Love and Shenanigans (Ballybeg, Book 1) (The Ballybeg Series) by Zara Keane Page B

happened.”
    “Remember when Muireann and her pals came to stay during my year in Flagstaff, Arizona?”
    “Uninvited, if I recall correctly.”
    “Yeah. You know Muireann. She showed up with Gavin, the twins, and a couple of other lads in tow. She wasn’t going out with Gavin yet, but it was only a matter of time. They stayed in the Flagstaff area for a few days and planned a trip to the Grand Canyon.”
    “And didn’t invite you.” Olivia finished her thought.
    “Of course not. It was kind of embarrassing. My host family let me have the weekend free to spend with them, and they took off without me.”
    “Sounds like the Muireann we know and love,” Olivia said dryly. “How did this all lead to you, Gavin, and a dude in an Elvis suit?”
    “I’m getting there, Liv. Bear with me. Anyway, they’d been gone a couple of hours when I got a call from Gavin. He’d realized I’d been left behind against my will and told Muireann and the others to go on without him. They’d left him somewhere along Route 64. He called me to come collect him because he was stranded.”
    “And muggins complied.” Olivia shook her head. “Thank goodness you’ve developed backbone in the intervening years.”
    “Oy! Do you want me to finish telling the story, or not?”
    Olivia picked up her mug of tea. “Sorry. Go on.”
    “I collected Gavin. He was in a pisser of a mood. I asked if he wanted us to drive to the Grand Canyon. He said no. Didn’t want to run the risk of running into Muireann and the others until he’d had time to calm down. He wanted to know what I planned to do with my weekend off. I said I was toying with the idea of heading to Vegas but wasn’t sure I had the nerve to go on my own.”
    “Ha! So says the woman about to embark on a world trip alone.”
    Fiona gave a wry smile. “We’re talking about twenty-one-year-old me. The idea of walking into a restaurant on my own terrified me. A bar or casino? Forget it.”
    “And Gavin oh-so-conveniently suggested he accompany you?”
    “Yeah. I was shocked, to be honest. Also a little excited. I’d always had a crush on Gavin, but it was clear Muireann was making a play for him, and Muireann always gets what she wants. I didn’t seriously think anything would happen between us that weekend, but I was willing to go and have a laugh.”
    “By the look of that photo, you had more than a laugh.”
    “Put it this way—turns out Long Island iced tea contains five shots of alcohol. Who knew?”
    “Oh, dear,” Olivia said with a laugh. “How many did you down?”
    “I lost count after the third.”
    Olivia winced. “Ouch.”
    “Indeed. I vaguely recall chatting to a drunk Elvis impersonator in a bar. Either we bought him a drink, or he bought us a round. He’d lost his job and his wife had kicked him out. Anyway, he told us he’d worked as a wedding officiant at a local chapel until they fired him a couple of weeks before. We thought this was funny. With the alcohol flowing, we thought everything was funny.
    “Drunk Elvis started going on about the number of couples he’d married and how he always knew whether they’d last. He said he could see we were the real deal, and we should definitely tie the knot. At first, it was all a drunken joke. But the more we drank, the more convinced Gavin became that we should do it.”
    “Wow. How drunk was he?”
    “Very. If even I noticed he was hammered, he had to be in a state.” Fiona began to pace. “Drunk Elvis offered to do us a special offer on the ceremony. He’d say a few words, sing a song, and we’d sign the papers. I don’t know why I went along with it. It was insane. For a moment, I actually hoped Gavin would fall in love with me.”
    “And that didn’t happen,” Olivia said.
    “No. We had sex. That much I remember. I also remember it was fantastic, but I digress.”
    “Digress all you want,” Olivia said. “I’m intrigued.”
    “You can stay intrigued. You’re getting no details out of