Page 85 of Beneath Pearly Irish Skies
“You know I will,” Ryan said. “And Carrick and Liam and all of us will. I’m going to Summercrest Manor tomorrow. Liam said he wanted to learn how to make a good cocktail to impress the ladies. He’s full of craic, that one.”
Kade smiled, tucking the ring into his palm. “You two stay in here and out of trouble.”
He traversed to the front of the house. The cottage’s door was slightly open. In his haste, he’d forgotten to close it. Megan stood in the moonlight in his hoodie, touching her short hair. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.
Crossing to her, he looked up as the clouds cleared, moonlight spilling onto the front yard. He took her hand and sank to his knee like he’d always imagined doing. The words were the easiest he’d ever spoken. They were from his heart. “Megan Bennet. I love you with all my soul. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and letting me be a husband to you and a father to your boy, whom I also love?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Of course I want to marry you.”
He nodded, his own throat thick with emotion. When he held out the ring to her, she pressed her fingers to her lips.
“This was my grandmother’s. The stone is small, but it was worn with love for nearly five decades. There’s a lot of wisdom in that ring. I thought it might suit you. But if you want another, you have only to say.”
“Oh, Kade,” she said, taking it carefully and pressing it to her chest. “I love it. I even feel… This is weird. I even feel like her wisdom is wrapping around me.”
His skin broke out in goose bumps because he felt it too. Taking the ring, he slid it onto her finger. “Around us,mo mhuirnín dílis. You should also know it doesn’t only mean my true love. It means my dearly beloved.”
She raised her hand to his face and whispered, “Mo mhuirnín dílis.”
Leaning down, he kissed her softly. Her arms came around him, and the scent of oranges danced in the air with that feeling of wisdom from his grandmother. Then they went inside to celebrate with the boy who was to become his son and the friend who had helped him find his heart. He didn’t have to think about which drink he would choose.
He picked up the White Lady and toasted Sorcha.
Then he toasted Ollie and Megan, who held an Irish Old Fashioned, which was only right, and lastly Ryan, who held the Maverick. Because that’s what his friend was.
They’d all found themselves through love, and that deserved to be toasted most of all.
