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Dunluce Castle was everything Maisie had hoped it would be. With the forty-minute delay on the bus, the stop at Bushmills had to be cut short, but Maisie didn’t mind. She’d much rather see the castles anyway.

After lunch in the village, an update to her food journal, and a quick text to Daphne about finishing the menu that night, Maisie had gotten back on the bus and had done her best to be completely neutral toward Finn. It wasn’t hard, what with him clearly ignoring her in return.

When she got to Dunluce, she left the bus behind and headed straight for the ruins, crossing over the bridge and arched walkway before being welcomed by the grand, rich history of the castle. She spent over an hour exploring every inch of the site—admiring the views from the cragged rocks and loving everything she learned from banshees haunting the old grounds to the kitchens plummeting into the sea during a storm hundreds of years before.

She made another FaceTime call to her parents as she wandered around, showing them more of the sights and catching them up on the previous day before letting them go.

Now more than ever, Maisie was feeling more like herself. Or so she chose to believe. It was better to do that than focus on whatever feelings were trying to rear their ugly heads to ruin her lovely vacation.

After exploring the castle grounds twice-over, and with twenty minutes still to kill, Maisie wandered back to the parking lot, looking left and right to see if there was a viewpoint she’d missed before spotting a line of people at the side of a green and white van, a large ice cream with a big smile painted on the side of the vehicle.

Ice cream? In this weather?

Sure enough, as she looked around, she saw more than a handful of individuals enjoying ice creams of their own.

Maisie couldn’t help but smile. Now this was a custom and culture she could get behind.

With her umbrella popped up, she walked toward the line, eying the list of flavors on the side of the van. As she did so, she spotted a pretty young woman—probably a few years younger than Maisie—handing out the ice cream to those in line one at a time, giving them a smile and a wave before greeting the next customer.

Her dark hair was long, draped over her shoulders, and her smile was broad and kind. In between taking orders, her eyes continually glanced off to the right, so Maisie leaned to the side to see what she was staring at. A sinking feeling dropped inside her chest as she spotted Finn.

The woman was beaming at him, not at the passengers, and Finn was grinning right back as he leaned against the side of the van, hands in his pockets and an easy smile on his lips.

All day long, he’d been distant and cold. Now, seeing him as happy as he’d been in Carnlough their first day together, Maisie couldn’t help her stomach twisting.

She knew she couldn’t really justify any hurt feelings at this point. She barely knew the guy. Did he know the ice cream woman, or was it just another passing flirt? Was that all Maisie had been—a way to pass the time those first couple of days?

She shrank back behind the line, not wanting Finn to catch sight of her staring again. But as she drew closer, the line getting smaller, she could almost see the chemistry between the two.

At the sight, her thoughts rushed forward like a busted dam, drowning her with regret. Were he and this woman dating? No, Finn had said he was single. But then, did he want to date her? That had to have been why he had been so weird and distant with Maisie after she’d gotten his number—because he thought Maisie was coming on to him.

She pulled a face. He obviously thought she’d just fall all over him if he smiled at her again. As if she were so pathetic.

The line shifted forward, but she hardly moved half a step, staring at the woman and Finn. Yeah, going up to them both, seeing their flirting firsthand, wasn’t worth anything—even ice cream.

Stepping off to the side that Finn was not on, Maisie retreated from the line, heading back to the security of the castle.

Not two steps there, however, and she spotted the English ladies exiting the castle entrance, Pearl’s arm around Renee, who was wiping tears from her eyes.

It took Maisie half a second to catch Trifle missing from the woman’s arms.

Her heart sank, and she rushed toward them. “What’s wrong?” she asked at once.

“Trifle,” Pearl said softly as Renee’s chin quivered. “She’s gone missing.”

“Oh, no,” Maisie breathed.

“She spooked on the grounds when we were getting lollies,” Joyce explained gently. “She ran into a crowd, but we’ve not seen her since.”

Maisie winced. “Have you checked in the castle?”

“We just informed the staff,” Pearl replied. “Renee wants to stay out here to watch the roads, in case…”

Maisie nodded her understanding. Nothing would be worse.

“She’ll just run away from the workers if she’s inside,” Renee managed. “She’s so terribly frightened of everyone.”

Maisie put a comforting hand on the woman’s arm. “Well, she’s not afraid of me. If she’s in the castle, I’ll find her.”