“I don’t care. It’s time for me to make my own way in the world. I’ve met a man. I’m in love and I’m happy.”

“This is about a man? You’re quitting your job for a man?”

“No,” Jordan said. “I’m quitting my job because I need to find a place where my talents are appreciated.”

“Oh, we’re not going to get into all that warm fuzzy stuff. We don’t do that here. I don’t run around telling my employees how wonderful they are. That’s not the way I run things.”

“Maybe you should. People might not think you’re such a jerk.”

“You don’t have any loyalty to me?”

“You’re my father and I will always love you. But as a boss, you kind of suck. I’ve worked my ass off here and I deserved more than you gave me. But that’s all water under the bridge. I just want you to give me your blessing and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“What is this really about?” he asked. “What happened to you in Ireland?”

“Perspective,” she said. “I got some perspective. I realized that there’s a lot more to life than work. And I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff.”

“I don’t like ultimatums,” her father muttered, wagging his finger at her.

“I’m not giving you an ultimatum. I’ve made my decision, Daddy.” She stood up. “I’m going back to Ireland in a few days. I’d like to come out and see you and Mom this weekend. I expect I’m going to have to explain everything to her.”

“She’s going to kill me, you know. She’ll blame me for letting you go.”

“I’ll tell her that it wasn’t you.” She walked around his desk and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for everything. For the job. For the opportunity. I really am grateful.” She slowly straightened to find him smiling at her. “What?”

“You used to hug me like that when you were little. I liked it. I still do.”

Jordan smiled, then walked to the door. She gave her father a wave, then strode down the hall toward her office. Right now, she wanted to find a quiet place to call Danny. And after she was done talking to him, she’d clean out her office, pack up her apartment and figure out how to get her things to Ireland.

She found Marcy, her assistant, flipping through a sheaf of papers on her desk. “You’re back,” Marcy said. She stared at her for a long moment. “You look different. Have you lost weight?”

“Actually, I’ve gained ten pounds,” Jordan said. “I think it looks good on me, what do you think?”

“I think you look…happy.”

“I am,” she said. “I just quit my job. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get reassigned and get a really big raise. But I need you to do one last thing for me. Book a flight to Ireland. Make it for Sunday, if you can. I have to go out and visit my parents tomorrow.”

“You’re going back to Ireland so soon? Is everything all right? Did something happen with the job over there?”

“Something did happen.” Jordan smiled. “I met this incredible Irishman named Danny Quinn. And I’m madly in love with him.”


JORDAN GROANED SOFTLY, then sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. She picked up her pillow and punched it, then finally tossed it on the floor. She’d been trying to go to sleep for the past hour, desperate to at least get some rest before she had to face her mother in the morning.

She wanted to look fresh and beautiful and unimaginably happy when she saw her parents. Not tired and haggard and grumpy. Quitting her job had really been the easy part. Explaining to her mother why she couldn’t marry one of the suitable bachelors available on the east coast would be the difficult part.

She’d tried calling Danny three times, but his voice mail had picked up each time. She’d started to worry that he’d changed his mind about her, that leaving had been a critical mistake. Jordan had even thought about calling the pub, for they’d know where he was. But in the end, she’d decided to give it another day and try him in the morning.

She imagined her homecoming in Ballykirk. She’d surprise him at the smithy. He’d be all hot and dirty and she’d throw herself into his arms and admit that she’d fallen in love with him and would never leave him again. And then they’d kiss and their life together would begin.

Occasionally, she’d think about a more gloomy scenario, still nagged by tiny slivers of doubt. She’d return, knock on his cottage door and find some gorgeous, half-naked woman in his bed.

Saying “I love you” was going to be a risk, but Jordan had decided that it was well worth it. After all, she’d taken the biggest risk of all-quitting her job and uprooting her entire life. How much scarier could things get?

She reached over and turned off the lamp and closed her eyes. But the buzzer at her door brought her upright. She scrambled out of bed and hurried to the front door of her apartment to answer the doorman’s summons.

“Yes?”

