She’d known that she only had to go home to have her family surrounding her, consoling her—but the thought had failed to comfort her. Her family had lied to her, too, had hidden things from her that she’d had the right to know. Her father, her uncle and aunts—they’d all known that her mother was alive, and they’d kept it from her. Even Ethan had hidden the truth from her once he found out, after their father’s death. Suddenly desperate to get away from the secrets, the evasions and the betrayals, she’d headed to the airport, determined not to return until she found some answers for a change.
So far, it was going dreadfully.
She swallowed against the burning sensation in her throat. Maybe breakfast wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Here she is,” the voice of her hostess, Penny, greeted her as she reached the doorway of the dining room. Penny rose from a small table set in the bay window that looked out over a delightfully old-fashioned garden. “Good morning, Ms. Masters, I trust you slept well?”
“Oh, call me Tamsyn, please. And yes, my room is very comfortable, thank you.”
Tamsyn’s eyes flicked to the man who sat opposite Penny and who now rose to his feet in welcome. The man from yesterday—and absolutely the last man she had expected to see this morning. Courtesy demanded she acknowledge his presence and she gave him a short nod, just the barest inclination of her head.
He stepped forward and held out his hand in a greeting. “We didn’t get to exchanging names yesterday. Finn Gallagher. Pleased to see you again.”
She gave him a weak smile and briefly shook his hand. The warmth of his broad palm permeated her skin, sending a curl of awareness winding up her arm and through her body. She pulled her hand free.
“Really, Mr. Gallagher? I had the impression yesterday you were only too pleased to see the back of me.”
Amusement lit his cool slate-colored eyes. “Ah, you caught me at a bad time, I’m afraid. I’m here to apologize.”
Tamsyn’s mind scattered in a hundred directions. How had he tracked her down?
“Isn’t that a bit stalkerish?” she said without thinking.
“We’re a close-knit bunch around here,” he explained with an apologetic smile that made Tamsyn’s stomach do a tiny loop-the-loop. “I was concerned after you left. You looked tired, and being unfamiliar with the area…well, let’s just say tourists have a bad habit of wandering off the road here and there. I called around a few places and I was relieved when Penny assured me you’d arrived safely.”
It all sounded plausible, she thought, but it didn’t explain what he was doing here right now. As if he could read her mind, he continued speaking.
“I didn’t want to leave you with the impression that we’re rude around here and thought I’d offer to show you around, if you’d like. Take you on a tour of the district. You will be staying a few days now you’re here, won’t you?”
He said the last few words with subtle emphasis, almost as if he was willing her to stick around.
“Yes, I will,” she admitted, reluctant to tell him that her time here had no specific expiry. “But there’s no need for you to show me around. I can make my own way.” Besides, she wasn’t really here for the sights. She just wanted to find her mother.
“Please, at least allow me to take you to lunch or dinner to make up for my abruptness yesterday.”