You and I both know that’s not true,” he says, dipping his head toward me. My breath catches in my throat.

“It is,” I insist.

“No, it’s not. You can make out with Adam all you want, but you and I both know it’s not enough for you.”

I pull my arm free and take a step back. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He rolls his eyes. “I know you better than you think.”

I turn from him and pull out my keys. He’s silent as I unlock the door, but I can feel him standing behind me.

I yank the door open and walk into the building. He reaches for the door before it can close, and I force myself to face him. “I need space, Karl. Forcing me to talk every two seconds isn’t going to fix anything.”

“I’m not sure how silence will fix things, either.”

“Please. Just give me time.” I need him to leave me alone. I’m not going to be able to sort through my emotions if he’s always showing up everywhere.

“How much time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe forever.” I plant my hand on my chest and shove him back through the doorway. He lets me.

“I hate this,” he says. I know he’s talking about the argument, but also Adam. Karl was always the jealous type, and I can see it in his eyes. He really doesn’t like what he saw, but I don’t care. Adam is my fiance, and Karl has no right to get involved when he’s the one who made baseless assumptions and left me all those years ago.

“That’s your own fault,” I say. “Goodbye, Karl.”

The door swings shut, the lock clicking into place. He hovers in the doorway, but I turn and walk up the stairs. When I reach the landing and look back, he’s gone.

——————

Karl

I sip on my drink and rub my heads with my fingers. A dull pain pulses in my left temple, and I know it won’t be long until it’s impossible to ignore. The headache has been coming on all day, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a rough night.

I can’t help but think I deserve the pain. Maybe it’s some sort of karma. I hurt the person I loved over something that never even happened, and now she might never forgive me.

There’s a knock on my office door, and I sit up straighter.

“It’s open,” I call.

The door opens, and Tiffany strides into the room. She gives me a narrow look as she perches on the edge of one of my chairs. I take another sip of my drink. Judging by the look on her face, I’m going to need it.

“What’s up?” I say. I finish my drink and get up to get another. Drinking probably won’t help the headache, but it’s the only form of stress relief I’ve got.

Her eyes track me as I pour another glass. “Want something?” I ask.

“No.”

I replace the lid on the crystal decanter and walk back over to my chair. She watches me sit down, her expression stern. She’s clearly here to chew me out about something, but it’s hard to guess what.

Tough love seems to be her favorite way to deal with me lately. She thinks I’m spiraling, and I can’t really argue with her.

Things haven’t been easy since the divorce. But I’ve managed to survive without Tiffany mothering me, and I’m getting pretty tired of her lectures. She’s just going to have to let me handle my shit on my own.

“What’s up Tiffany?” I ask with a sigh.

She crosses her arms. “Maybe I just wanted to say hello to my cousin.”

“Okay?”

“Your cousin, who you made a fool of last night.”

My eyebrows go up. “Is this about Abby?”

“You’ve spoken to her, I take it.”

“Yeah, she came by last night.” I twirl the liquid around, watching it slosh up against the sides of the glass. “She was not happy.”

“No, she definitely didn’t seem happy when she left the bar.”

I don’t understand how they even got on the topic. Why would they talk about our divorce? “How did it even come up?” I ask. “I didn’t think you guys were friends.”

“Oh, I saw her out dancing the other night,” she says with a wave of her hand. “I was surprised to run into her, actually. She was out with some man.”

“Adam. Her financé.”

“Sure, whatever. They were dancing. They seemed pretty hot and heavy, actually.”

Great, that’s exactly the kind of thing I’d rather not know. The last thing I want to picture is Abby grinding up against another man. I really need to do something about him.

“And?” I prompt. She must notice my discomfort because a small smile emerges on her face. She’s obviously delighting in this.

“I took it upon myself to warn him. You know, after what she did to you.”

“Did to me?”

“Cheated on you with your gardener. She did cheat on you, didn’t she?”

It’s clear by the way she says it, she suspects Abby didn’t cheat. I don't know what Abby did to convince her of her innocence, but Tiffany doesn’t seem as indignant on my behalf as she once did.

“No,” I admit. “She didn’t cheat on me.”

“So, you lied to me?”

I shake my head. “No, I didn’t lie to you. When I told you about that, I still believed it to be true. There was a lot of evidence. I didn’t make that up.”

“So, what happened? You saw her pretty face again and changed your mind?”

“No, I had the evidence re-examined. It turns out that something I found back then wasn’t exactly what I thought it was.”

The small smile falls from her face. “So that’s why she reacted so strongly last night. She looked so bewildered when I accused her of cheating on you. There I was, thinking I was standing up for you, and you knew she never actually did anything. I’ve acted like a total bitch because I thought she hurt you.”

“I was hurt.”

“But it wasn’t her fault. It never really happened. And I’ll bet you never even apologized to the poor girl, did you?”

I rub my temple again. “No, it never really happened. I should have told you when I discovered the truth, but it didn’t cross my mind. I’m sorry. And for the record, whether I apologized to her or not is none of your concern.”

She stands, and I look up at her with bleary eyes.

“I can’t believe you,” she snaps. “You made me look like a fool!”

“This isn’t about you.” I yell, and she takes a step away from me. I force myself to calm down a little. “I’m sorry, but I have a lot going on right now. I didn’t think to come to you the minute I found out the truth.”

“You should have told me,” she says, straightening her chin. “You let me treat her like shit right in front of you, and you knew she didn’t do anything.” She pins me with a hard stare. She’s right. I did know. “You can be a real dick sometimes. You deserve all of the bad karma in your life if you’re really okay with how you treat people.”

I won’t admit it, but Tiffany’s words cut deep. I know I deserve it. And frankly, I know that I will likely never be forgiven for what I did to Abby. I’m not sure if I can forgive myself, either. “Tell me something I haven’t heard before.”

She turns and walks away, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. She slams the door behind her, and a slice of pain pierces my skull. I sink lower into my chair and drop my head into my hands.

Great, so now everyone’s mad at me. Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.