Page 20 of A Billionaire Abroad

Maybe she’d read too much into things. They’d had fun, and they’d become friends. The kisses and hand-holding, maybe that didn’t mean as much in Ireland as she thought.

Then again, what could have even come of it? As Conall had said, the Atlantic was a big ocean. It wasn’t like they were going to see each other again. Cutting off everything abruptly was probably smart. It hurt now, but it would be easier in the long run. She hoped.

She pulled out her phone again, telling herself she wasn’t checking for a text. She was, though.

Nothing.

Her flight didn’t leave for over an hour. She had almost no time left in Dublin. And she was spending it sitting alone. She should have gone more places and seen more things, instead of wasting so much time worrying about what Sterling would think about her work ethic and dedication.

She should have gone with Conall to see all the things he’d told her about. There would have been time. And maybe the friendship between them would have grown into something more. And maybe he would have said goodbye. Maybe.

Walking around might distract her a little while she waited to board. She pulled her wheeled under-seat bag along behind her as she began a circuit of the small seating area.

Not many steps along, she swore she heard her name. She looked around but didn’t see anyone. Then she heard it again, behind her.

She turned back. Conall was rushing toward her.

Every ounce of air rushed from her lungs. Every thought fled except one: Conall was there.

By the time he reached her, she’d found her voice. “How did you—? Why did they let you back here?” Then she spotted his carry-on slung over his shoulder. “You’re flying.”

He smiled that uneven smile of his and shrugged a little. “I’ve never been to New York.”

Her heart leaped in her chest. “You’re coming to New York?”

“Thought I might.”

He was coming to America. “On my flight?”

“I figure we can convince someone to switch seats with one of us.”

“You’re coming to New York.”

“It’s a big ocean, Keighley,” he said. “But there’s something here, between the two of us. Something I’m not ready to let go of. I figure I’d rather be on the same side of that ocean as you while we sort out what it is.”

Her grin only grew. “I thought, when you didn’t even text this morning to say goodbye . . .”

“I’ve been working to figure out what flight you were on, and getting myself on it, and getting things together to be gone for a while, and I—” He laughed. “And it’s more romantic to just show up, I figured. A grand gesture, yah?”

“It’s amazing.” She didn’t think she would ever stop smiling. “You’re coming to New York.”

“Honestly”—he slipped his arm around her—“I’m just coming toyou.Wherever you’re going.”

She set her hand against his chest. “Let’s cross an ocean, Conall. I think that’s a good start.”

He bent his head toward her but paused mere inches away. “I’m not a billionaire, you know.”

“That’s a very good thing for you,” she said, “because I have no intention of ever falling for a billionaire.”

On that declaration, she kissed him, right there in the airport, in Dublin, in the country she’d always wanted to visit, where she’d met him, and where everything had changed. For the better.

Bonus Epilogue

Keighley had come to know Dublin very well over the past year. But she’d come to know Conall even better. She’d visited him a few times. He’d visited her. They’d even made a trip to Arizona so he could meet her family. And, through it all, he’d proven even more incredible than he’d been while planning the event for Sterling Westcott.

She’d landed in Dublin only a couple of hours earlier, which had given her enough time to get to the city center and grab lunch from her favorite Cornish pasty shop. It was an unusually sunny day, so she ate her midday meal on a bench in St. Stephen’s Green, which was teeming with people soaking up the rare rays.

Keighley snapped a picture and texted it to Conall so he’d know where to meet her. That had become a fun game between them. Whenever they arrived for a visit in the other person’s city, they’d send a selfie, and the one hosting was charged with figuring out where they were. Conall was better at it than shewas; he’d grown up in his host city, but she was comparatively new to hers.