Page 56 of Love, Take Two

"Everything okay?" I call out, rolling out of bed and pulling on shorts.

"Perfectly fine," Vada calls back, but there's definitely an edge to her voice that suggests otherwise.

I find her in the kitchen staring at her laptop with the expression she gets when she's trying to solve a complicated logistics problem. There's a perfectly cooked breakfast spread across the counter, but she's completely focused on whatever's on her screen.

"What's wrong?" I ask, wrapping my arms around her from behind and peering over her shoulder.

"The Cabo couple wants to do a video call in an hour," she says, leaning back against my chest. "I thought we had until this afternoon to prep, but apparently they're on East Coast time and didn't think to mention it."

"Okay," I say, trying to sound calm despite the fact that my stomach just dropped. "That's fine. We can handle an hour."

"Can we?" she asks, turning in my arms to face me. "Because I've been lying here since five AM thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. What if we're terrible at working together? What if our styles don't match? What if they can tell we have no idea what we're doing?"

There it is—the anxiety spiral I remember from college, when she'd work herself up about presentations or group projects until she was convinced everything was going to be a disaster.

"Vada," I say, cupping her face in my hands, "breathe. We've got this."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we've been working together all week without even realizing it," I point out. "Every time we created content, every time we coordinated activities, every time we solved problems together. This is just making it official."

She takes a deep breath and nods, but I can see she's still wound up about the timing change.

"Besides," I add with a grin, "worst case scenario, we're just two attractive people who clearly enjoy each other's company talking about planning parties in Mexico. How bad could that be?"

"You're right," she says, and I can see her event planner brain starting to take over. "Okay. Coffee, breakfast, quick strategy session, then we charm the hell out of these people."

"Now you're talking," I say, kissing her quickly before reaching for the coffee she's already made.

An hour later, we're sitting at her dining table with laptops and notebooks spread between us, looking like we know what we're doing. Vada's in a professional but approachable blouse, I'm in a button-down that photographs well on camera, and we've managed to create the impression that we regularly conduct business meetings at a dining room table.

"Remember," Vada says as she opens the video call link, "you take lead on travel logistics and content creation, I handle event coordination and vendor management. We're equal partners, not boss and employee."

"Got it," I say, then the screen connects and we're looking at a couple who are clearly as excited about their wedding as they are nervous about planning it.

"Hi! You must be Vada and Emory," the woman says with a smile that immediately puts me at ease. "I'm Sarah, and this is my fiancé Mike. Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us."

"Thanks for reaching out," Vada says smoothly, falling into her professional mode in a way that's immediately impressive. "We're excited to hear about your vision for Cabo."

What follows is exactly the kind of consultation I hoped it would be. Sarah and Mike have clearly done their research—they've watched our Paradise Cove content, they understand whatwe're offering, and they want authentic documentation of their celebration rather than stuffy formal photography.

"We saw how you two worked together during that volleyball tournament," Mike says with obvious enthusiasm, "and that's exactly the kind of energy we want for our wedding. Real moments, genuine fun, people actually enjoying themselves."

"That's our specialty," I say, glancing at Vada and catching her small smile of approval. "Creating content that shows what the experience actually feels like, not just what it looks like."

"Emory handles all the visual storytelling," Vada adds seamlessly, "while I coordinate with vendors and manage the timeline to make sure everything runs smoothly. You get both professional event management and beautiful documentation."

The consultation goes better than I could have imagined. Vada and I flow naturally between topics, building on each other's points without stepping on each other's toes. When Sarah asks about logistics, Vada handles it with confidence and expertise. When Mike wants to know about content deliverables, I can explain exactly what they'll receive and when.

"This sounds perfect," Sarah says after we've covered budget and timeline. "But I have to ask—working together romantically and professionally, how do you make that work?"

It's the question I was dreading, but Vada handles it without missing a beat.

"Honestly, it makes us better at both," she says with genuine warmth. "We trust each other completely, we communicate well, and we want the same thing—to create something beautiful for our clients."

"Plus," I add, "when you're genuinely excited about what you're doing, it shows in the work. We love what we do, and we love doing it together."

"That definitely comes through," Mike agrees. "So what are the next steps?"

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