Personal Chef

Chapter 72

Shawn's fans had been pretty supportive when the news broke after the concert that we'd gotten back together. I think most people pieced together what happened. He'd been with Kat, they'd broken up, he got together with me, and then she showed up pregnant. Obviously it wasn't his baby, and people must have assumed Shawn and I worked things out after a while. It's funny that what the public gleaned was remarkably close to the truth, minus the details about why we didn't reunite right away and Kat's evil scheme.

His fans were not quite so happy about their idol getting engaged. I got it. I really did. The idea of him being permanently off the market was vastly different from him having a girlfriend. Their fantasies of being with him became much less realistic. I also think they worried that marriage would change him.

I got some hate after his IG post, but most of the objections weren't about me. There were a startling number of comments that said he was too young or that we hadn't been together long enough. We were both pretty young by today's marriage standards. Age isn't the same as maturity, though. Shawn and I were well beyond our years mentally. He'd grown up pretty quickly and just naturally had a good head on his shoulders. I owned my own restaurant and was able to handle huge responsibilities. It's not like we were two kids recently out of college who'd never been independent. As for the idea that we hadn't been together long, I found fault with that, too. I'd known Shawn for two years and had spent a lot of time with him. I'd been his employee, his lover, his ex, his friend, and now his fiancée. We'd been through so much and all of that solidified our relationship.

A couple days after our big news was leaked, Shawn issued a statement related to his fans harassing him at the bistro.

I know that I wouldn't be where I am today with out my fans. I love you guys so much and am thankful every day for your support. Unfortunately, I need to set some boundaries. I'm asking you to please not approach me if I'm seated at a meal or talking to someone. If you see me in a situation like that, be patient and wait outside. If I have time, I'll take pics then. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by turning them away, so if you are respectful, this won't happen.
Love you. Xx

Again, most of his fans understood why he'd do this. I knew it might result in crowds of fans hanging outside my restaurant, but if it meant they popped in to buy coffee or food, what was the harm?

                              ~~~~~~

I was making magic cookie bars on a Wednesday, several weeks after we'd gotten engaged. I had my period and the layers of crushed graham cracker, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips really appealed to me. Unsurprisingly, Shawn was always up for any kind of sweet I made. I found it funny that his physique was just as perfect when he ate whatever he wanted as it had been when I'd been his chef and had prepared (mostly) low carb meals. Apparently working out and having a trainer kept him in shape. I didn't work out, but my Apple Watch told me I was getting in over 25,000 steps on my work days. I was also pretty conscious of portion size.

I'd just popped the pan in the oven when Shawn joined me. He'd been on the phone with Andrew in his music room/office.

"So there's a delay on the custody court date," he said as he sat at the counter and grabbed the bag of chocolate chips, eating a handful of them.

"How come?"

"Since Coulson is claiming he should have custody because Kat is an unfit mother because of things she's done, and that she's possibly unstable, his lawyer has requested a full psychological evaluation. The judge ordered that they both get them, to be fair. They have six weeks to do that."

"Wasn't she in therapy because of your request? Didn't she get evaluated then?" I asked.

"That's another thing. I guess she didn't go to therapy more than once or twice. Her lawyer said that there were legal issues about my testimony being based on that. Which makes sense. If I'm asked questions under oath, I need to be honest regardless of what she's done. I can't have any bias."