Ivy paused, spoon hovering over the bowl. She searched for the right word. "It’s myfirstfirst place."
"Wait," Eva said, looking up. "You’ve never won before?"
"I’ve come in second. A lot."
Roz hummed. "So. Was it hard to share it with him?"
Ivy blinked. The question hadn’t even occurred to her. "It didn’t feel like sharing. It felt like… building something together."
Ivy glanced down at the bowl, then back up, her smile softening without her permission.
"He makes me better." Ivy huffed a laugh. "He’s a great cook."
"Low bar,” Roz said. " What else?"
Ivy hesitated for half a second. "And a great kisser."
Eva set down her knife with the careful deliberateness of a woman who had decided this moment deserved her complete and undivided attention. She turned to face Ivy fully, elbow on the counter, chin in her hand, clearly waiting and expecting to hear more.
On the screen, Roz pressed both hands flat on whatever surface she was sitting at and looked directly into the camera. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?"
"I didn't stutter," Ivy said.
"She really didn't," Eva confirmed to Roz with the gravity of a witness giving testimony.
"Tell me everything," Roz demanded.
Ivy laughed, shaking her head as she tried to focus on the batter." There’s nothing to tell."
"That is a lie," Roz said.
"You don’t just casually drop ‘great kisser’ and move on," Eva added.
Ivy pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. It didn’t work. "He’s… steady. Intentional. He doesn't care about the spotlight. I mean he wanted the win because he wants to open a restaurant here and give back to the community. I think that's…"
"Admirable," said Eva.
"Not what you want," said Roz.
Eva frowned at the phone.
So did Ivy. "I want Finn to have his restaurant."
"But do you want to stay in Valor?" asked Roz.
"I…" Did she want to stay in Valor? She knew she wanted to be with Finn. She knew she wanted to be inside his embrace, receive his kisses, walk the rows of the farm with him, cook a new dish that's both savory and sweet and uses a ton of tomatoes.
Her phone buzzed again. The caller ID blocked out Roz's face. This time, the name on the screen made her pause.
Devon.
"Who’s that?" Eva asked.
"I know that sigh," said Roz. "It's Devon, isn't it?"
Ivy declined the call, restoring Roz's face on the device. "He came by yesterday."
"Of course he did," Roz said, her voice dry. "Let me guess. Another competition."
