by Moni Boyce
He was going to get the opportunity to go live his life. He could go back to school… he could be with Jordan… if she would take him back.
“What if she won’t take me back?” He looked from his father to Cash.
“Eight years, Jordan waited to come here and find you. You honestly think she’s moved on in a month?” Cash joked.
After finally joining social media he reached out to Kaye and Jordan’s sisters. At first, they all gave him hell, but when he told them what he was trying to do, they agreed to help. Elodie made it clear that he still had to get back in their good graces, but what he was planning for their sister would carry a lot in the way of goodwill.
During a call with all of them, he started laying out his plan.
“I want to reunite with Jordan somewhere special and surprise her. In college, the architectural firm I interned for, held a retreat in this little town. It wasn’t in New York. I just remember that the town was known for true love or something like that.”
Kaye laughed like she’d just heard the best joke ever. When Jordan’s sisters snickered, he knew something was up.
“What’s so funny?”
Zoe managed to stop giggling long enough to tell him. “The place you’re talking about is called True Springs. It’s in Pennsylvania.”
The minute Conor heard the name of the town; he knew it was correct. How could her sister know that? He was amazed. “How do you know that?”
This time Kaye spoke. Amusement still colored her voice. “It’s where I had my bachelorette party.”
“Jordan’s been there?” He was incredulous.
“Yep.” Zoe chimed in.
What were the chances?
“Tell me something… did you drink the water?” Kaye asked him
Most men would have been embarrassed to say they drank the water or believed in the legend, but he wasn’t. His mother had been a very superstitious woman and she believed in true love. “Yes, I drank the water.”
“This is perfect.” Kaye’s enthusiasm was contagious. “Jordan doesn’t believe the legend worked because you didn’t come back here with her. I think this will be the perfect location for you to make her believe in love again.”
19
Jordan
Why had she agreed to go back to True Springs? How had she managed to let Kaye and her sisters talk her into going to spend the weekend in the town that sold lies. Jordan crossed her arms over her chest and mean mugged the windshield, while Kaye droned on about her plans for their girl’s weekend.
“We’re at The Sweetwater Inn. It’s going to be fabulous, just a wild girl’s weekend. We’ll have a fun night at The Canteen again.”
Did she just use the word wild to describe a weekend in True Springs?
“Girl’s trip.” Zoe shouted from the backseat.
If memory served, Jordan was sure the morning after The Canteen had been anything, but fun. Memories of her hangover surfaced.
“We’re going to have such a good time.” Elodie squeezed her shoulder, trying to get her in the celebratory spirit.
She could usually count on Elle to be the more mellow one of the group, but if her sister was this hyped for the weekend, even a weekend spent in True Springs, maybe she was the one being a jerk.
“Yay.” Jordan barely raised her arms in the air and waved them about. It was a weak effort, she knew, but the best she could muster at the moment.
“Say it like you mean it.” Elle prodded her.
“Yay.” She shouted a bit louder this time.
Her sisters and Kaye cheered like she was some toddler that had just gone to the potty for the first time. Were they being weird or was it just her imagination?
Sullenly, she turned to look out the window the rest of the short ride to True Springs.
When they arrived, Kaye pulled the car into the parking lot situated at the back of the building. They pulled their bags from the trunk and headed inside to check in.
Kaye and her sisters continued to act even weirder than usual, smiling and giggling and giving her odd looks. She rolled her eyes after accepting her key card.
“Meet us back down here in ten. We’re going to head to Heartland Diner for lunch.”
Jordan was walking away when Kaye called out to her. “Wait.”
Distaste was evident in every feature of Kaye’s face when she scanned her from head to toe. Jordan’s outfit consisted of ripped jeans, Converse and a t-shirt that said ‘Bite Me,’ which she was about to tell Kaye if she was going to make her change.
“Maybe spruce yourself up a little bit. You know ditch the ponytail…” Her gaze trailed her body once more. “Maybe just the whole outfit.”
Zoe and Elodie surveyed her too.
“Yeah, take more than ten minutes if you need it.” Elle grinned at her.
Jordan huffed and stomped off to the elevator. They were just having lunch. Who did she need to impress?
She didn’t want to be difficult so once she was in her room, she changed from her super comfy attire and put on some pale yellow, skinny, ankle jeans and an off the shoulder peasant blouse. After she removed the ponytail and applied some more moisturizer to her curls, she slipped on a headband to pull her hair out of her face. Why stop there she figured since she was getting all dolled up. She applied some make-up that still made her face look natural. Hoop earrings completed the outfit. All she had to do was slip on some sandals and she was ready.
When she came off the elevator, the three of them stood from the bench and gawked at her like she came off the elevator wearing a wedding gown or a ball gown.
What was with them? Was Kaye tearing up?
