My One And Only (Very Irresistible Bachelors 5)

“Girls, thanks so much for coming here,” she said as she set out the food containers on her desk. It amazed me that despite being from Montana, neither Isabelle nor her siblings had an accent. Then again, they all lived in various parts of the country for many years. “I just had a client, and afterward I’m off for one of my tours.”

That right there was one of the reasons I was rooting so much for Isabelle. The woman just kicked ass. She wasn’t making enough money with her practice, so she also worked as a tour guide twice a week. She was a dreamer but also didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. A woman after my own heart.

“Okay, so tell us exactly what you have in mind for the weekend event with your clients,” I said as we ate our tacos.

“I want it to be a weekend where they relax but also get to know themselves better. I found a ranch very close to the city. I’ve always wanted to try some sort of animal therapy. Horses are very good for this. So this weekend, they’ll get individual time with me, but we’ll also spend time all together doing different activities from hiking to horseback riding, or just feeding them if they don’t know how to ride. I just need a daily plan. It’s a small group, just ten people.”

“Okay,” Skye said.

I mulled this over, trying to imagine myself spending the weekend at the ranch. How many breaks would I need? How much time would I like to spend in strangers’ company and how much by myself?

“Would it start Friday night or Saturday morning?” Skye asked.

“Friday in the evening.”

“Okay, so here is what I would do,” I said. “I’d do welcome drinks on Friday but not dinner. Start it late enough that people will have to eat before. Sharing a meal with strangers might put them on edge.”

“Oh, that’s very smart. I was thinking I need an icebreaker on Friday and that putting everyone at a table might be too much. Casual drinks is very smart. They’ll warm up to each other and be ready for breakfast together on Saturday.”

“Exactly,” I said.

Skye nodded. “I’d do the same. And then I’d alternate between group events and alone time.”

My sister was right. I tried putting myself in the clients’ shoes. I could imagine them needing time for themselves.

“Maybe also don’t make three big meals a day where everyone has to gather. How about multiple meal times? Or even just having a permanent snack bar with some canapés or just chips and dry finger foods.”

“Yes. I like both those ideas,” Isabelle exclaimed. “Will that make catering more expensive?”

“A little. But we can talk to our caterer for the gala. I’ll get you a good price,” I said immediately. “We’ve been working with them for a long time. I’ll talk them into it.”

“Or I could talk to Rob,” Skye said. Her husband ran a chain of restaurants. “Dumont Foods doesn?

?t have a catering division, but he’s had a lot of our gatherings catered lately. You have a small group, so they could do it.”

“I don’t want him to go out of his way for me, though. I’m happy just with an intro to your catering company, really.”

Skye winked. “I’ll talk to him and we’ll see.”

“We just want you to get a fair price,” I added. “I think Rob might be a much better option.”

Isabelle ran a hand through her hair, biting her lip. “Okay, talk to him. But please only tell him to agree to it if it’s not too much trouble. I feel like I’m imposing on you guys a lot since I moved.”

“You don’t,” I reassured her. “Want to talk us through the daily routine you have in mind?”

“Sure!”

Over the next half hour, we went back and forth over her tentative schedule. Isabelle obviously knew better than us how much alone time her clients needed, but where our expertise came in handy was in keeping momentum. Every event needed that, and it was even more important if it was spread over two days. You didn’t want the attendees to get bored, but it was also best not to exhaust them.

“Thank you so much for coming here, girls,” she said once we finished.

“No problem. That’s what friends and family are for,” I emphasized.

Isabelle smiled, drumming both hands on her desk for a beat before pointing a finger at me. “You know, I’ve meant to ask you since you came in. What is it with that...glow about you?”

I grinned. “Glad you noticed.”

“Impossible not to,” Isabelle exclaimed.