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“But…I’ll be alone for two weeks,” Maisie continued.

“Not really,” Daphne said. “It sounds like the group is super nice. They’ll have no problem keeping you company.”

Maisie held her tongue, thoughts of Finn frolicking through her mind. She’d had the best time with him today. Leaving would mean she never got to see him again. Staying meant that she would get the chance to know him better—to enjoy more time with him.

But how could she rely on perfect strangers to keep her from feeling lonely? She wasn’t going to encroach on everyone else’s vacations just because she was being ditched.

She gave her head a little shake. Not ditched. That sort of negative thinking wasn’t going to help either of them. Daphne had to do this for the restaurant to succeed.

“I dunno,” Maisie mumbled.

“There’s no point in protesting anymore,” Daphne said. “I’ve made up my mind. Anyway, like I said, you still have work to do. You only found one item for the menu here, and we have to have at least four more ideas, so there’s nothing else to be done.” She smiled encouragingly. “It’s time for us to divide and conquer. We’ve spent months together. Now you can continue doing your favorite part—sampling food and setting up the menu—and I’ll be able to do my favorite part—whipping ridiculous men into shape so they don’t dare remove their investments.”

She gave a challenging smile, and Maisie laughed. She had no doubt in her mind that Daphne would accomplish her goals. And honestly, if today had proven anything, Maisie knew she, herself, would be fine on her own, too.

But two weeks was different than a single day.

“What if I just took an Uber around to all the restaurants I have on my list?” she suggested. “I’d be done in half the time, then.”

Daphne pulled a face. “And miss out on the sites you’ve wanted to see for years? No, you take the bus tour, see all the sites, visit the restaurants you can get to, and have the time of your life. Anyway, I don’t want to lose money on two payments for the tour.”

That made sense. Honestly, her whole plan made sense. Still, Maisie wanted to make sure Daphne was taken care of.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to go back with you?”

Daphne raised her eyebrows. “I know how you are with business, Maisie. You’re hopeless.”

Maisie laughed at her blunt words. Blunt—and so very true.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Daphne continued. “Obviously I’m going to miss you like crazy, but we’ve got the rest of our lives to run this business together. What’s two weeks apart, right? Just don’t go falling in love with this place so deeply that you don’t want to come back.”

She ended with an easy laugh, but Maisie looked away and faced the sea. The waves in front of her, the dark skies above, the green hills behind—they all called out to her, beckoning her heart closer and entangling her soul in their webs of ethereal beauty.

She couldn’t leave them. Not yet. Because truth be told, she’d already fallen in love with Northern Ireland.

Hope wrapped itself around her like a warm hug, and her lips curved. “Okay,” she breathed with a sigh. “I guess…I’ll stay, then.”

As soon as the words were spoken aloud, the reality of the situation settled around her. Sure, she was nervous with Daphne not being with her. But with how busy her aunt had been over the last few months, how much of a difference would it make anyway?

“Perfect,” Daphne said, clearly pleased with her powers of coercion. “The only thing I want is to receive a full download from you at the end of each day, okay?”

Maisie nodded. “You got it.”

Daphne beamed. “Excellent. I already can’t wait to hear the updates.” She leaned in. “And that includes anything that happens between you and that tasty tour guide.”

She winked, though just as Maisie expected, a flicker of fear shone in her aunt’s eyes.

“Okay,” Maisie said.

“I mean, you do think he’s cute, right?” Daphne urged, clearly trying to get a read on Maisie’s feelings.

“Yeah, I do,” Maisie replied, and Daphne’s lip twitched. “But he’s just the tour guide here. And that’s all he is to me.”

Daphne nodded with a smile, though she chewed her lowered lip aggressively.

Maisie’s heart reached out to her. She understood her aunt’s fear—had seen it the second Daphne had looked down at Finn when she’d first come over on the bridge. But there was nothing to be afraid of.

With outstretched arms, she reached for Daphne, giving her a long embrace. “Thank you,” she said, “for encouraging me to stay. But you don’t have to worry about the tour guide or anything else. In two weeks, we’ll be together again, and soon after that, we’ll be setting foot in our new restaurant, eating all the international soups and enjoying all the splendor of our hard work. Just the two of us. That’s your dream, right?”