“You look great.” Zoe gushed.
Jordan looked down at her outfit and back up at them. Was she being filmed for one of those hidden camera shows? She looked around the lobby.
“Can we go eat now?”
“Yeah.” Elodie wore a bright smile.
They headed out the front door of he hotel. The town wasn’t very big. Pretty much everything was walkable. She was happy to finally get to try Heartland, since last time they didn’t make it. The pictures and reviews on Yelp showed their all-day breakfast looked super yummy.
Out on the sidewalk, she looked around. It was such a beautiful day. Maybe she would stop acting like a bitch and enjoy the weekend. As she looked around, she saw a guy standing near the fountain of Adele and Miles holding flowers. Those are pretty.
She continued walking and glancing around when something made her halt mid-step. Why did that guy look familiar?
When she turned back around and focused on the guy, in her periphery, she could see her sisters and Kaye with big goofy grins on their faces, but her eyes were glued to the man, who she now realized was Conor.
“Conor?”
Slowly, she found her feet carrying her over to him.
He grinned at her.
Was she dreaming? Was he really standing in front of that fountain?
Jordan stopped a foot in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” It’s the only thing she could think to say. Her brain was still trying to process if this was real.
“I asked your sisters and your friend to help me out.” Conor explained.
She looked back at the three of them. They were grinning like fools. They motioned for her to turn back around.
“They knew about this?” She felt slow.
Conor chuckled. He could clearly see she was dumbstruck by everything that was happening. He’d been holding the bouquet of flowers with both hands, and released one to take her hand. His tone grew serious. “Kaye told me you were bitter. You thought the legend was bollocks. That’s my fault.”
He looked down at the ground for a minute, before he peered at her again.
“Back in Dublin, everyone kept telling me what a fool I’d been to let you leave… or to let you leave and not go with you. I thought I had an obligation to my family, to take care of them, make sure they were okay, but you know how Cash and my
father can be.”
They both laughed.
“They told me and showed me that they don’t need me…” Conor looked at her earnestly. “Cash was not trying to betray your confidence when he told me the next thing, but he told me that you love me…”
Jordan held her breath. Her gaze was locked on him.
“I don’t know if that’s changed over this last month… I hope it hasn’t… I brought you here, because I hope I can change your mind about this place. You see, eight years ago, I came here for a retreat with the company I was interning for. While I was here, I drank the water.”
Jordan gasped and put her hand over her mouth. It couldn’t have just been by coincidence that they’d both been to this little town and drank the water known to bring lovers together.
“My mam was a big romantic… I think she had a hand in bringing us together, because a few days after being here, I met you.”
Conor squeezed her hand.
“True love does exist, mo ghrá. I know because after eight years we found each other again and I’m sorry I ever made you doubt. I should have left with you when you left Dublin. I was a bastard. If you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you, because I love you too.”
Happy tears fell down Jordan’s cheeks and plopped onto her shirt.
“Kiss him!” Her sisters and Kaye yelled in unison.
Jordan wiped her tears away, while both her and Conor chuckled, but when he pulled her into his body and stared into her eyes before he slowly moved to kiss her, all humor fled.
She shut her eyes and welcomed him to invade her mouth. Conor kissed her senseless. Never again was she letting him go. She finally had her Irishman.
Epilogue
Conor
1 year later
* * *
Whistling, Conor clicked off his laptop and checked the time. He loved surprising Jordan and tonight would be the biggest surprise of them all.
In the last year, he’d moved to New York so they could be together. Eventually they upgraded her studio apartment to a one bedroom, so they could entertain, but maintain some privacy. He was managing one of the trendy pubs in downtown Manhattan, while finishing up his degree in Architecture. Shortly, he would be interning at the same company he’d been at previously and was quite excited about it. He’d reconnected with Harrison, who’d been a big help in navigating the waters of the architectural world.
Helping Hands was doing wonderfully for Jordan. She was the toast of the nonprofit sector. Conor was very proud of her.
Tonight, he’d managed to cull a favor with the owner of the pub and get it shut down for a private party… their engagement party.
Cash had even flown in for the occasion. Conor couldn’t wait to see the expression on Jordan’s face when she saw him. The two of them were like young children whenever they spoke on the phone, bickering and taking the piss at each other constantly. It did make him quare happy that they got along.
Conor pulled the diamond ring from its hiding place and looked at it. He couldn’t wait to make her his wife.
Jordan thought she was simply meeting him at the pub so they could go have dinner.
All their family and friends would be there tonight. Siobhan was heading over to his father’s house so he could watch on Skype. Unfortunately, he couldn’t travel right now. Conor knew it was a big ask, but he hoped Jordan might be amenable to having the wedding in Dublin.
After showering and putting on the suit he’d laid out for tonight. He put the ring in his inside jacket pocket and took a Lyft to the pub.
