Ireland is Where the Heart’s at 1/?
Lovely art by @teamhook
Summary: When Emma’s four year anniversary comes and goes without an engagement ring she decides to take matters into her own hands. When she follows her beau to Dublin and ends up on the wrong side of Ireland, she has to rely on a surly local to help her get across the country before her deadline.
A/N: This is my offering for the CSMM. This is my version/retelling of the movie Leap Year. I believe this fic will be four parts, but time will tell as I continue to work on it. I can’t guarantee a regular updating schedule, as I continue to work on this fic and my other WIP’s around real life. I hope you all enjoy this ride with me. Art from the lovely @kmomof4 over on the teaser post here. Today’s art posted here was made by the ever lovely @teamhook.
ALL the love to my amazing beta @ultraluckycatnd without her help and support this fic wouldn’t even be this far along.
Rated M for language
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Chapter 1
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Emma’s sitting on a barstool in the dirty, dingy pub her dad has picked out, waiting for him to show up, because naturally he’s late. As she’s sitting there, she thinks back to the apartment she staged this morning; she feels a sense of pride in her work, and is delighted to know that multiple offers have already been submitted.
Thinking about the interview she and Graham had over lunch with the admitting board to the Prestigious Davenport Apartments, there is a very good feeling about their chances lodged in her chest like a beacon of hope because she has lived in Boston her entire life, and has always dreamed of living there. Thankfully, she has found somebody who shares that dream and as she had assured the board earlier, they will not find two people more in sync with their exceptionally high standards.
An incoming call from Ruby pulls her from her thoughts. “Hey, Rubes.”
“Oh, Emma, this is gonna blow your mind!”
Entertained by her best friend’s excitability and theatrics, Emma has to ask, “What’d you buy?”
“A lot, I got a lot, but that’s not it. l wanted to tell you something. Guess who I saw coming out of DePrisco’s?”
“Who?”
“Graham!” That revelation was definitely surprising.
“You did? When?”
“On the way to meet Victor. The cab was stuck in traffic and I looked over, and he’s walking out of the store carrying that little red bag.”
“The bag,” Emma says, in awe and disbelief.
“There’s only one reason people go into DePrisco’s. You’re gonna have a better engagement ring than me, you big jerk!”
“Oh my God!”
“Did you know?”
“No. l mean, l did put his name on the mailing list a couple months ago hoping he’d get the hint, but…”
Ruby’s excitement bubbles over causing her to cut Emma off, as Ruby is practically yelling, “Oh! He got the hint! l think he got the hint!” Emma had to pull the phone away from her ear, trying to retain the ability to hear, once Ruby is done screeching. She almost missed the rest of what her best friend said. “You’re gonna have to work on your surprised face so he doesn’t know that you already know.”
“What’s wrong with my surprised face?”
“Honey, you don’t have a good one, even when you are actually surprised. But the good news is, you have time to practice between now and then.” Ending the call with Ruby, Emma thinks back to her last conversation with Graham this afternoon, after the interview.