"Do you, Brena James, take Jared Sullivan to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked.

Brena stood facing her soon-to-be husband in a gorgeous white lace wedding gown. Her dark hair had been styled with curls to frame her face, hidden only slightly underneath her veil.

The congregation waited in anticipation for her answer. The whole time, Brena kept her gaze focused on Jared.

"I do."

Jared's grin widened, tears shining in his blue eyes.

The priest acknowledged Brena's response then turned to Jared. "And do you, Jared Sullivan, take Brena James to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I most certainly do," he replied, earning light laughter from the guests.

The priest closed his book. "I now pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Jared wrapped his arms around Brena's back and pressed her close to him. He leaned down and captured her lips against his in a passionate kiss that even I was jealous of. But my best friend was marrying her best friend, and I couldn't be happier for their fairytale ending. The room erupted into cheers and claps as the receding wedding march played in the background. I glanced over at Sydney who clapped and whistled loudly. She caught my gaze and winked.

"Yeah, get it girl!" I called out.

Brena and Jared broke away from each other, laughing. My best friend grabbed her now-husband's hand and together they walked toward the doors of the church. The rest of the bridesmaids and groomsmen followed after her.

"They're going to be so happy together," I said to Sydney as we walked next to each other back up the aisle.

"Yeah, they will be." She smiled. "Jared truly is a prince."

The wedding party made its way to the reception celebration hall. Sydney and I helped Brena change from her ornate gown to a simple, slim-fitting white dress that she'd picked out for the reception.

"Such a gorgeous ceremony," Mrs. James, Brena's mom, commented. She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

"Agreed." I smiled and went over to hug my best friend. "Mrs. Brena Sullivan. I like the sound of that."

Brena laughed. "Mrs. James-Sullivan. I'm hyphenating."

"Much to my protests," her mom chimed in from across the room. "Darling, it would be much simpler if you just take Jared's last name."

Brena rolled her eyes. "Thank you for that insight, mother. Anyway, how are you doing, Em?"

"I'm fine," I lied. "But today is all about you, bride."

She gathered me into a hug. "You'll have your happily ever after someday, Em. I promise."

"I know." I squeezed her arm. "Now, go out there on the dance floor and be with your amazingly wonderful husband."

It was a magical night for my best friend and her husband. I stood by her side for photos but otherwise kept my distance so that she could have her night. Sydney caught my gaze from across the celebration hall and strode over to me.

"Enjoying the party?" she asked, leaning against the wall with me.

I sipped my fruity cocktail. "Yes, of course. It's Brena's day, you know? She's so beautiful and happy with Jared. And I'm happy for both of them, but—"

"You're still angry at yourself for Fionn?" Sydney supplied.

I chewed on my straw in response.

"Then call him, Em," she said. She stuck out her hand toward me, gesturing to my purse for my phone. "Or I will."

What Sydney didn't know is that I had already called him, twice. But in those two times, I didn't know what to say. Granted, I got his voicemail both times but still the words wouldn't come out. What would I do if I called and he actually answered? I broke down any time I heard his voicemail or heard the laughter in his voice from the videos I had saved on my phone.

"I promise I'll call him," I replied. "But not today. C'mon, let's go dance." I took her hand and we walked over to the dance floor to join Brena and Jared.

I let myself get lost in the music, surrounded by my best friends.

Scotland was a wonderful break from reality, but now I was back on Earth with responsibilities and two jobs. Here we all were, all about to go on to different life experiences. Me to Scotland, Brena to married life, and Sydney to a shot with a fantastic dance company. The Bumble Bean would be losing two of its best baristas as we both went on to our new adventures, but I was pretty sure traveling the whole of Ireland and moving to California were much better opportunities.

I was 27 years old. It was time for a fresh start even though the only thing I desperately wanted was Fionn.

My phone vibrated in my purse. There was only one way to make things right between me and Fionn, and I knew what I had to do.

***

Dear Fionn, |

The cursor blinked in a mocking tone back at me as I stared at my computer screen and groaned loudly. This was hopeless! How was I supposed to tell Fionn how I felt if I couldn't even formulate the words for a simple email? Of course, the 'thank you' note I was trying to send was only a courtesy and really just to hide the fact that I wanted to tell Fionn so many other things.

It seemed so elementary.

My fingers hovered over the keys. Thank you for a wonderful few weeks.

No, no, no! I banged on the 'delete' key. What was I even trying to do?

A knock at my office door interrupted my misery.

"Come in!" I called out.

Liv poked her head through the doorway. "Hey, Em. I just wanted to come check on—what's been going on in here?" She gestured to the crumpled up balls of paper that littered the entire floor of my office.

I clutched my head in my hands. "Just my feeble attempts at writing a letter to, um, Fionn."

"Fionn." She rolled the name over her tongue. "The boy from Scotland?"

"Yeah." I lifted my head. "What do you need me to do? I need to get out of this office."

