I had brought my one black dress, since the slim fabric rolled up and could be squished down easily. I’d shoved it between my black flats and worn my walking sandals on the plane. The likelihood of needing anything fancier was smaller than the possibility that I’d dig at Kilkarten.

I’d brought a handful of American treats, too, which I worried might not be easily available—a bag of peanut butter cups, which I started snacking on, and a bottle of maple syrup. I’d tried to stomach the golden syrup used on pancakes here, and it just didn’t go down well.

My eReader went on the bed stand, along with the one paperback I’d brought, a volume of Yeats. Next to the book, I propped a photo of my parents, because I always felt like they should be there, and another of my three brothers. The last was of me and Cam our sophomore year of college. We’d gone to an ’80s party and looked ridiculous.

I hesitated before going downstairs. If I ran into Mike or any member of his family, I didn’t want to look like a schlumpy grad student. I pulled a nice cardigan over my tank-top, and then I wandered downstairs into an airy, well-lit dining room. I made myself a cup of tea using the electric kettle on the sideboard, and then set up my computer and wrote Jeremy to let him know I’d arrived.

I hadn’t been there half an hour when a shape shifted in the door, and I looked up. Mike O’Connor stood there, his lips parted slightly.

I smiled sheepishly. “Um. Surprise.”

He kept staring.

“I mean, not really a surprise, since you knew I was coming to Dundoran and this is the only nearby inn. But. I can tell by your face that you’re kind of surprised.”

He shook his head. “You have to be kidding me.”

I shrugged apologetically. “Not me. The cosmos, maybe, but I’m entirely innocent this time.”

“Maybe I’m hallucinating.” He dropped into a chair beside me and studied me carefully.

It became a lot more difficult to breathe. I tried a smile. “Why? Have you hallucinated me before?”

He raised his brows and my throat tightened. I should’ve thought more carefully before I spoke.

I cleared my throat. “If this is too weird, I could get a place in Cork—”

“No.” He spoke so quickly I was silenced, and a hint of color streaked across his cheekbones. “I just meant—I’ve spent a solid week touring Ireland with only my mother and younger sisters.”

It struck me as a little odd that he hadn’t come straight to Dundoran after a death in the family, but I skipped over that in favor of the family itself. “That’s right. Eileen—the innkeeper—said your family was here with you.”

“Yeah. They’re staying in one of the cottages out back. I’m staying in this main house, though—I needed space.”

I nodded two or three times more than necessary. “She also mentioned our rooms happen to be facing each other.” I let a beat pass to acknowledge the situational irony and ridiculousness of that. “What a coincidence.”

The crooked smile that curved his lips made me feel incredibly odd and self-conscious. The way he looked at me made me think he was imagining exactly what nearby rooms might mean.

Time for a topic change. “So! I saw that lateral touchdown pass in the AFC title game last year. Pretty badass.”

Shock crossed his face, and he stared at me like I’d started spouting Greek. Well, at a non-Greek spouting appropriate time. Greek spouting did occasionally happen at academic conferences. “You watched that?”

“Well, yeah. I’m a Leopards fan.”

He cocked his head slightly. “No, you’re not.”

What was that supposed to mean? “Am too.”

He flashed a sudden, wide grin at me. “So you knew about me. The day you walked into my office.”

I shrugged. “What’s to know? You’re shockingly fast. Two years ago you had the single season record for yards-per-carry. You’re theoretically charming.”

He shook his head, still smiling. “You ever come to any of my games?”

I swallowed. “A couple.”

He leaned closer, and I mirrored him. When our knees brushed energy jolted through me. “Wow. But you treat me with so little respect.”

A new voice rang out. “Oh my God.”

I automatically straightened away from Mike and glanced toward the doorway, and stared in shock. A girl with deep red hair stood in the frame—a younger, female version of Mike. She’d gathered her hair up in a huge messy bun and stabbed it through with lacquered chopsticks, and the red seemed even more vibrant compared to her all black outfit. Black lined her narrowed eyes, while heavy, expensive jewelry dangled off her ears around her neck. She scowled in my direction. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

I glanced at Mike with rounded eyes to see if that was directed at me.

Slight color rose on Mike’s cheekbones. “This is my sister, Anna. Anna, this is Natalie.”

I waved. “Nice to meet you.”

Anna tilted her head. “You’re an American.” She pursed her lips together, and then I watched as suspicion visibly entered her mind. Her eyes flickered back and forth between us. “Wait. Wait.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mike said levelly.

She started shaking her head. “Do you two—do you two know each other?”

Mike and I exchanged a glance. “Um,” I hedged. “We met once—twice—in New York.”

“Oh my God.” Now she spoke directly to her brother. “I can’t believe you. Are you serious?”

Mike finally sounded exasperated. “Anna, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Anna raised one hand and pressed another to her heart like she was about to place an oath. “God forbid you want to spend any time with your actual fucking family.” She turned and stomped off.

Mike and I watched her go, and her comments slowly fell in place for me. I looked at Mike. “Did she think...that I came here with you? Like as a...girlfriend or something?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “I think so. I’m so sorry.”

“That’s okay,” I said on autopilot. “I mean, it makes sense why she’d be mad at you then, if she thought she had her brother to herself and then he’d brought some random girl with him.”

He let out a deep breath and leaned his head into his hands. “Before this week, I’d forgotten how much teens talked in italics.”

That startled a laugh out of me. “I don’t know, sometimes I think I talk in italics a lot. Or all caps.”

Two more women walked through the door, at a much more sedate pace. One had the same bright hair as Mike and Anna, and looked my age. The other, a pale brunette, wore jeans and what everyone else called a mom haircut, though my mother would never be caught dead like that. She smiled, and I saw an echo of Mike in her.

She kissed her son on the cheek. “Hello, dear.” She angled herself at me and smiled, clearly expecting an introduction.

Mike provided it, gesturing my way. “This is Natalie Sullivan, an...acquaintance from home. She’s—interested in local history.”

The second sister snorted. When we all turned to look at her, she covered it with a cough, looking a little red. “Sorry. Something in my throat. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Lauren.”

“And I’m Kate,” the mother said. “It’s so nice to meet one of Mike’s friends. Won’t you join us for dinner?”

“Mom—” Mike began in a low voice.

Kate blinked. “Unless you don’t want to, of course.”

I felt caught. I wouldn’t mind eating with a family, but not if Mike didn’t want me there. “I’d love to,” I said a little uncertainly, and then glanced at Mike. “I mean, if it’s okay with you?”

It only took half a second before he had that charming smile back on his face. “Yeah, of course.”

We ate in a comfortable, well-appointed dining room, where the wide windows let in the last of the day’s light and the other tables were filled with the rest of the inn’s guests. Eileen and her granddaughter brought out greens, a beet salad, hearty brown bread, beef stew and mashed potatoes.