Page 38 of The Autumn We Fell in Love

He wanted to be able to provide for me before we got hitched, he said. I’d slapped him playfully on the arm and told him not to be ridiculous. I don’t need to be provided for, I just need to be loved.

Colby said it was one and the same in his mind, so I let him win that argument. He worked his tail off and turned his YouTube ad revenue around so fast that it gave me whiplash. His showing in the CCI competition and our widely covered rivals-to-lovers romance story didn’t hurt his following either — quite the opposite.

His focus on Planet Yum gave me the time and space to consider my options. I got Mom her hip surgery, and it went great. She’s still a little tender but healing up well.

I didn’t have a lot of my winnings left over after the surgery, but I had a tidy little sum that, with the right handling, could eventually be grown into my cooking bar.

Then Saffron Davis called me.

She wanted to know what I was planning to do with my partial scholarship to CCI — and that she was prepared to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

A full scholarship.

Plus room and board and all fees paid.

For a complete culinary degree.

In the specificity of my choice.

I’d told her I’d have to think about it, then hung up and literally jumped up and down in my living room for five minutes straight.

When I finally managed to speak in coherent sentences and conveyed the news to Colby, he’d immediately closed his laptop and said that we were moving to San Francisco.

So now I’m enrolled at the California Culinary Institute, learning every nuance of fine food preparation. And you know I’m at the top of my class.

Even better, once I learned my way around the city, I kind of fell in love with living in San Francisco. And it’s been amazing for Colby — he’s networking with all sorts of cooks, chefs, and other digital media powerhouses, and Plant Yum is going viral on the daily.

Between that and the fact that I’ve just married the love of my life, I’m so damn happy. Happier than I ever would have dreamed possible just a few short months ago when I was working for Reggie back at The Thinking Cup and wondering if I would ever have the means to pursue my dreams.

Now I know exactly what I’m doing, and what I want — to become a kick ass gourmet chef, then open a cooking bar where patrons can learn to cook over some choice cocktails, and to love Colby with everything I have within me through it all.

It’s crazy to think that this all started with me running face-first into Colby and a little cheese sauce rivalry. I’ve never been so grateful to have mashed my face into another human’s chest.

Boy Toy

Shira

All my dreams are coming true. I push my glasses up on the bridge of my nose and hope the men can’t see my hands shake.

I’m at The Wine Cellar in the posh downtown of Merlot, California, listening to several men in crisp, expensive suits talk about how they think my dating app is worth investing their money in.

Bigmoney.

Before this meeting, I went to the local thrift shop to pick up a pantsuit that hopefully communicates that I’m a hip, savvy businesswoman and tech guru worthy of raining money upon.

I have no idea of my success in the clothing department. But inside, I still feel like the nerdy fifteen-year-old that would rather code all day than go to class or hang out with my friends.

But hey, my parents — blue-collar factory employees that worked hard and loved me and my little brother harder — never thought my interest in tech could get me anywhere. And now here I am, hobnobbing with the rich as they talk about throwing fat stacks of cash at my work.

And my work? That’s Blush, the latest in relationship technology.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking —anotherdating app?

But Blush isn’t just any old dating app. All the ones you’ve heard of? Sure, they take your info and tell you it’s to help you find a compatible match. But the only way that info will help is if prospective partners read it.

And a lot don’t.

Blush is different.

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