by Sophie Love
“I want a million pictures,” Keira said. “A whole album’s worth to make up for the time we lost. In as many locations as possible.”
Shane seemed excited by the challenge. He clasped her hand and led her through the crowds to Orin’s pub. They took several pictures with the bar man. Then Shane joined the band of musicians playing folk songs in the corner and played along with them on the fiddle. Keira snapped photo after photo, her insides feeling all gooey at the sight of her man on stage like that. She never thought anyone could make the fiddle look sexy and yet somehow Shane managed it.
Shane finished the song and leapt back down, sweeping Keira up in his arms.
“Where next?” he asked.
“William’s,” Keira replied.
They hurried off, hand in hand, running down the cobbled streets.
“It’s a full moon,” Shane said. “Let’s get a selfie.”
Laughing, they both stopped in the middle of the street and turned so that the moon was hanging perfectly between them. Then they snapped a photo before running off in the direction of William’s.
As they went, Keira realized that she had truly become one of them. Before, she’d been sitting in her room in the B&B looking down at people like her and Shane with disdain. She realized now that it had actually been jealousy. She’d wanted what they had all along but couldn’t admit it to herself. It was easier to lie to herself and pretend she looked down on them, when all along she was filled with envy. Now that she was on the other side she felt carefree, filled with joy.
They made it to William’s office and took pictures of the cupids on the walls outside, pulling silly poses. In one, Keira made it look as though she were cradling a cupid like a baby. In another, Shane mimicked the arrow-shooting pose of another. The results were hilarious.
They knocked on William’s door. After a while it opened and Maeve was there. She was still dressed in her emerald dress from the ceremony. With her flame red hair she looked every inch the Irish beauty.
“Maeve!” Keira cried. “We need a photo of you.”
“Oh,” she said, looking surprised. “Sure.”
She posed with them beside the matchmaker’s book. Then William himself arrived back, clearly weary from the party and ready for bed. He looked surprised to see Shane and Keira in his office.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Keira told him. “And I’m trying to take as many photos as possible. I don’t want to forget anything or anyone.”
William obliged, posing for photos in his shimmery suit.
“Be sure to send me one for my wall of fame,” he said with a wink as they left.
Back out in the street, Shane and Keira joined back in with the party. They danced to the music, held one another, and kissed. When they found Keira’s rental car still abandoned amongst the crowds of happy people they laughed in delight and took a series of photos clambering all over it. Then Shane pulled her up onto the roof and they danced together. It was the most joyous Keira had ever felt.
So high was she from the emotion, she didn’t even feel tired, which made it far easier to lose track of the time. When the sun started to rise it took her by surprise. Time was running out on their adventure.
She turned to Shane, suddenly serious. “I need to know what happens,” she said. “When I wake up tomorrow and get my plane. Will we see each other again?”
“Of course,” Shane said, holding her by the tops of her arms. “Our story doesn’t end here. I promise you.”
He seemed genuine. But had he even considered the practicalities? They’d be taking the concept of a long-distance relationship to the extreme. It wasn’t like either of them was on a pop star’s income.
“So you’ll visit me?” she asked.
“If you’ll visit me,” Shane replied.
“Of course I will!” Keira said. “Especially once you’re back home. Being force fed tea and cake by your amazing family is my idea of heaven.”
Shane laughed. “We’re going to be okay, Keira,” he said. “Trust me.”
Keira nodded, hiding the sober mood that was creeping into her. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Shane, she just didn’t think he’d really thought this through like she had. But she didn’t want to end the night on heavy stuff, on practicalities and logic. She wanted things to stay magical. In a few hours (and despite their best efforts to keep things going) it could very well all be over for her and Shane. She wasn’t about to let the whirlwind romance end on a low.
“There’s one more place we need to get pictures of,” Keira said, trying not to focus too much on the fact that their time was wearing down.
“Where?” Shane asked with a frown.
She smiled and grabbed his hand. She pulled him along the streets and back to the B&B, then led him up the stairs into her room. Shane raised an eyebrow as she gestured toward the bed.
“Don’t worry, these ones are just for my private collection,” Keira said with a wink.
*
Keira and Shane didn’t get much sleep, not wanting to waste any of their precious time together. But there was no denying the fact that the sun was rising, making Keira’s room become brighter and brighter. Each hour that passed brought them closer to the end.
At seven in the morning, Keira started to feel reality sinking in. She was going home in just a few hours. Which meant she needed to pack. Looking at her suitcase brought a wave of grief crashing over her.
“Don’t do that,” Shane said when he saw her tugging it onto the bed.
“I have to.”
“Why don’t you stay a bit longer?”
Keira shook her head. “I can’t. The flights are all booked.”
“Then miss them.”
She looked at him sadly. “I can’t. The company paid. I won’t be able to afford to fly home otherwise.”
Shane sat down on the side of the bed. “Then don’t fly home. Stay here.”
