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Renee’s eyes glowed with hope. “Thank you, dear girl.”

Maisie nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her, I’m sure of it. She’s a smart dog.”

Joyce and Pearl agreed, but Maisie didn’t listen for long, rushing toward the castle while praying to find little Trifle.

While she would have never wished for this to happen, she couldn’t deny that she was grateful for the distraction. Searching for a lost dog was better than admitting to herself how stupid she felt for falling for Finn’s flirting—and how embarrassed she was by the amount of jealousy she experienced due to the ice cream woman receiving Finn’s smiles now and not her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Finn watched Maisie disappear through the castle entrance, and concern clenched in his stomach. He’d seen her in the poke line, when she’d left it, and when she’d spoken with the ladies from England—all with Trifle being gone—and he knew something was up.

“Finn?”

He paused, tearing his gaze from them and looking back up at Fiadh Murphy.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I was just askin’ how the group was,” she continued, her hair long and smooth over her shoulders.

“Oh, they’re cracker.” He looked away from the woman, grateful he finally had a way out of their conversation. “But, hey, I think I’m missin’ one of me passengers. Excuse me, will you?”

Disappointment crossed her features. ”Will I see you this weekend still?” she asked. “Da’s lookin’ forward to hearin’ you lot play again. Me, too.”

“’Course,” he said, backing away.

When he was off Friday night, Finn was scheduled to sing a few songs at the pub Mr. Murphy owned. If Finn and his band Nine Leagues Under could find any other pub that would take them, he wouldn’t be forced to speak with Fiadh as often as he was.

“Nine sharp,” she continued.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said, then he walked away with relief.

He’d been friends with Fiadh for a few years now and enjoyed her company as much as the next person, but boys a dear, she was a talker. Even more than he was. She’d been a fine enough distraction until Maisie had appeared. No one held a candle to that blonde American.

Still, he needed to focus. In a matter of minutes, he’d spoken with the English ladies, received word of Trifle missing, then headed into the castle himself, determined to find the lost pup for Renee.

And if he happened to find Maisie in the process, that’d be fine, too.

He’d done a fine enough job keeping away from her today, though it’d been a lot more difficult than he’d thought it would be. She’d obviously noticed, what with her asking after him earlier, but he really hoped he hadn’t offended her. He was just trying to keep his job—and more realistically, he was just trying to help his da keep the house.

Last night, Da had said he was going to list the property, but Finn had convinced him to hold off for a month. Now more than ever, he was determined to help.

Unfortunately, that stress had pushed him into self-preservation mode. He’d hardly spoken to anyone on the bus that day. He hadn’t even made the traffic stop entertaining. Luckily, Maisie had been there to step in, helping Renee and Trifle, then the Dünsers with their crying baby. And shutting up that Mrs. Waterstone. He’d never been prouder of someone he’d only known for a few days.

All of that made him realize, however, that his attempt to stay away from Maisie had made him duller than Thomas on the tour. Somehow, for some reason, being around her significantly lowered his stress levels, which amped up his ability to perform for the group.

So, if he wanted good reviews—if he wanted that bonus—he needed to be as enthusiastic as before, which meant that he needed to be around Maisie again, at least more than he had today.

But would she still want to be around him?

After chatting with the staff in the entrance, Finn moved throughout the castle, calling out Trifle’s name, though his eyes focused higher than the dog’s height as he hoped to find someone else entirely.

As luck would have it, a few minutes later, he rounded a corner and found Maisie leaning over a crumpled wall to peer on the other side of it.

He couldn’t help but smile at her devotion. She really was everyone’s guardian angel today, wasn’t she?

And there he was, chasing after an unattainable, unreachable angel.

As he continued toward her, she seemed completely unaware of him, carrying on with her search until she glanced back and spotted him. She did a double take before delivering a noncommittal smile and faced forward again.