Page 144 of Road Trip
She sprawled out on the bed and sighed with happiness and Sinead hopped up and joined her there.
There was a polite knock at the door, and when she answered she saw a petite middle-aged woman wearing the inn’s burgundy uniform blazer, holding a huge gift basket bristling with fresh fruit, cheeses, crackers, chocolates, and a bottle of wine.
“Ms. Dunagin? I’m Shawn. Mr. Mac called and told me you’d be checking in here and I wanted to give you a special welcome, on behalf of all our staff.”
“Hi, Shawn. Come on in. And please, call me Maeve.”
The woman stepped inside and smiled when she saw the cocker spaniel perched on the bed. “Ah, and I see you’ve brought our little friend Sinead.”
“Where I go, she goes,” Maeve said.
“I’m heartbroken about Esme,” Shawn said. “I know she had a reputation for being difficult, but she was wonderful to me. I camehere to Tarrymore after a nasty divorce, to work as a desk clerk, but Esme knew I could do more. She gave me the job and the opportunity to demonstrate my management skills.”
“That’s good to hear,” Maeve said. “Mac tells me you’ve done a great job here, and I want to assure you, my sister and I don’t plan on interfering with your work. I’ll probably want to discuss the business with you eventually, but it’s early days yet, so for now, I’d say keep doing what you were doing while Esme was alive.”
“We shall. And please let me know if there’s anything at all that you need.”
Liam arrived atthe suite with her carry-on bag, explaining that she’d left it at his cottage that morning and apologizing for not calling first.
“I can’t believe I forgot my carry-on. It has my laptop. What a disaster that would have been,” Maeve said, showing him into the room.
“Not bad,” he said, surveying the suite. He held up a tote bag. “Lucy sent you a doggie bag—of dog food and treats for Sinead. Along with food and water bowls. We figured you wouldn’t have had time to get hers from the Esme’s place.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” she told him. “I’m still a newbie at being a dog owner. My parents had a schnauzer when I was really young, but I’ve never had a dog of my own.”
He walked over to the bed and pointed at Sinead, who was curled up on a pillow. “Such a princess. You’d think she owned the place.”
Maeve took a dog treat from the tote bag and tossed it to Sinead, who easily caught it. “Technically she does.”
“Can you stay for a glass of wine?”
“Don’t see why not.”
She found wineglasses on a shelf in the kitchenette, poured two glasses, and handed him one.
“Lovely,” he said, taking a sip.
“A gift from Shawn Davis. She seems nice. And competent.”
Maeve took a deep breath. “I called Mac a little while ago, to tell him that I intend to stay.”
Liam’s expression was neutral. “For how long?”
“I did a little research. I can stay for ninety days total, but after that I’ll need a work visa, or Mac has offered to help me apply for an Irish passport.”
Liam settled into one of the armchairs. “That sounds like you might be planning to stay on longer than just a few weeks.”
“I am,” she said simply. “Oh, and you’ll be happy to hear that you and Lucy won’t have to dog-sit when I go to the US embassy in Dublin.” She went to the nightstand and pulled out her passport and held it up for him to see.
“How did you find it?”
“It was here all along. When I called Therese today to tell her about our inheritance, and that I’d decided to stay, she admitted that she’d hidden my passport—in the inn’s safe—because she knew it would be better if I stayed right here.”
“Sounds like a total big-sister move,” Liam said, laughing. “Are you furious with her?”
“I wanted to be.”
“And why did she think you should stay on here at Tarrymore?”