Keira couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You mean with you?” she said. The temptation was great. But she was too realistic for that. “And do what? Work on the farm with your parents?” She shook her head. “You know it can’t work like that. Not every day can be a twenty-four-hour party, Shane.”
He reached out for her and pulled her onto his lap, rocking her gently. “I know,” he sighed.
They stayed like that for a long time.
“Can I escort you to the airport at least?” Shane asked.
“Sure,” Keira said, touched by his gesture.
She finished packing and took a few last photographs of the room, then headed downstairs. Orin had prepared them a breakfast. Keira smiled, touched.
“Eat with us,” she said.
Orin shook his head. “No, no, you two should have your privacy.”
“I insist,” Keira said.
She missed their old routine of eating breakfast together. It had been a while since they’d done so and she wanted one more fond memory to add to her collection.
Orin relented, and the three of them ate a hearty breakfast.
“How about a Guinness for the road?” Keira suggested.
Orin and Shane cheered.
Breakfast seemed to whiz by and soon Keira saw that it was time to head to the airport. She hugged Orin tightly goodbye.
“Don’t give up on the matchmaker,” she told him as she squeezed him. “There’ll be someone out there for you and he’ll know who she is when he sees her. Okay?”
Orin smiled and nodded. Shane carried her case through the pub and out the door, heading for the car. Keira followed, waving goodbye to Orin as she went.
Out on the streets, she looked at the now familiar sight before her; the road, stretching left and right, the fields ahead, the row of colored houses, and the very last stragglers left over from the night before. She was going to miss this place. She took in a deep breath of the luxuriously oxygenated air, letting it fill her.
Her car was still abandoned in the middle of the road. She watched Shane load up her cases
in the trunk. His own car was parked further down the road. He’d have to catch a taxi home after dropping her off. Somehow, that thought made her even more morose.
She walked up to the car and placed a hand on Shane’s back. He turned and smiled at her sadly, then slammed down the trunk door. They got into the car that only a few hours earlier they’d been dancing upon the top of. But now it wasn’t a stage for their love, it was a vehicle about to tear them apart.
Keira started the engine and drove along the streets slowly, through the debris from the night before, weaving carefully around people who were still dancing. She wished she could still be one of them but soon the party would be over for them as well. She wondered how many people would be returning to a whole new life, one touched by love, or how many were going back to the same old life they’d escaped only briefly.
It was the brightest day Keira had seen so far in Ireland, which gave her the opportunity to glimpse a new side of the place. The clear sun made the scenery even more beautiful.
“I’m going to miss trees,” she said, wistfully. “And sheep.”
“I’m going to miss you,” Shane replied, looking at her with longing.
Keira gave him a sad, half-smile. “I’m going to miss you too.”
*
The Shannon airport was bustling with tourists, many of whom sported slogan T-shirts showing shamrocks, leprechauns, and harps. Keira wondered if they’d only experienced the touristy side of Ireland, the one she’d been anticipating when she arrived and had assumed that was all there was to it. She hoped they’d at least stepped away from the tourist trappings to experience the majesty of the place.
Through the window in the lounge, rows of planes sat waiting to take people away. Soon she would be on one of them, cutting through the sky, leaving this place. Leaving Shane.
Keira saw the NYC flight flash up on the departures board.
“That’s me,” she said to Shane.
His face drained of color. He took her hands and brought them up to his mouth. He pressed a kiss onto each of them.
“Will you text me when you get home?” he said. “So I know you’re safe.”
Keira nodded, touched to see his protective side showing through. Her stomach roiled with emotion. She swallowed it all down, not wanting to make a scene here in front of all these people. Then she remembered Simon and Sylvia’s advice to be true to herself, to be honest. She threw her arms around Shane and kissed him passionately, not caring that they had an audience.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Shane squeezed her hand as she started to back away. “I love you too,” he said.
She turned before he had a chance to see the tears fall from her eyes and strolled down the tunnel to the plane.
As soon as she was onboard she couldn’t hold back anymore. She openly wept.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Keira pushed open the door to Viatorum magazine and strolled across the tiled floors. The whiteness and glass seemed so clinical to her now, almost blinding in their brightness. The open-plan office seemed like an enormous waste of space.
All the staff looked up as she entered. There were some new faces amongst them, and some people who’d been there before who were now missing. Lisa was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Duncan. So Joshua had still been hiring and firing while on bed rest, it seemed.
Wobbling in her now out-of-practice stilettos, Keira strode right up to Nina’s desk.
“You’re back,” Nina said, leaping up and hugging her friend. She looked over Keira’s shoulder. “FYI, Joshua is coming in today for the first time since he broke his leg. Specifically to read your piece. And shout, probably. I think he’s been feeling quite emasculated since being in the hospital and there are some new junior writers he needs to intimidate.”
“I’d expect no less from him,” Keira quipped. “Now, about the article...”
Nina narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you haven’t finished it.”
“Oh, I’ve finished,” Keira said. “But I don’t want you to publish it.”
