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“Sorry,” Maisie said halfheartedly. “We were…detained.”

Matthew looked at Finn, unamused. “I know exactly what that means.”

Finn happily grinned at Matthew’s continued stares.

“Calm down, honey,” Winnie said, patting his arm with a soothing touch. “We’ve barely been waiting five minutes.”

“And Cedric’s still busy, too,” Graham added, jutting his thumb over his shoulder.

Maisie looked to where he motioned, finding Cedric standing at the side of the pub, a crowd gathering around him as he took photos and signed jerseys and soccer balls—or footballs, as he was always sure to correct Maisie each time she called them anything else.

“Ah, his adorin’ fans,” Finn said.

“The man’s an idol,” Matthew joked. “Seems he’s back in their good graces.”

“I mean, can you blame them for fawning all over him?” Winnie asked. Then she leaned toward Maisie. “The man’s better looking than David Beckham in his prime.”

“Seriously,” Maisie mouthed out.

“I saw that,” Finn stated, staring down at Maisie with an accusatory look.

She smiled innocently. “It’s okay, honey. I like my men much less muscular,” she said, then she wrapped her arm around his and squeezed.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Finn questioned.

Matthew guffawed, and Maisie reached up to kiss Finn on his cheek, though he turned in time to catch her lips instead.

“Here he comes,” Graham said as Cedric approached.

However, in the next minute, Cedric was stopped again, this time by a father and his son who couldn’t be older than four.

Maisie watched with a smile as Cedric ignored everyone else vying for his attention and crouched down low, speaking with the little boy before signing his mini jersey.

“Oh my gosh, he’s so sweet,” Winnie said.

“Okay,” Matthew said, taking Winnie’s arm and playfully turning her away. “Finn, we need to get our ladies out of here before they leave us both for Ced.”

A few minutes later, Cedric finally managed to break away, and the six of them entered the pub where they enjoyed good food and conversation for the next several hours as they touched every topic possible—Matthew’s sister’s engagement, Graham’s latest skydiving experience, Winnie’s visit back home, and Maisie’s menu for the restaurant.

“How’s the restaurant coming along?” Winnie asked next.

“Fine, luckily. We’re scheduled to open on time. You all will have to find a way to make it there when it’s done. I’ll be sure to set aside a table for you.”

“On Ced’s dime,” Graham joked.

“I’m good for it,” he teased back with a smirk.

Maisie couldn’t think of anything nicer than to have them all see the hard work she and Daphne had put into Soups of Europe. Construction was nearly complete, and a chef had been hired, so Maisie had been enjoying taste-testing all the cuisine she’d sampled for months across Europe.

What was even better than eating, however, was the fact that her relationship with Daphne had improved leaps and bounds after her aunt had finally let down her guard and gotten to know Finn.

The two hit it off wonderfully, thanks to Finn’s naturally charming nature, and Maisie had been relieved to finally have her aunt back. Daphne, of course, was still working on accepting Maisie’s new dreams of being with Finn, but the support she extended to Maisie had finally freed her.

She and Finn still hadn’t spoken with Daphne about what the far future held for them, but they didn’t need to share that just yet. Their love for each other was stronger than time and distance, so until the two of them were ready to move to the next step, they were going to enjoy simply being.

The conversation continued to shift, moving to Finn’s family next.

“How’s your dad, Finn?” Matthew asked.