by Zeia Jameson
Everyone laughs.
“May you both live as long as you want and never want for as long as you live.” He raises his glass. We all follow suit, and drink.
“So, you know what I heard?” Kerry leans over to ask me.
I shake my head. “No, what did you hear?”
“I heard Padraig and Stella are going to Ireland to get married.”
“How did you hear that? They only just got engaged an hour ago.”
“Moira might have let the cat out of the bag on the way here. They already have plans set in motion.”
“Well, good for them.”
I sit back and think about how I’ve yet to go to Europe. How badly I’d still love to go. See all the things I originally wanted to see.
“I see the wheels spinning in your head,” Kerry says, moving a strand of hair from my face.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Was Ireland in your original plan for Europe?”
“Absolutely. You know that. I’ve told you.”
“Well, you know, if they go to Ireland, we’re going too. I’m not missing my best friend’s wedding.”
I look into her eyes for a moment, trying to understand her point.
“We’re going to Ireland. You and me. It may not be a six-month European tour of everywhere you wanted to go before, but it’s a start. And we can do it together.”
I grab Kerry’s hand in mine. I turn it over and run my fingers over the tattoo on her wrist. It’s an infinity symbol. Common. Simple. But she said it represented how she felt about me. She also let me ink the lotus on her that she originally wanted. On her hip. She says that tattoo is not just for her anymore. It’s for us.
I can’t believe I ever doubted anything when it comes to Kerry. There’s no one I trust more. Padraig is up there on the list, but Kerry has a better smile.
I kiss her tattoo. “That sounds like the perfect plan to me. I would love nothing more than to go to Ireland with you.”
Kerry let me literally brand her with my tattoos. Put my mark on her body. She insisted. I can’t argue with that. I know this is the real thing. The forever thing, whether we ever make it legally official or not.
I will follow this woman anywhere she asks me to go.
Kerry leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder.
I don’t know if my life could get any more perfect than this moment right now.
“I’m going to look up tattoo parlors in Ireland when we get home. Do you think there are any there?” Kerry asks.
But I do know I’ve found the perfect woman. And though I’m the one who put ink on her body to symbolize our love and commitment for one another and our journey together, she is the one who has marked my heart and my soul, permanently and forever.
The End
Proper Irish (Jaded Lily, Book 1)
(also available on KU)
Sawyer & Fin (Adventurous Hearts, Book 1)
(also available on KU)
Lew & Clarke (Adventurous Hearts, Book 2)
(Coming Summer 2018)
Titanium
(also available on KU)
Throwback
Above everyone else, thank you to all of my readers. I hope you fall in love with my characters as hard as I have.
Thank you, to my husband, for encouraging me the most.
Thank you, JV, my lobster, for loving and supporting me. A lot has happened in the twenty-two years we’ve know each other. Here’s hoping the next twenty-two will continue to bring us all of the love and happiness we hope for and deserve. #WeveGotThis
Thank you, Josie, Amy, Morgan, Aubrey, Tami, Hilaria, Mae, Dawn, Jennifer, Andee and Andrea. You are the best group of gals a chickadee like me could ask for. I wish we could all hang out every day. But you’d all get sick of me, so it’s probably for the best.
Thank you, Rachel Renee, for including my Jaded Lily characters into your book, Human Nature. That is just about the coolest thing ever.
Thank you, again, Alyssa, for being the most patient human being in the world and making ANOTHER phenomenal cover.
Thank you, Bethany Pennypacker and Courtney Hayes, for your outstanding editing and proofing skills. You make my words so much more better (is that correct grammar?).
Thank you, Stacey Blake from Champagne Formats, for always making the pages of my books so gorgeous.
And, as always, thank you Colleen.
Zeia Jameson’s passion for writing compels her to get into the zone and type until her fingers go numb. When not submerged within her own stories, she enjoys curling up in her large cozy chair, snuggling underneath a blanket, and feeding her addictions of coffee and reading. She is fond of humor and laughter and believes these are the elements that keep the world sane and spinning.
Zeia lives in Georgia with her husband and daughter, where they spend most of their time together exploring recipes, bingeing on Netflix, and traveling as much as possible.
Zeia Jameson’s Fierce Romantics (reader group)
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