Nina exhaled, sounding frustrated. “Why not?”
“Because it sucks,” Keira said boldly. “The whole thing. The brief. The assignment. I don’t want my name on a trash piece like that.”
Nina rubbed her face, exasperated. “And what am I supposed to do?”
Keira grinned. “I’ve written a new one.”
She handed Nina the printed document. She’d spent the entire flight from Shannon to New York writing it, finding it far easier to write than anything she ever had before. She watched on expectantly as Nina skimmed it.
“This reads like a love letter,” she said finally, looking up at Keira with a frown.
“Because it is,” Keira said. “What do you think?”
“Joshua won’t like it,” Nina said simply.
“I know,” Keira said. “I don’t care about him. Do you?”
Nina didn’t seem convinced. “I mean it would be better once it’s been through a round of editing…” she said.
Keira laughed. “Of course, that goes without saying,” she joked.
“But there isn’t time because your deadline is today,” Nina said, sounding more stern, letting the light-hearted jokes fall by the wayside. “And now you’re telling me I have nothing to publish.”
“Oh, but we do,” Keira said. “We’re publishing it anyway. I have a plan. But I’ll need your help.”
Nina folded her arms. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
“It’s simple,” Keira said, feeling mischievous. “You just accidentally upload the wrong draft; i.e., this one instead of the one Josh is about to read. You up for it?”
Nina said nothing for a while. Then a wicked smile spread across her lips.
“Okay. I’m in.”
Just then the doors opened and in hobbled Joshua on crutches. The sense of tension increased in the office. Clearly he hadn’t told any of the staff he’d be in today.
Joshua had gone to the effort of styling his quiff and had even put on a suit jacket—a lurid mustard yellow color—even though he was wearing loose-fitting jogging shorts on his bottom half. The cast around his leg went all the way up to his thigh. Keira noticed that no one had signed it, a thought that filled her with pity instead of glee.
“Keira. Nina. My office. Now.”
Joshua used his crutches to hop into his office. Keira flashed Nina a confident smile and they walked across the open-plan office, all eyes on them, and followed him inside.
The second they were inside, Joshua launched right into his attack.
“I have to say, Keira, I’ve been appalled by your conduct during this assignment. I was counting on you to relieve my stress during my sick leave period but really all you’ve done is compound it. Elliot’s been on my case from dawn until dusk because of you. I wish he’d never handed the piece to you. I’d have written a better article from my sickbed.”
Keira listened, not rising to his insults. It amazed her how little Joshua’s opinion mattered to her anymore. Her experiences in Ireland had changed her.
“And Nina’s had to fit herself to your schedule as well,” he continued. “It’s not like you’re the only writer she edits for. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for her to juggle all her commitments? I thought you two were supposed to be friends.” Then with a sarcastic sneer he added, “Nice way to treat your friends.”
Keira stood there taking it, letting the words bounce right off her.
“Well?” Joshua demanded. “What have you got to say for yourself?”
She handed him her article, the old one compiled of her snarky reviews. “Here’s the final draft.”
Joshua’s frown deepened. He’d clearly wanted her to start groveling. Keira wondered if he’d even expected her to hand him a finished product at all. It seemed to have taken him off guard.
“Right,” he said. He sat down heavily in one of the seats and began to read. As he did, he made occasional grunts that K
eira took to be approving. Once he was done, he looked up. “It’s fine. It will do. Nina, over to you now.”
Then he stood.
If Keira had still cared about his opinion, this response would have devastated her. She was a junior writer after all, and this was her first big assignment. Putting all the other stuff aside—the slowness, the reluctance, the avoiding emails, which she could accept weren’t good ways to behave—Joshua should still give her feedback on her actual writing. But clearly he didn’t care about building her confidence or offering advice for her so she could develop her skills and improve. All he wanted to do was tear people down and reduce the competition. It was all so clear to her now. Even if she’d behaved like the Golden Girl she was supposed to, churning out scathing reviews, staying up every night to meet her impossible deadlines, he’d still have found a way to crush her spirit.
Nina took the document from Joshua.
“Thanks. Want me to run the final draft through Elliot?”
Joshua shook his head. “No, he won’t be interested. He’s moved on to other things now, other assignments. I’m sure he’s quite forgotten about this one by now.”
Keira rolled her eyes as Joshua shuffled out of the room. She caught Nina’s eye and grinned.
The two went back to Nina’s desk. Keira sat beside her and watched as she uploaded the new piece, the love letter to Ireland, onto the most recent issue’s proforma.
Keira watched her move things around, setting the article out across a four-page spread. It looked beautiful with the addition of the photographs Keira had wanted to be included. She’d never seen her own writing appear like that. It looked real, professional. She felt a surge of pride.
“When does this go to print?” Keira asked.
Nina swiveled in her chair to face her. “Overnight,” she said. “The e-zine goes live at midnight.”
Keira smiled, excited for the fallout that would ensue tomorrow morning once Joshua realized just what she’d done.
