We had a few days left in Ireland before we needed to fly back to London but having stayed in County Mayo for almost three days, surrounded by Keira's family, I was ready to head to Dublin to catch up with some old friends. 

While I'd only lived in the city for two years, I'd grown close to a few of the guys I was in school with, so whenever I came over, I tried to catch up with them over a few pints of Guinness. Keira was also excited about seeing her oldest friend, Aoife O'Shae, and they'd made plans to hit up Brown Thomas together, giving me time to roam the city on my own. 

Naturally, we were staying at the Delaney in Dublin, despite the fact that Keira's parents lived south of the city. Keira hated staying with them, reasoning that we couldn't have sex whenever we wanted because her mom wouldn't approve. I always laugh when she says this; Keira's supposed to the family rebel, not caring what other people think about her or her actions, yet she's always had some sort of complex about sharing a room under her parent's roof. I thought she would worry more about what her grandmother would say since Harlow Delaney is one scary woman but we slept in the same room while in County Mayo and Harlow didn't even bat an eyelid or pass a comment on the matter. 

Still, I don't question Keira about her decision and just go with the flow. After checking into the hotel, Keira gets ready to meet Aoife, rushing off to the shower while I recline on the bed. Once I hear the shower running, I sit up and grab my cell phone, scrolling through the list of contacts to find the one I need. Hitting the green call button, I wait for my call to be answered. 

"What's the craic?" Aoife O'Shae's voice crackles down the line. "Is the coast clear?"

"Yeah, she's in the shower now," I say, lowering my voice to a whisper just in case Keira's batlike hearing catches me talking on the phone. "Can we just go over the plan one more time?"

I hear Aoife sigh dramatically. "I don't think we need to. It's pretty straightforward. Make sure that Keira gets a red dress."

"Yeah, but it has to be a bright red, ok?" I say, going over my instructions a final time. "Not a deep red or a burgundy red, but real red. It has to be long and if it can be backless, that would be even better. I want it to look as similar to the dress she wore on the night we met as possible."

"Logan, you're starting to sound like you don't trust me with this mission," Aoife accuses me. To be honest, I didn't trust her but she was my only ally in all this so I had to go out on a limb and trust her a little. "I will make sure she looks perfect, ok? I think you're forgetting that I saw her all dressed up the night you met. Look, I have to go but don't worry, yeah?"

A few minutes after the call ended, Keira came into the bedroom, water dripping off her. She walked about in her robe, talking to herself in the way she usually did before she lifted her eyes to meet mine, her typical deer-caught-in-the-headlights look sweeping across her face. I love how she still gets embarrassed when she realizes I've been listening to her random mutterings even though I am more than used to it. 

Laughing at how her cheeks flush bright red, I jump off the bed and go over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her to me. "You are way too adorable," I tell her, staring down into her eyes. She no longer wears colored contacts to hide her real eye color, which I'm thankful for because I love seeing her one brown and one blue eye. It makes her unique. "I'm going to meet the guys at McCarthy's. I'll meet you back here for dinner tonight?"

With a quick kiss, I grab my things and leave the hotel, making my way through Dublin to the familiar bar that Ruairi always makes us drink at. As usual, I arrive last only to find a pint of the black stuff waiting for me. Sláinte, Eoin practically sings as we clink our glasses and start drinking. 

"So," Tadhg, the fourth amigo in our group of school-friends, said, turning to look at the others before moving his gaze back at me. His accent was the heaviest out of the three but I learned to understand him when he spoke. Just. "Not that I don't like seeing you but why are you back in Dublin in April? We don't usually have to see your ugly mug until June, at the earliest."

I roll my eyes at the terrible banter Tadhg has. "I'm taking Keira to a party up at the American Embassy tomorrow," I announce. The three men all smirk. "Oh, shut up."

"Does this have something to do with this?" Eoin asks, placing a box on the table and pushing it towards me. "Sinead's been working on it for weeks but won't let me see what's inside."

Sinead is Eoin's girlfriend whose family own an exclusive jewelry store in Dublin and the woman I'd commissioned to make Keira's engagement ring. Just as I'd done with Aoife, I had very specific instructions for Sinead when it came to the ring I wanted. Originally, I wanted a ruby diamond because I believe that red is most definitely Keira's color but then Sinead reminded me that it wouldn't pop if Keira ever wore a red clothing so I had to ixnay that idea. I then thought about emeralds since Ireland is known as the Emerald Isle, only I know Keira's cousin has an emerald engagement ring and so it wouldn't be unique. My final suggestion was sapphires but blue is Keira's least favorite color, so I was back at base in terms of ideas. 

Eventually, Sinead came to the rescue and designed a ring that was unique to Keira and me. Opening the box, I stared down at the black velvet ring box inside, suddenly getting nervous at seeing the ring I was to present to Keira. Opening the ring box, I stare down at the jewelry and grin. 

"Well, if she says 'no' at least I'll know it's because she doesn't want to marry me," I laugh. "Because this ring is beautiful."