Love Like This (The Romance Chronicles-Book #1)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The drive back to Lisdoonvarna was a heart-wrenching affair for Keira. She kept playing over in her head the meeting with Shane, feeling uncertain and confused. She felt like he'd given up on her, like he'd fallen at the first hurdle. Or was she just reading into the situation what she wanted? Maybe Shane hadn't had the heart to break it to her that he didn't feel the same way and had just used her flight home tomorrow as an excuse. He hadn't said the exact words, "I love you," after all.

The darkening sky matched Keira's mood. As she drove along the winding streets, her heart grew heavier and heavier. She wished she hadn't left it so long to act on her feelings for Shane. And she wished she'd thrown out the article as soon as she'd started falling for him. She'd set herself up to fail, set their relationship a trap that was only ever going to be walked right into. She'd messed it all up, left it too late. In some ways the closeness was more unbearable than if Shane had flat out refused her.

She reached the outskirts of Lisdoonvarna to find the streets filled with people. It was the last day of the festival and people were clearly up for making the most out of it. She briefly toyed with the idea of honking her horn to force them to move, but there were so many people it would be futile. Instead, she slowed her car and crawled along behind them, feeling like she'd replaced her wooly sheep blockade with a tipsy human one. It was just her luck that when all she wanted to do was get into bed and hide she was surrounded by people.

People started to knock on her window and cheer at her, singing songs in their drunken joy. Keira felt the absolute opposite. While their festival had ended in love and romance, hers had ended in heartbreak.

She inched along the road, moving at a snail's pace. No one seemed in a hurry to get anywhere. She passed the troubadour and a group of people dancing around him, then inched past a stall selling street food. She realized as she went how much she would miss this place. It wasn't just Shane she'd fallen in love with, it was Ireland. The thought of returning to New York City filled her with dread.

As she reached the main road, she saw that huge banners had been strung up across the street announcing the final dance of the festival. It was an all-night party. Keira realized with a groan that she would be kept up all night and she knew from experience that sleep deprivation would make her black mood even worse.

She noticed in the small cobbled town square that there was a stage set up, with a sparkly backdrop and two red velvet thrones. A microphone stood in the middle of the stage, and a large crowd of people were clustered together in front of it, clutching drinks in their hands and looking expectant. Keira saw there was a sign at the top of the stage. It read: Mr. Lisdoonvarna and The Queen of the Burren. She frowned, confused.

Just then, everyone in front of the stage erupted into applause, and a huge crowd of people surged forward, stopping Keira in her tracks. She was completely surrounded. There was literally no way through. Her car had been entirely blocked in, as if it were just another spectator to whatever was about to go down on the stage.

She sighed, resigned, and wound down her window. May as well hear what was going on, she reasoned.

To her surprise, it was William who took to the stage. He had smartened up for the occasion in a shimmery suit. The crowd started chanting, "Matchmaker! Matchmaker!" William waved humbly, like a celebrity in front of dedicated fans. He was carrying his huge matchmaker's book. Behind him, his flame-haired receptionist, Maeve, followed him onto the stage. She looked like a glamorous assistant in a sparkling emerald dress.

William walked up to the microphone. "It is the moment you have all been waiting for!" he called out. "The announcement of this year's most eligible bachelors, the crowning of Mr. Lisdoonvarna and the Queen of the Burren."