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

CHAPTER TWENTY

Keira and Shane lost themselves in the music. They danced like it was their last night on earth.

"Would you like some wine?" Shane asked.

But Keira shook her head. She didn't want fuzzy memories of this evening. She wanted to remember every second in sharp clarity. Plus, she was drunk enough on love as it was.

"I do want a picture though," Keira said.

She'd been so busy taking pictures of signs of strange town names and sheep's behinds she realized she hadn't taken any photographs of the things that mattered, like Shane, and Orin, and William. That's what she wanted to preserve from her time here, the people, their faces, not a bunch of comical photographs.

"Here," Shane said, taking her camera. He tapped the man dancing next to him on the shoulder. "Could you take a picture of us?"

The man agreed and Keira posed next to Shane. Just as the flash went off on the camera, Shane grabbed her and planted a huge, wet smacker on her lips. When he released her, Keira burst out laughing and smacked him.

"I want a proper one!" she cried. "One where I can see your gorgeous face." Then to the man who'd taken it, she asked, "Another, please!"

This time Shane put his arm around her and posed properly. When the man handed back her camera, Keira looked at the two pictures. Both filled her with such joy. In the first Shane's cheeky spirit was captured perfectly. That he'd caught her off guard with his sneaky kiss attack seemed very apt to Keira, representing so perfectly the way he'd knocked her off her feet with his love. In the second picture they both looked so happy and loved up, it looked like they were a real couple. Keira didn't quite recognize herself in the photo. She'd never looked so happy before.

"I want a million pictures," Keira said. "A whole album's worth to make up for the time we lost. In as many locations as possible."

Shane seemed excited by the challenge. He clasped her hand and led her through the crowds to Orin's pub. They took several pictures with the bar man. Then Shane joined the band of musicians playing folk songs in the corner and played along with them on the fiddle. Keira snapped photo after photo, her insides feeling all gooey at the sight of her man on stage like that. She never thought anyone could make the fiddle look sexy and yet somehow Shane managed it.

Shane finished the song and leapt back down, sweeping Keira up in his arms.

"Where next?" he asked.

"William's," Keira replied.

They hurried off, hand in hand, running down the cobbled streets.

"It's a full moon," Shane said. "Let's get a selfie."

Laughing, they both stopped in the middle of the street and turned so that the moon was hanging perfectly between them. Then they snapped a photo before running off in the direction of William's.

As they went, Keira realized that she had truly become one of them. Before, she'd been sitting in her room in the B&B looking down at people like her and Shane with disdain. She realized now that it had actually been jealousy. She'd wanted what they had all along but couldn't admit it to herself. It was easier to lie to herself and pretend she looked down on them, when all along she was filled with envy. Now that she was on the other side she felt carefree, filled with joy.

They made it to William's office and took pictures of the cupids on the walls outside, pulling silly poses. In one, Keira made it look as though she were cradling a cupid like a baby. In another, Shane mimicked the arrow-shooting pose of another. The results were hilarious.