“That’s not exactly it.” I pick up the camera. “We thought about it and we like the offer, we really do. Doing a TV show would be great for the restaurant but...” I look over at Amy, who’s already got egg yolk on her cheek. “What would it mean for us?”

Paul smiles, like he was expecting that answer. “I understand.”

We say our goodbyes and hang up. Amy watches me as I take my first few bites of breakfast sandwich. “Okay, but are you sure?” she asks.

I blink at her, my mind already a million miles away from Paul’s offer. We have to clean this whole apartment, which between the two of us won’t take long, go grocery shopping, reserve a table at the restaurant. My parents are coming to visit, both of them, to meet Amy.

“Sure? About being on TV?”

Amy was more into the idea than I was initially. She says I almost look as pretty on camera as I do in real life. Privately, I think she’s a little worried that I should be destined for greater things, but she fights the instinct to make the decision for me.

“I’m sure,” I say. Leaving my plate on the counter, I step into her arms. Her eyes go wide, and she leans down, expecting my kiss, but I lick the yolk off her cheek, my mouth filled with salt, catching the sound of her squeal.

I laugh as she scrunches her nose. “I don’t need to put our love on camera to know it’s real.”

Acknowledgments

It is time once again to write my acknowledgments and I am, once again, emotionally unprepared for this. But here we go: this book, like the last, and like the ones that will come next, would not have been possible without my mother, father, and mother-in-law. In this year, especially, when alone time was so precious, you all made it so that I never had to worry about my daughter. I had the luxury and privilege of pursuing my dream because of the three of you and I will never be able to say thank you enough times, in enough ways. But thank you, nonetheless.

To the book bloggers, bookstagrammers, YouTubers, and book community that has accepted me and my stories, you not only help this industry thrive on your unpaid labor but you have helped my heart grow. Thank you for your love and excitement. Thank you for letting me into your fold and trusting me with your time, your money, your imaginations. I hope my words will always be deserving of you.

Danielle, thank you for keeping me young, for teaching me TikTok, for opening your heart to me, and for letting me open mine to you. Thank you for letting me go on this journey with you of realizing later in life, who we are. You, my dear, are the very best thing that ever came out of That Place, and I wouldn’t change a second of my time there, if it meant I wouldn’t get to have you in my life.