Love Delayed In Dublin Read online

  Also by Moni Boyce

  The Oracle Chronicles

  Awakened

  Enlightened

  Empowered

  Divined

  The Oracle Chronicles Boxed Set

  Ticket To True Love Series

  Love Delayed In Dublin (Coming Soon)

  Standalone

  Redemption of the Heart

  Watch for more at Moni Boyce’s site.

  Love Delayed in Dublin

  Ticket to True Love

  Moni Boyce

  Love Snacks Publishing, LLC

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  Love Delayed In Dublin © 2020 Shaquana M. Boyce

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  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:

  [email protected] or to Permissions, Love Snacks Publishing, LLC, 5110 Summer Garden Place, Suffolk, VA 23434

  * * *

  www.lovesnackspublishing.com

  * * *

  First Edition

  ISBN: 978-1-7333937-6-8

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  Book cover design by: JB Schroeder

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Contents

  1. Jordan

  2. Conor

  3. Jordan

  4. Conor

  5. Jordan

  6. Conor

  7. Jordan

  8. Conor

  9. Jordan

  10. Conor

  11. Jordan

  12. Conor

  13. Jordan

  14. Conor

  15. Jordan

  16. Conor

  17. Jordan

  18. Conor

  19. Jordan

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Untitled

  Spotify Playlist

  Irish Slang Glossary

  About the Author

  1

  Jordan

  Memories from last night surfaced, while Jordan lay in bed with her eyes closed. How much vodka had she consumed before Kaye convinced her that dancing on the bar was a good idea? Was it the alarm that woke her up? A noise had woken her, but she couldn’t place it.

  Wait. Wasn’t the music playing on the jukebox at the World War II era bar only stuff like Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis, big band and swing music? What had been so lit about last night that they were dancing on bars?

  She pried her eyes open and quickly shut them again when the light caused a stabbing pain. “Ow.”

  That happened.

  Some rando bought them shots of Patrón. They must have been too wasted by that time to realize that vodka chased by tequila was a bad idea the day before the wedding.

  Jordan rubbed her aching head. She felt like she’d been hit in the head with one of the liquor bottles from last night. Silently, she made a vow that she would never get that drunk again. Never.

  “One… two… two and three quarters…” Just open your damn eyes.

  Slowly, she peeled her left eye and then her right eye open. The harsh glare made her squint. She threw her arm over her face as a shield.

  There was that noise again. It sounded human… like someone was in distress… or…

  She removed her arm from her face and leaned up on her elbow to peer over the nightstand at the other queen bed. The covers were tossed back, and the bed was empty.

  “Ohhh.”

  The wail had come from the bathroom.

  Jordan let her head drop back onto her pillow. “Ugh.”

  She stared at the ceiling for several seconds and sighed. This was her responsibility after all. She was the maid of honor.

  She ran her hand over the top of her head and cursed. “Damn.”

  Her headscarf must have come off in the middle of the night. Her curls were probably a wreck.

  After prolonging her exit from the cozy bed a few more minutes, she finally kicked the sheets away and stumbled towards the bathroom.

  Without knocking, she pulled the door open. Slumped over the toilet was the bride.

  Her friend looked pitiful. She was in a tank top and panties on the cold linoleum, with her body practically wrapped around the porcelain throne she’d been puking into for who knows how long. Kaye’s tall, slender frame was hunched over the toilet bowl and her face was as white as the toilet seat.

  Seeing her cheek pressed against the seat made Jordan wonder how many asses had taken a dump in the spot her friend so comfortably found her face.

  Jordan pressed her lips firmly together and fought the urge to burst into giggles. Kaye let go of the toilet bowl and reached out to her, waggling her fingers. Jordan walked over and sat on the edge of the tub. She rubbed Kaye’s back and tried to comfort her. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” Kaye pouted and turned away from the toilet to put her head on Jordan’s lap. “My body is rejecting the water. It’s a sign. I can’t get married.”

  This time Jordan did laugh out loud.

  “It’s not funny.” Kaye murmured and swatted her leg with a weak slap.

  Instead of going to Vegas like a normal bachelorette, Kaye had wanted to go to some little town in Pennsylvania called True Springs. Jordan had never heard of it before, but if that’s where her best friend wanted her bachelorette party, that’s where she would have it. During the planning for the trip, Kaye confessed that her reason for wanting to come here was because of some legend about a couple finding true love in the town. The town’s water supposedly contained lover’s magic. People came from all over the world to drink the water because they believed it had mystical properties that would help them fall in love or find true love. Jordan wasn’t sure.