The staff was hard at work making everything perfect. Everyone would be here tonight: her parents, his brother, her sisters, Harrison and Kaye, Les, some of her employees, some of his classmates. It was going to be a memorable night.
When the guests started arriving he grew ecstatic for the moment she would walk in.
The wait wasn’t too long. Jordan walked in and planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Today has been crazy. I’m so glad we’re having dinner together. This week has been so long and we haven’t gotten to see each other as much.”
Conor grabbed her hand and guided her to the center of the dining area. Someone caught her eye. “Isn’t that Harrison… and Kaye?” She gave them a quick wave. Then her gaze seemed to catch someone else that looked familiar to her.
Recognition dawned on Jordan’s face as she looked all around the restaurant and realized she knew everyone. When she saw Cash, her eyes got big. Before she could say anything, she noticed Les and chuckled.
“I thought you said you had a doctor’s appointment.”
“At this hour?” Les called out.
Everyone laughed.
When she turned back to Conor, he slid to one knee and opened the ring box. Jordan gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Tears glistened in her eyes.
Emotion wedged itself in his throat while he gazed up at her. He cleared his throat. “Mo ghrá, my love, I’ve gathered all of our family and friends here because I wanted them to bear witness to this day… Nine years ago, we met and sparks flew from our instant connection and attraction. We’re still creating fireworks and I’m still very much in love with you. I’m no longer content just to be your boyfriend. I want to be your husband… and I hope you want to be my wife. So I’m asking you to make an honest man out of me… What do ya say? Will you be my wife?”
Collectively everyone held their breath while they waited for her response.
“Yes.” The word came out in a tremulous whisper.
“We didn’t hear you in the back.” Elodie yelled.
That comment made everyone crack up.
“Yes, yes.” Jordan said louder while tears streamed down her cheeks. Conor slipped the ring on her finger and stood to give her passionate, toe-curling kiss, much to everyone’s excitement. People swarmed them, clapping and cheering.
When the kiss ended Jordan pulled back and gave him a bright, shining smile. Then she leaned in and whispered to him. “Let’s get married in Dublin. I know we met here, but we fell in love there. Plus, your dad will get to be a part of the ceremony.”
Conor leaned in and kissed her deeply again. He loved this woman with his whole heart. True love had brought them back to each other and he would never let her go again.
Thank you for reading!
Here’s what’s next up in the Ticket to True Love series:
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Maribel is a strong, confident businesswoman. When a roaming blues musician steals her heart but then makes an unfair assumption about her, can she find the strength to give him a second chance?
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Acknowledgments
A few notes first, before I get into thanking people. I tried to be as accurate as possible when writing about locations in the city, but I did take some liberties for the sake of my story. One thing is there is no Quay Street in Dublin. There is a Quay Street in Galway. In Dublin, you have streets such as Burgh Quay, Eden Quay, Upper Ormond Quay, Wood Quay, etc., many of which run along or near The River Liffey, but no Quay Street. I needed there to be for the purpose of my story, because I wanted to use a real incident that happened to my sister and I when we visited Ireland for the first time. We spent twenty minutes asking several locals where Quay Street, pronouncing it ‘kway’, much to the consternation of people. When someone finally realized we wanted Quay Street, pro
nounced ‘key’, we all had a good laugh about it.
The other liberty I took was placing a Leo Burdock’s near St. Stephen’s Green Park. There is no Leo Burdock’s in that area. The closest one is near Christ Church Cathedral. Again, for the purpose of my story, I needed their day of sightseeing to end with them getting fish ‘n’ chips near the park. I could have used another place, but I’ve eaten at Leo Burdock’s and it’s one of the best fish ‘n’ chip places. Plus, I like the way they wrap the fish ‘n’ chips in grease-stained butcher paper. If you ever visit, this place is a must try.
I had so much fun writing this story. I love these characters. Again, I’m always super grateful and thankful to be able to do something I love. Thank you God. I’m always grateful to my support system of family, friends and my writing circle. A special thanks to my twin sis, Desi, for being my muse when I’m running on empty. Thank you to my editor, Tam Jernigan who gave invaluable notes. As always, a special thanks to all of the readers that pick up this book. I appreciate you reading my words.
What Did You Think of Love Delayed In Dublin?
* * *
First of all, thank you for purchasing this book Love Delayed In Dublin. I know you could have picked any number of books to read, but you picked this book and for that I am extremely grateful.
I hope that it added value and quality to your everyday life. If so, it would be really nice if you could share this book with your friends and family by posting to Facebook and Twitter.
If you enjoyed this book and found some benefit in reading this, I’d like to hear from you and hope that you could take some time to post a review. Your feedback and support will help me as an author to greatly improve my writing craft for future projects and make this book even better.