Liv beamed at me. "Why don't you just take a lap around the library? See if you can shelve some books and assist some customers?"

I nodded. "Sure thing." I pushed my chair back from my desk and left the office. The late afternoon sun warmed the inside of the library, giving off a beautiful essence of springtime slowly approaching. I wandered up and down the aisles of the library, running my fingers along the thick spines of the books and breathing in the scent of leather and parchment that I missed from my travels abroad.

I paused as my fingers hovered over a book sitting alone on an empty cart. The words, To Catch a Lover by Finley Maxwell screamed out at me.

Finley's newest book. But wait, how was it that we already had a shipment? Normally, it took weeks to months after a new book release—especially one for an international author—for our library to get in a shipment. But this one came out only a few days ago.

Open it, the voice in my head urged. Hesitantly, I picked up the book. A piece of paper fell out from the front cover, swaying in the air before it settled face down onto the ground. I crouched down to pick it up, my eyes widening at the words. My thumb instinctively rubbed the band of my claddagh ring.

Someone cleared their throat behind me and I jumped, turning to face them.

"F-Fionn," I breathed. My gaze landed on his face.

In one swift movement, he crossed the space between us and gathered me into his arms. I hugged him tightly to make sure he was real and breathed in his familiar scent. My pent-up anger melted away. In that moment, I didn't care about anything else but him.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I never should've left the way I did. Everything just got so messed up and you were perfect and I was an idiot and—"

Fionn stopped me, pressing his lips softly against mine. I felt the weight of my knees buckle beneath me, the final crash of an ocean wave as it dissolves against the sand. Fionn held me close while supporting my body with his hands.

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk?" he asked in a low voice.

I nodded, taking his hand and leading him to my office. With the door closed tightly, I perched on the edge of my desk.

Fionn grasped my hands in his, curling and uncurling our fingers together.

"So, the note," I said.

"Yeah, the note." He looked up at me expectantly. "It took me so long to figure out what to say and then I decided I couldn't just mail it because the mail gets lost sometimes and I couldn't afford for it to get lost and...well, I wanted you to know how I feel about you. I love you."

I cupped his face in my hands. "I love you, too, Fionn. I've known it for a while"—I gestured to my mess of an office as Fionn let out a soft chuckle—"and I'm so glad you're here so I can tell you in person because I've wanted to tell you since I left in January. Damn, you'd think as a writer this would come easier for me."

Fionn laughed, knocking my knees with his as he wedged himself between my legs. Heat pulsed through my body. He wove his fingers through my hair and dipped his head down so his lips grazed over mine. I opened my mouth, tugging him forward to let my tongue dance with his.

My fingers fumbled frantically with the buttons of his shirt, yanking the fabric from his waistband and pulling it off over his head.

"Em, wait," he breathed. "There's something else—before we get up to anything naughty—I need to tell you and I hope...I hope this'll be good news."

I stifled a giggle at his words but nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"

Fionn let out a sigh of what I hoped was relief. "I won't be coming to the US after all."

My eyes widened and my heart thundered in my chest. "What?"

"Turns out I did get accepted into the Germany program. My matchmaker of a sister hid the notice from me because after she found out about the US, thought that by taking away my Germany opportunity, you and I could be together in the states." He brushed my hair away from my face. "The good news of all of this is that not only is Germany closer to where you'll be than the US, but they liked my application so much, they've already given me a contract project. In Scotland."

"What?! Fionn, that's amazing!" I threw my arms around him. Gravity tried to betray us and we teetered backwards until Fionn jutted his hips and flipped us around so he was on the desk and I was straddling his lap.

He grinned. "It is, isn't it. It means we can be together without having to worry about thousands of miles between us. If you want to, that is."

I nodded and kissed him. "Absolutely. Fionn, whatever it takes, I want to be with you always. You are my home."

He kissed me back. "And you, mo grá—my love—are my safe space."

Laying naked in bed together that evening, I delicately ran my fingers over Fionn's arm, chest, face. I still worried that if I let go of him, he'd fade away like a dream. But all he did was claim my fingers with his, lift them to his soft lips and whisper in that husky, sexy voice I fell for, "I'm not going anywhere, mo grá."

We breathed in the air that the other breathed out. It had been too long.

As I gazed into his beautiful blue eyes, I thought about all of our adventures to come. Fionn would go back and forth between Germany and Scotland when needed, and I would be traveling across Scotland and Ireland. We already made plans for when Fionn could come meet me in Dublin and when I could meet him in Berlin.

Fionn drifted off to sleep and I grinned, kissing his cheek. After so much turmoil, we were finally together with nothing to get in our way. Jared, Brena, and Sydney had been right; Fionn and I found our way back to one another soon enough. We may have gotten lost along the way, but we just needed that final push, that last moment seen in the greatest romance novels, to return to where we knew—had always known—we belonged. Our love stuck like words on a page.

I was getting my fairytale love. I was going to have a happily ever after.

After all, I'd always been a sucker for a happy ending.

The End.