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Finn walked away with a tip of his cap.

Maisie had been the perfect distraction to his worrisome corner of the world. But then, that was the problem. She’d been so distracting that he hadn’t been thinking clearly—he wasn’t acknowledging the risk he was taking by spending so much time with her.

It was time to wise up. Time to prove to his family he wasn’t completely useless.

He needed to get that bonus for himself, and he needed to keep his job for his family, and that was evident now more than ever.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Day Three

Maisie stared out the window of the bus, rain sliding along the glass at a sideways slant as they clipped down the narrow countryside roads.

Talks of another gloomy day had already rippled throughout Bob, worries about the pouring rain putting a damper on the tour around Dunluce Castle. While Maisie had joined in the conversations, she couldn’t disagree more with their concerns.

With her blanket thrown over her leg, the pillow at her side, and a lidded cup of hot chocolate in her cup holder, she was cozy, happy, and content.

Just as she’d suspected, more and more of the passengers had talked to her about her setup, saying they were taking notes on what to do for their next bus tour. Even Renee had purchased a small throw for herself in Ballycastle and now placed it over her and Trifle.

Maisie loved being able to spread a little joy. Even if there were others on the bus who still thought her strange, she was far too comfortable to care.

Popping a handful of black current Millions in her mouth, Maisie turned her gaze from the pouring rain outside to her food journal propped open on her blanketed lap.

She wished she could stare out the window all day long, but unfortunately, there was work to be done.

After eating at Haddock’s Pub last night with Pearl, Renee, and Joyce, then spending the entire evening chatting with the couples who’d remained, she’d returned to the bus, then the hotel, falling asleep within minutes.

Unfortunately, her busy day and sleep-filled night meant that she had to work on the makeshift menu for Daphne right now. Any other bus tour, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But as her eyes continually drifted to where Finn sat in the driver’s seat, she had a feeling she was going to get next to nothing done.

She kept her gaze on him for a minute, the massive windshield wipers of the bus thwapping back and forth in front of him, clearing the view for only a few seconds before the rain gathered again across the glass.

Finn didn’t look back at her, clearly focusing on the wet road ahead of them, but she still couldn’t settle the worry flourishing in the pit of her stomach.

Something was off with him today—something had been off with him since last night. He’d disappeared after she’d sent the photos to him and had hardly said a word to her after that. When she’d boarded the bus that morning, he’d barely managed to send a tight-lipped smile at her before conversing with Joyce instead.

Maisie knew she could very well be imagining things, but she didn’t think so. Either he was upset with her pressuring him to have his photo taken, or he was uncomfortable with her asking for his number. Then again, maybe something else bothered him entirely.

Whatever the issue was, Maisie couldn’t do anything about it now, so she set her thoughts aside and attempted to focus again.

She stared down at her journal, flipping through the entries from Sweden, then Poland. Daphne had enjoyed the Polish food they’d tasted the most—but what were her top favorites?

Maisie lifted her phone to ask her aunt herself, then paused. She’d woken up that morning feeling much better about the whole Daphne situation. Mostly because she’d decided to avoid telling her anything good about Finn for the moment, but hey, at least most of her guilt had subsided.

As her thoughts once more deviated off course and landed on Finn, Maisie snuck another glance at him. He was so cute. So…so tasty.

At the word, a thought blossomed in her mind, though she promptly set it aside. And yet, the more she tried to ignore it, the more the idea grew and grew until finally, she relented.

Knowing very well that she was acting like an absolute child, Maisie glanced around her to ensure no one could see her before turning to the next blank page in her journal and scribbling down an entry for Finn himself.

She’d always had a strict policy of including only foods, but she just couldn’t help herself. Smiling as giddy as a teen girl with a manic crush, she filled out an entire page with notes about the tour guide, finishing only when she doodled little hearts around the entry.

She pulled back and stared at her work with a satisfied smile. There. Now that she got it out of her system, she would be able to work. She just needed to remember to rip out that page and shred it into fine slivers so Finn or Daphne would never see it.

She didn’t know which of them would be worse to discover it.

Anyway. Back to work.

The second she returned to Poland’s entries, however, the bus jerked to a quick stop, and the journal nearly fell off her lap. A few gasps sounded, and Maisie looked ahead to see a full line of cars lined up directly in front of them, their bright red brake lights reflecting against the raindrops that clung to the spots on the window the wipers couldn’t reach.