But to her surprise, she realized no one else had raised their hand. Confused, Keira looked from one face to the next, realizing everyone had turned to face her. And they were all smiling.

“What’s going on?” she asked, bringing her hand back down beside her.

Lance laughed warmly. “It’s yours!” he exclaimed. “Obviously. We were just pranking you.”

Everyone began to chuckle. Keira looked around, completely shocked. Since when had Viatorum been a place for office pranks?

“You mean you were always going to give it to me?” she asked.

“Yes!” Lance replied, still laughing heartily.

And to Keira’s great surprise, everyone else was light-hearted about it. They seemed happy for her. There was no envy anymore, no ruthlessness.

“They’ve all got great assignments too,” Lance explained. “Don’t you worry about that. I don’t like in-fighting, can’t stand it. Everyone has strengths. And yours is to travel abroad and write those amazing pieces.”

Keira wanted to pinch herself. Was this a dream? Was she still asleep on Bryn’s lumpy couch fantasizing about what she wanted her first day back at work to be like?

But no, it was real. Without Joshua, Viatorum had transformed into her dream job. And she had just landed her dream assignment.

“It’s our way of saying thank you,” Denise piped up. “For getting rid of Josh.”

Keira laughed, delighted. She was so excited about the new assignment. But she was also very nervous. Whether it was something that Joshua had instilled in her or whether it was just a part of her personality, a new assignment always brought anxiety and self-doubt with it. Deep down she wasn’t sure if she was up for it, especially since she was still reeling from Shane. But she also knew she couldn’t say no. Everyone was looking at her so eagerly. She had to get back onto the horse, so to speak.

“What’s the title of the piece?” she asked, trying to focus on the task at hand in order to keep her mind off of Shane.

“The Country of Love,” Lance said, spreading his hands in front of him theatrically.

“Another love piece?” Keira asked, shocked.

“Of course!” Lance cried. “It’s your talent, Keira. Your last piece was remarkable.”

“Only because I fell in love…” she said.

Lance nodded eagerly. “Exactly. It was beautiful. I want to see that again. So I’m sending you to the most romantic places. I want you to speak to the locals, discover their secrets. Do the Italians really know about true love? Why is it considered the most romantic place on earth? What secrets do they hold about romance?”

He was grinning widely, encouragingly. But for Keira, panic was starting to set in.

How could she write about love when her heart had been shattered into a thousand pieces? In Ireland she’d struggled with the assignment because she was naive, foolish, and inexperienced. This time she was going in bitter and jaded. It would never work.

“Is there any flexibility on the title?” Keira stuttered. “Any scope to change the angle? I don’t want to get typecast as the love writer.”