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Maisie glanced between the four of them. “Hi,” she returned awkwardly, though she was still unable to stop her smiles.

The man with blond hair pulled back in a bun spoke next. “Are you the one from the bus tour?”

She was taken aback slightly at his English accent, having expected Northern Irish instead.

“Yeah, I am,” she said, hesitantly.

“I knew she was the one he was talking about,” he said as an aside to the others, though Maisie could clearly hear his words.

She was the one who was talking about? Finn? Had he spoken about her to them?

“We all knew it was her, Matthew,” the woman said.

Maisie was even more shocked at the American accent that slipped from the woman’s mouth.

She looked back at Maisie with a warm smile. “I’m Winnie Knox,” she said. “And this is Cedric, Matthew, and Graham. We’re Finn’s friends.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Understanding washed over Maisie. Of course they were Finn’s friends. That was why they were all looking at her with curiosity as clear as day.

“I’m Maisie King,” she said. “Although, you probably gathered that.”

Winnie laughed, and Maisie tried to return it, though she was still slightly unnerved by the three guys towering above her with focused intensity.

Clearly, she was on trial here. She had no idea what Finn had said about her, or if he’d even said anything beyond the fact that she was on his tour. But she did know how difficult it was to be accepted by another’s friends. To be accepted by Finn’s, she clearly needed to step up her game.

“You guys are the ones coming in for the run this weekend, right?” she asked.

The blond—Matthew, was it?—looked pleased. “That’s right.”

He draped his arm around Winnie’s. The two of them had to be dating.

“You’re welcome to join us, if you’d like,” the one Winnie had introduced as Cedric said. He smiled a charming grin, his brown hair thick and wavy, though she couldn’t pin where his accent was from.

“Oh, thanks, but I’m not much of a runner,” she replied.

“Neither is Matthew, but he still tries,” Cedric continued, jutting his thumb toward his friend. “Fails, but tries.”

Matthew ignored him. “So did Finn invite you here tonight?”

“No, I had no idea he’d be here. It was just a happy coincidence.”

“Or fate,” Cedric said.

“Definitely fate,” Graham—the final man—said in a thick Scottish accent.

Matthew folded his arms across his chest. “So are you two dating, then?”

Maisie blanched, her mouth remaining partially open, frozen to the spot.

“Oh my gosh, you guys,” Winnie jumped in. “You’re freaking her out. Were you this bad when you first met me?”

“They were worse,” Matthew said. “Don’t you remember? Finn was the most awful of the lot. This is just payback.”

“But you’re taking it out on Maisie, not Finn,” Winnie pointed out.

Matthew paused. “Right.” He faced Maisie. “Sorry about that.”