Perhaps while he continued to sort out his feelings, it wouldn’t hurt to grab on to this amazing opportunity and see just how far it could carry her.
Megan sat back, studying her. “So, Moira, what did you think of the current exhibit?”
“It’s interesting,” she said carefully, hesitant to express her reservations to the woman who’d obviously had faith in the photographer who’d taken the pictures. “It’s very different from what I do.”
Megan smiled. “Very different,” she concurred. “Mike’s pictures strip down the beauty of something to its bare essentials. A twig covered with snow, the dew on a flower. I think that’s often best achieved in black and white.”
“They’re still,” Moira said, choosing her words carefully. “Quiet, if you know what I mean.”
“And yours radiate life and energy,” Megan assessed. “Thus the difference. I’m glad you understand it. You may be very new to looking at your work analytically, but you have a basic understanding of why it’s so special. That tells me you’ll always recognize the most magical moments in your shots.”
“I’m actually afraid to think about them too much,” Moira said. “If I get too much in my head, won’t I lose something of the spontaneity?”
Megan grinned. “I think so. Good for you for understanding that. I think we’re going to work well together, Moira. And if this show goes as well as I think it will, you’ll have more attention and more opportunities than you ever imagined.”
“Please, don’t get too carried away beyond this one show,” Moira pleaded. “The thought of more terrifies me. And I do have commitments back in Dublin. I’m thinking I’ll still fly back to do those jobs. It’s only fair.”
“I suppose I can live with that,” Megan told her. “Though I’m anxious to get moving, I’m impressed by your loyalty to the man who inspired you back home.”
Moira regarded her with real gratitude. “Thank you again for giving me this chance to prove myself. I’d have been content to take the occasional pictures at weddings, I think.”
“They would have been very lucky brides,” Megan told her. “Now I’m going to be the lucky one, because I get to launch your work to a much larger world.”
“I still can’t get used to the idea that you see it that way,” Moira admitted. “I mean it when I say that just thinking about it scares me to death.”
“Heavens, that’s the last thing I want to do,” Megan said. “Run along quickly before you decide never to touch a camera again.”
Moira smiled. “I won’t do anything that drastic,” she promised. “But I will run along. Luke’s probably wondering where I’ve gone, if he’s even looked up from his paperwork to notice that I’m not where he left me in his office.”
“He must be thrilled by how well this weekend went,” Megan said. “Mick and I popped in for just a minute again on Saturday night and it was so mobbed we couldn’t find anyplace to sit.”
Moira was chagrined. “You should have looked for Luke or me. We’d have found chairs for you. There will always be room for family, even if we have to boot another customer to squeeze you in.”
Megan laughed. “Now that’s a sure way to destroy your business, showing preference for certain customers. Don’t worry. You know we’ll be back again. I’ll come by if only to make sure you’re taking all the photos you should be. I can be a bit tyrannical when it comes to business. Fair warning.”
“Oddly enough, that doesn’t scare me,” Moira said. “Though it probably should.”
“I’ll see you soon, then.”
Moira took her time walking back to the pub, absorbing every word of Megan’s praise, replaying their entire conversation. She was so lost in thought, she stumbled when she nearly ran down Luke as he stepped outside the pub and directly into her path.
“There you are!” he said as he reached out to steady her. “Where did you run off to?”
“Megan’s,” she said.
He searched her face, then smiled. “It went well, didn’t it? She loved the pictures you showed her?”
Moira nodded. “She really, really loved them. Or at least she said she did.” Barely able to contain her excitement, she said, “Luke, it was truly the most remarkable thing that’s ever happened to me. And to think it might never have happened if I hadn’t come here. I mean there was work to be had in Ireland, but this… It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
Luke swooped her up in his arms and spun her in a circle.
“Put me down, you idiot. You’re making me dizzy.”
“I thought I always made your head spin,” he teased as he put her back on her feet.
“Not in the same way.”
“Let’s have lunch and you can tell me every word she said,” he suggested. “We’ll go to Sally’s and sit at a real table and celebrate by letting her wait on us.”
“Add in one of those banana split things I’ve seen her serving and I’m in,” Moira said at once.
“Do you want your own or will you share?” he asked.
“I imagine I can let you have a bite or two,” she said. “But if you get any greedier, you’ll have to order your own.”
He smiled. “I love seeing you like this.”
“Like what?”
“Truly happy and excited.”
“I’m happy when I’m with you,” she argued.
“Most of the time,” he agreed. “But it’s not the same. There’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from a career success that can’t be matched. I’ve just gotten a taste of that with the pub’s opening, and now it’s your turn. I want