“Miss Kennally, it’s Arnie. I have a man down here who insists on seeing you. I told him that you were probably sleeping, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Her father. He’d obviously broken the news to her mother and now had come to try to convince her to stay. She’d half expected her mother to call her by now. Jordan considered refusing him entrance, but maybe it was better to talk to him. In truth, she was starting to feel a bit guilty. “I’ll be right down,” Jordan said.

She hurried back to the bedroom and grabbed her robe, then walked to the elevator. As she descended, she smiled to herself. For the first time in her life, she felt like a grown-up. She’d made a decision for herself and she was happy about it. Sure, she’d miss her work, but she was setting out on a whole new chapter in life.

The elevator doors opened in front of her and her breath caught in her throat. A disheveled Danny Quinn waited for her. A gasp slipped from her lips and she rubbed her eyes. This couldn’t be right. What was he doing here?

“Hi,” he said, shifting back and forth on his feet.

Jordan stepped out and looked around the empty lobby. Arnie sat at his desk, watching her surreptitiously. “What are you doing here?”

“I just have to say something and then I’ll go if you want. I’m not sure that I really made things clear before you left.”

“You flew all the way here to say something to me?”

“Yes. I didn’t really get a chance to say it the right way. And then when I realized that, I followed you to the airport, but you had already boarded your plane and they wouldn’t let me get on and talk to you. So I bought a ticket, but then our plane had to stop in Iceland because of mechanical problems. And when I got here, I realized that I didn’t have your address, so it took me a while to track that down, but-”

“You’re here,” Jordan murmured, with a smile.

“When you left, everything was happening so fast and I know we didn’t get the chance to really say all the things we wanted to. I was trying to act like it was no big deal. And then, after you left, I thought, what if she doesn’t come back.”

“I have a ticket for Sunday, Danny. I tried to call you and let you know. I’m all packed.”

“Really?” he asked, a smile breaking across his face.

“Really,” she said.

He reached out and smoothed his hand along her arm. “Does this mean I get to touch you anytime I want, and I can kiss you and lie next to you and wake up with you in my arms every day?”

“Definitely,” Jordan said. “I’ve been trying to sleep and I can’t because you’re not there.” She paused. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“And what about your job and your family? Won’t you miss all that?”

“Of course I will. But it won’t matter. I think I was throwing myself into work because I didn’t have anything better to do with my time. But now, all I want to do is spend my days and nights loving you.”

“You want to live in Ireland?”

She nodded.

He yanked her into his arms and kissed her deeply, his hands furrowing through her hair as he molded her mouth to his. And as Jordan lost herself in the wave of sensation that washed over her body, she realized that she couldn’t live without him. His strength…his affection…his smile…

When Danny drew back, he glanced over her shoulder. “Can we maybe find someplace more private to talk? This really isn’t the kind of thing that should happen in the lobby.”

Jordan grabbed his hand and pulled him to the elevator. They stepped inside and she pushed the button for her floor. As soon as the door closed, Danny turned around and faced her, his gaze searching her face.

“I have something for you. But maybe I shouldn’t do it here.”

“What? You brought me a present?”

“I don’t know if you’ll want it. You might not even like it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring, a beautiful antique ring with a small ruby set in a Victorian filigree.

“It was my great-grandmother’s,” he said. “My mum gave it to me when I told her that I was coming to see you.” He drew a deep breath. “I promise that I will do everything in my power to make our lives together perfect.”

The elevator door opened and Danny winced. “I should have waited. This isn’t romantic.”

Jordan laughed. “Oh, yes, it is.” She took his hand and drew him out of the elevator. “Keep going. I’m listening.”

“In the hallway?”

“All right.” She ran ahead to her apartment door and by the time she got it unlocked he was behind her, his hands wrapped around her waist.

“Here?” she asked.

“No,” he said, glancing around her apartment. He pointed to the sofa in the living room. “There.”

When she was finally seated, Danny knelt in front of her. “All right. Here it is. Jordan, I love you. I think I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. I know I fell in love with you the moment I kissed you.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed, her hands clutched in her lap. Jordan tried to maintain a calm facade, but her heart was beating so hard it felt as though it might burst out of her chest.