  It was unlike Kaye to believe in such crap, but here they were. Given her family’s history with relationships and the number of divorces her parents and brother had piled between them, Jordan understood Kaye’s fears. If divorce were an Olympic Sport, Kaye’s family would be standing on the podium with the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.

  “I just thought that if I drank the water, then it would ensure that Harrison and I stayed together forever. I don’t want to marry him, only for us to divorce later and I end up like my mother, father and brother… a marriage whore, going from one failed marriage to the next.”

  They both laughed.

  “Marriage whore?” Jordan snorted.

  She’d been there the night Kaye and Harrison officially met. That New Year’s Eve night had been magical eight years ago, but now only held bittersweet thoughts for her. Jordan brushed aside her feelings. Kaye was her best friend, and this was her big day.

  “It’s just jitters. It’s normal. You and Harrison have been together for a long time. You were meant to be together.”

  “We are?” Kaye hiccupped and kept crying on her lap.

  “How do you know that? How can you be so sure?”

  Jordan rubbed Kaye’s shoulder and stroked her long, dark brown hair.

  “Love is a choice, Kaye. I’ve
watched you and Harrison over the years. There were times that you fought and broke up, but you always found your way back to each other… you always made a choice to love each other. That’s how I know.” She paused, hoping what she was saying was sinking in. The last thing she wanted to do was stand up in front of a church full of people and tell them the wedding had been called off because the bride got cold feet.

  “Plus, it took three times of Harrison proposing for you to say yes. How many men do you know that would have kept asking? He’s crazy about you. You have to make an honest man out of him. He’s been waiting a long time to marry you.”

  Kaye chuckled. “You’re right. What would I do without you?” She looked up at Jordan with bright eyes. Unfortunately, the rest of her usually beautiful face was a wreck. Around her blue eyes were dark smudges from the eye shadow and eyeliner she hadn’t washed off before going to sleep. Black stains from her runny mascara caked her cheeks. Vomit crusted her lip.

  “Oh girl. We have to get you cleaned up. Thank God the wedding isn’t until tonight.” Jordan chortled. “You look a hot mess.”

  Jordan covered her mouth when they both broke into peals of laughter. She leaned away from Kaye. “You have to brush your teeth, get some mouthwash or something, because your breath is horrible.”

  This only made them laugh harder. Once they could finally contain their giggles, Jordan left the bathroom to give Kaye some privacy.

  Checking the bedside clock, Jordan saw it was ten thirty. An hour and a half before the motor coach would be waiting to take them back to the city.

  “Kaye.” Jordan called out while she struggled into a pair of yoga pants. She finished pulling the black, stretchy pants up her legs and walked to the bathroom.

  Jordan knocked on the door. “Hey.”

  “Yeah?” Kaye’s muffled shout was nearly drowned out by the running shower.

  “I’m guessing breakfast at Heartland before we go is out of the question?” Jordan yelled at the door.

  Kaye answered with a groan. Jordan smiled knowingly and shook her head. She’d expected that response after Kaye had just puked her guts out.

  “I’ll just grab us some coffees from the Valentine’s Café down the street.”

  After shrugging on a sweatshirt, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her bronze skin looked a little dry. She applied some moisturizer, and finger combed her natural curls into a workable style. Turning this way and that, she checked herself out in the mirror. Not too shabby. Height-wise, she wasn’t quite as tall as Kaye. Jordan’s height was average, and she had curves for days. Satisfied with her appearance, she left their hotel room.

  The Sweetwater Inn was small, but they’d been able to book all of their rooms on the same floor. Before heading to the café, she knocked on her sister’s door, along with the other guests of the bachelorette party to wake them up. Some of the women were pure divas. If they didn’t get woken up now, they would be late getting on the bus.

  Exiting the inn, the first thing her gaze landed on was the town’s prized fountain that contained a life-size statue of the couple, Adele and Myron. Was it Myron? Something told her that wasn’t correct.

  She shoved her hands in the pouch on her sweatshirt and stood on the sidewalk looking at the stone likeness of the two kissing figures that had inspired the legend True Springs was famous for.

  Another minute passed, and then Jordan turned away and headed to the café. After ordering their coffees to go, she noticed in the cooler section next to the register were bottles of water. She picked one up and read the label: Love Water. The slogan scrawled in cursive on the pastel pink and blue label said, ‘True Love’s Magic Elixir.’

  Wow. They were really trying to sell you on this.

  Unlike all the other girls, Jordan purposely hadn’t drunk the water since they got here. She hadn’t bought into all that garbage about true love. It just sounded like BS to her, another way to make money.

  A patron rushed up to the register while she was still looking at the water. The guy dropped an armload of the Love Water on the counter. He sported a huge grin while he handed over his debit card to pay. The water really was a racket.

