Page 62 of Love, Take Two
She hangs up and immediately turns to me with eyes bright with excitement. "Tuscany vow renewal. Twenty-fifth anniversary. They have a budget that's going to make your head spin."
"How big a budget are we talking?" I ask, pulling her back down beside me.
"Let's just say we could afford to stay in some very nice places while we're scouting locations," she says with a grin that makes me want to celebrate in ways that have nothing to do with business.
"I love it when you talk about profit margins," I say, kissing her neck in a way that makes her laugh.
"Focus, Wise," she says, but she's not making any effort to stop me. "We need to put together an information packet, create a consultation timeline, and research Tuscan venues before—"
Her phone buzzes again.
"This is becoming a pattern," she says, checking the caller ID. "Maya, it's six-fifteen in the morning."
"Vada!" Maya's voice is loud enough for me to hear from across the bed. "I just saw the posts from your Paradise Cove content. You guys have gone completely viral. Like, millions of views viral."
"What?" Vada puts the phone on speaker, and suddenly we're both wide awake.
"The volleyball video, the wine tasting clips, the dancing footage—it's all over TikTok and Instagram," Maya continues with obvious excitement. "People are calling you the 'Paradise Couple' and demanding to know when you're getting married."
"We're not getting married," Vada says automatically, then catches my expression. "I mean, we're not getting married right now. We're focused on building the business."
"Well, the business is about to explode," Maya says. "I've been getting messages all morning from people asking how to hire you. This is incredible exposure."
After Maya hangs up—with strict instructions to check our social media immediately—Vada and I spend the next hour scrolling through notifications that seem to multiply by the minute.
"This is insane," Vada says, watching view counts climb in real time. "Look at this comment thread about authentic relationship goals."
"Here's one asking if we do engagement parties," I add, screenshotting a particularly enthusiastic inquiry. "And another one wanting to hire us for a anniversary celebration in Bali."
"Bali?" Vada looks up from her phone with the expression she gets when she's mentally calculating logistics. "That would be incredible content."
"It would also be incredible revenue," I point out, because the financial possibilities of what's happening are starting to sink in. "If even half these inquiries turn into actual clients..."
"We're going to need systems," Vada says, already switching into planning mode. "Intake processes, contract templates, vendor databases for multiple locations."
"And we're going to need to decide how much we want to lean into the couple angle," I add. "Because that's clearly what people are responding to."
It's a good question, and one we haven't really discussed. Our success at Paradise Cove came from genuinely being ourselves, but now that people are invested in our relationship story, there's pressure to keep sharing personal details that maybe should stay private.
"I don't want to perform our relationship for social media," Vada says carefully. "But I also don't want to hide the fact that we're together if that's what makes our work authentic."
"Agreed," I say, though I'm already thinking about the balance we'll need to strike. "Maybe we focus on the professional partnership and let the personal stuff show naturally, without forcing it."
"Smart," she agrees, then her phone buzzes again. "Another inquiry. This one's asking about a destination birthday party in Costa Rica."
By the time we make it to the kitchen for actual breakfast, we've received twelve new business inquiries, gained three thousand followers, and started a list of systematic changes we'll need to make to handle increased demand.
"I think we need to hire help," Vada says, reviewing our notes over coffee. "Even if we only convert half these inquiries, we're looking at more work than two people can handle."
"What kind of help?" I ask, though I'm already thinking about the logistics myself.
"Administrative support, maybe a part-time coordinator for vendor research," she muses. "Someone who can handle the initial client screening while we focus on the actual creative work."
"Maya would be perfect for that," I suggest. "She's got marketing experience, she knows our vision, and she's already invested in our success."
"You think she'd be interested?"
"I think Maya would love to quit her corporate job and work with people she actually likes," I say. "Plus, she's been giving us business advice since day one anyway."
