“Now that I’m talking to you I feel a little presumptuous saying this, but my second thought wasI should do it.”
Her eyes brightened. “It was?”
“Please understand that I’d need time to come up with a workable plan, but after listening to Sybil, I got excited about generating similar ideas for?—”
“Would this be a side gig? In addition to your regular job?”
“No. It’s too big, too important to be a side gig. If it’s done right, it’ll be a fulltime job.”
“Oh, Sara.” Desiree looked ready to explode. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That you’d quit your job and do this instead?”
“Yes, but maybe you don’t envision having someone handle it fulltime. Your budget might not?—”
“Are you kidding? This is a dream come true! We’ve wanted you from the beginning, but you’ve been so enthusiastic about staying in your current job that it seemed pointless to ask.”
“You talked about hiring me?”
“Weeks ago, but after all you’ve said about loving Trenton and your job, the idea had to come from you. The most I allowed myself was mentioning we need to deal with the tourist situation. You didn’t pick up on it. You were still focused on moving up in your company and finally getting to Ireland.”
“Ireland.” Sara laughed. “I was fixated on that, but instead, Ireland came to me.”
“I suppose it did. He did.”
“And now I still want to see Ireland, but I want Kieran as my tour guide. We can plan to go sometime in the future.”
“Are you sure about all this?” Desiree looked her in the eye. “Because I’d hate for you to wake up tomorrow and realize you’d been hijacked by the emotions swirling around today.”
“It’s been a lot. By the way, Granny was willing to move to New Jersey so I could keep my job and marry Kieran.”
“Wow.”
“After she hung up, we discussed both scenarios and I couldn’t see Granny thriving there. She will thrive here, though.”
“Please tell me you didn’t decide to take on this project to please his granny.”
“I didn’t. But I won’t lie. The prospect of living in the same zip code as Kieran is a major draw.”
“You’d be giving up your job to be with him. I thought that violated your principles.”
“I’m giving up the job but not the career. This morning Rance was talking about self-employment as an option and I couldn’t see it.”
“That boy! I’ll bet Lucky told him we wanted you but it had to be your idea. He was hoping to steer you toward it.”
“To be fair, he didn’t come out and suggest this idea.”
“If he had I would have blistered his ears.”
“He didn’t. I had to work it out on my own. It’s a fabulous challenge for a travel planner — orchestrating tours that please your readers and protect your privacy at the same time. I can’t wait to brainstorm with you guys.”
“I can tell you’re excited. I can see it in your face. But let’s do this, just to make sure it isn’t adrenaline talking. Give it twenty-four hours.”
She shook her head. “It’s not just adrenaline. This is it. Lani’s the only person who won’t like it, but she’ll be happy for me in the end. I don’t need twenty-four hours.”
“Then take the time for me, so I won’t worry that you’ll wake up tomorrow with a change of heart.”
“I won’t.”
“Please. Let’s keep this between us at least until tomorrow morning. If you’re still excited about this prospect, we’ll go with it.”