  After his departure, she turned the bottle over and over in her hands. The perspiration coated her fingers. What could it hurt if she tried it?

  “When in Rome…” She murmured to herself and walked back to the register and paid for the bottle. At that time, the coffees were ready as well. She collected everything and headed back to the hotel.

  While waiting to take a shower, Jordan drank the water. It didn’t make her feel any different. Was something magical supposed to happen? Rolling her eyes, she tossed the bottle and took a sip of her coffee.

  “Showers all yours.” Kaye emerged from the bathroom followed by a cloud of steam.

  Jordan gave her best friend, who was about to become a wife, a lop-sided smile. “The bus will be here soon.”

  A quick glance told her how much time they had left. “It’s an hour and a half back into the city. We’ll go straight to the venue and your glam squad will be waiting to make you into the most beautiful bride.”

  Kaye was bursting with excitement, her megawatt smile lit up her face. “I’m getting married,” she screamed before jumping up and down.

  Jordan was happy the unsure, skittish person that Kaye had woken up this morning had fled.

  The outdoor, night wedding on the rooftop of a New York City high rise, in the late spring was stunning. The balmy weather was perfect. Kaye and Harrison exchanging their vows earlier had left Jordan misty-eyed. When she plopped down in her chair after toasting the couple, she reached for a napkin to wipe away the happy tears.

  “Great speech, babe.” Josh, her long-time boyfriend leaned over and kissed her.

  Everyone was still clapping. Kaye leaned forward so she could see around Harrison. “Thank you.” She dabbed away tears, before reaching over and squeezing Jordan’s hand.

  Harrison stood. “I’m not sure how I’m going to top that.”

  Some people in the crowd chuckled. His fingers tapped against the champagne flute he held in his hands. “Some of you don’t know the story of how Kaye and I first met or the disaster that was our first date.”

  Jordan suppressed a giggle remembering that strange, but crazy night. She found her thoughts drifting to Conor, Harrison’s friend, that had been her date that night, and the memories turned sour.

  Josh entwined their fingers beneath the table, pulling her from her daydream. She pasted on a saccharine sweet smile and tuned back into Harrison’s toast.

  “I was so sure she wasn’t going to want anything to do with me after having to wash dishes to pay for our dinner, getting robbed at gunpoint and so many other misadventures…”

  People laughed.

  “But here we are…” Harrison looked down at Kaye and practically the whole room let out a collective sigh at bearing witness to their love.

  “Kaye, today you’ve made me the happiest man. I hope that I make you happy for the rest of our lives.” Harrison raised his glass into the air amid applause and shouts of joy.

  “To my beautiful wife.”

  Jordan raised her glass and toasted her best friend, before she drank down the contents in one gulp.

  The wedding planner must have given the DJ their cue because a ballad started playing.

  “We’d love any couples that are here to join us.” Harrison made the announcement before relinquishing the microphone to the DJ. Hand in hand, he and Kaye walked out onto the dance floor. For a while, everyone watched the two newlyweds sway back and forth to the music, even though they’d had their first dance as husband and wife earlier in the evening. Minutes later, couples began crowding the dance floor.

  “Wanna dance?” Josh stood while he asked the question. He wore a bright smile and offered her his hand.

  Jordan accepted. She let him guide them through the crowd, until they found a space. He pulled her in close, looping his arms together low on her hips.


  Her sisters, Elodie and Zoe, were a few feet away, dancing with a couple of the groomsmen.

  The wedding and the beautiful reception should have made her feel romantic, but it wasn’t. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what was bothering her.

  Leaning her head on Josh’s shoulder, she did her best to be in the moment. They moved slowly, rocking from side to side. Her gaze landed on Kaye and Harrison; they were lost in each other’s eyes. The way they looked at each other, Jordan was sure they probably felt like they were the only two people in the room. Harrison leaned down and gave Kaye a slow, lingering kiss that made Jordan feel like a voyeur.

  She looked in another direction and found her parents on the dance floor, swaying to the love song. They’d been married nearly thirty-five years and after all this time, they still seemed very much in love. The way her father was looking at her mother could rival Harrison and Kaye.

  The minute the thought entered her head she knew what was bothering her. Here she was in one of the most romantic settings, surrounded by all of these great examples and representations of real and passionate love that seemed to ooze from each couple. In her realization, it became clear she didn’t have that. No fire burned in her own relationship. There were no fireworks, no spark, no all-consuming passion.

  She hadn’t felt any of those things since… since New Year’s Eve night with Conor. This time she didn’t try and push him away when he entered her mind.