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Daphne pulled back, worry wrinkling her brow. “My dream?” she questioned.

Maisie shook her head, cursing her misspoken word. “No, our dream. Of course. Why wouldn’t I want to eat soup for the rest of my days with the coolest aunt in the world?”

Daphne still hesitated, but a look of tentative peace crossed her features. “I mean, you have a point there.”

They shared a smile, then the two of them walked toward the steps as Daphne recounted all the things they needed to do for her departure tomorrow morning.

All the while, Maisie listened and nodded at the appropriate times, though her thoughts lingered on the hollow words she’d spoken before.

Our dream. Our dream.

The restaurant was their dream. Or rather, Maisie had tried to make it so. She’d given up any other dreams she’d had long ago, recognizing that she wasn’t entirely in control of having them realized.

So she’d found different ones. Working alongside Daphne, creating a menu for a restaurant, seeing the world and tasting the world. These were all amazing things, too.

And yet, a thread of doubt began to unravel from those second-tier hopes within her heart, revealing what she really wanted—what she was afraid she could never have—a life and a family of her own.

After all, Daphne never did, and she was an incredible woman. Who was Maisie to think her life would turn out any different?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Day Two

Finn stood on the outskirts of the ferry, adjusting his knapsack on his back and securing the hood of his rain jacket over his cap. It was lashing it down that morning. Typical Norn Irish weather—dry when you drove, wet when you walked.

’Course, it was never really dry when you drove either, but that was neither here nor there. The point was, he hoped his group had prepared accordingly today with the proper raingear, or the ferry ride and day out on the sopping wet Rathlin Island would be miserable for them.

He played sentinel near the entrance of the ferry, spotting each of his usual passengers quickly to assure them they were in the right place.

He’d already caught sight of nearly everyone from the bus. Pearl, Renee, Joyce, and Trifle. The Schäfers from Germany, the Dünsers from Austria, and the Taylors and Waterstones from the States.

He was still waiting on the Jung family from Korea, the Beauchêne family from France, and the Unck family from the Netherlands, but he was sure they’d be there soon.

Of course, the person he was really waiting for still hadn’t arrived, and he had very little hope that she would at all. Daphne must have taken Maisie home, then. He supposed Maisie wouldn’t want to take a tour on her own for two weeks, so he couldn’t fault her for that.

Still, Rathlin Island seemed far less enticing today without having Maisie nearby to send him her smiles.

He glanced around, checking for others from the bus before pulling out his phone to see if his friends had texted back, needing a quick pick-up for his mood.

Finn

Everyone else NOT ready for the run this Saturday?

Matthew

*GIF of a hand being raised*

Matthew

Not ready at all. Although, with Winnie there, I’m definitely going to win this time.

Cedric

I would LOVE to see that, Matthew. Of course, I’d also love to see pigs fly, but we know both of those things are impossible.

Finn smiled, recalling the last charity run in England that he and his friends had participated in. Matthew had come in nearly dead last, with Cedric, of course, sweeping the floor with them.

It wasn’t any surprise. Cedric was a professional footballer. None of them stood a chance against him. He was the one who’d started this tradition years ago, meeting up for charity runs in the country each friend resided in—Cedric in Wales, Matthew in England, Graham in Scotland, and Finn in Northern Ireland.