Elle was up with the sun and back at the castle in time to help with breakfast the next morning. Between courses, she told Ruby and Megan how Theo had asked her to go to England with him for the event at his family’s estate.

“That sounds serious, doesn’t it?” Ruby asked, brows drawn behind her glasses.

“I thought so,” Elle agreed. “He says it doesn’t have anything to do with our relationship, but I mean, how can it not?”

“Well, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” Megan said. “You can rub elbows with the rest of the Langdons, and you know, it couldn’t hurt if you talk up our program while you’re there. Maybe you can help them see the benefits of keeping Rosemont Castle in the family. Not to mention, you get a romantic getaway with your man.”

Elle sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. Maybe I’ll draw up some revised numbers to show Theo too, now that we have actual data to work with. I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

She’d give it her best shot, but she also needed to keep herself from getting carried away. In a month, Theo would return to London, and chances were, he would sell the castle too, no matter how much she tried to prevent it. Ruby had visited the foreclosure property in Florida and determined it to be a money pit, but she was scouring the internet looking for more options for them and had even enlisted a realtor to aid in the search.

After breakfast, Elle greeted the first of their new guests checking in today. They were expecting three couples and a group of four friends here for a girls’ weekend. The women arrived first, laughing and chatting excitedly about their long weekend here at the castle.

“Is it okay if we take this out on the grounds?” one of them asked Elle, showing her a wine tote packed full of bottles.

“Absolutely,” Elle told her. “If you stop by the kitchen, our chef might even be able to give you some snacks to take with you and make it a picnic.”

“Oh, wow. That would be perfect.”

Elle led them to two rooms at the end of the East Wing. “I’ll be giving a tour of the castle and grounds today at three, if you’re interested. Just meet me in the lobby a few minutes before.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” the brunette told her. “And what about the rescue pets? Can we meet them then too?”

“I’d be happy to introduce you to them after the tour.” Elle felt her heart give a hopeful squeeze, the way it always did when a guest was interested in the Fairy Tails program. She hadn’t expected to become so invested in the lives of her foster pets, but here she was.

A few days ago, they’d brought in a new dog, a basset hound named Louie, to take Shiloh’s place. He was cute, but his bark was the loudest, oddest noise Elle had ever heard.

After she’d finished with the guests, Elle got her purse and headed into town to see about getting a passport, which ended up taking the rest of her morning. It was past noon by the time she made it back to the castle.

“Free for lunch?” Theo asked as she came out of the garage.

“I can be.” Most days, she, Ruby, and Megan ate lunch in the kitchen with Beatrice. “Were you looking for company?”

“I’m always eager for your company.” His hands slid around her waist, and she melted into his embrace.

“What a coincidence. So am I.”

“I think that’s what they call a happy coincidence.” He led the way down the hall toward the kitchen.

Beatrice put together a basket for them while they waited, slipping in a bottle of wine with a sly wink behind Theo’s back. Of course, she knew what was going on. Elle had no doubt the whole staff knew at this point.

“Have you decided to go with mental health as your platform?” she asked as they strolled hand in hand toward the gazebo in the pond, out of earshot from the castle.

“As of this moment, I have, but ask me again later today, and I’ll probably have changed my mind.”

“Theo.” She squeezed his hand. “Remember telling me how you wanted to find something you’re passionate about? You know this is it. The fact that it frightens you only shows how deeply it affects you.”

“It’s not that it frightens me.” He paused, giving his head a slight shake. “I just don’t want to go against the wishes of the family.”

“You don’t have to share the details of your mother’s death if that makes it easier to pursue, but I think it would strengthen your platform if you do.” She was pushing him harder on this than she had any right to, but it frustrated her to see him waffle on something that was obviously so important to him.

“Some things just aren’t spoken about in our circles.”

“Then maybe it’s time for that to change, and you can be the one to change it.”

“It’s just…” He sat on the bench in the gazebo, turning to face her. “I’m already a bit of an outsider, having been raised in America. I’ve told you how they feel my grandfather neglected his duties. They’re expecting me to make things right. They don’t want me to rock the boat.”

“But someone has to do it. Honestly, the only thing shameful about your mother’s mental illness is keeping it hidden like some dirty family secret. I know you know that. It’s why you told me about her in the first place. So take that passion and use it. Just think about all the people you can reach and help with your platform.”

“I know you’re right.” He opened the basket Beatrice had packed for them and handed Elle a sandwich. “It’s part of the reason I asked you to come to England with me. I know you won’t let me chicken out at the last minute.”

“I won’t.” She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “And what’s the rest of the reason?”

“Aside from the fact that I can’t seem to get enough of you? Well, I’m also a selfish bastard who wants to show you this part of my life you haven’t seen yet, and maybe I wanted the chance to show you off in front of my family too.”

She almost choked on the bite of chicken salad sandwich in her mouth. That was so incredibly sweet, even while it drove a dagger through her heart because she wasn’t sure she wanted to be able to picture him where he lived and worked in England. She did…but she didn’t.

That was the entirely of the problem with her relationship with Theo.

After lunch, she checked in another couple and spent some time with Darcy and Remington before it was time to lead the afternoon tour for the guests. They had ten currently staying at the castle, and she expected at least half of them to show up for the tour. The group of women she’d checked in earlier had certainly been enthusiastic about it.

Sure enough, they were the first group down the stairs, followed by two of the three couples currently staying here. She’d seen the remaining couple leave in their car a little while ago.

“Thanks so much for joining us today for a tour of Rosemont Castle. It was built in nineteen sixty-five as a gesture of love by the Eighth Earl of Highcastle, Alistair Langdon, for his American wife, Rose.” Elle spent the next thirty minutes showing them around the public areas of the castle and grounds, ending back on the castle steps.

“Thank you so much for the tour,” Miriam—one of the women from the girls’ weekend group—told her excitedly.

“You’re so welcome. Are you guys still interested in meeting our adoptable animals?”

“Absolutely,” Miriam said. “I’ve been wanting to adopt a dog, and Eboni, you were interested too, right?”

The dark-skinned woman to Miriam’s left nodded. “I lost my poodle mix to cancer last year, and I think I’m finally ready to bring home a new dog.”

“Aww.” Elle pressed a hand to her chest. “I hope we can help you make that happen.”

“Hillary and Jenae aren’t looking, but they want to play with the dogs anyway,” Miriam told her.

“That’s right,” the brunette piped up. “And we’ll help Miriam and Eboni find their new best friends.”

“Well, we only have three dogs right now,” Elle told them as she led the way inside, “so I can’t promise you’ll both find exactly what you’re looking for, and please don’t feel any pressure to adopt one of ours if they’re not the right fit. We really want to make sure our dogs find the right home.”

“Fair enough,” Eboni told her with a broad smile. “If we don’t find the right dog this afternoon, we’ll probably stop at the shelter over the weekend, but we couldn’t resist the idea of meeting a few dogs right here at the castle.”

“I’m going to set you guys up here in the parlor and bring the dogs down to meet you,” Elle told them as she led them into the room. “Make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll be right back.”

She hurried upstairs, popping her head into Megan’s room as she passed. “Hey. I have a group who wants to meet the dogs. Want to come with me and bring Louie?”

“Definitely.” Megan hopped off her bed and slid her cell phone into her back pocket.

Elle opened her bedroom door and took Remington and Darcy out of their crates, glad she’d thought to take them for a long walk earlier that afternoon. She met up with Megan and Louie in the hallway, and they walked downstairs together.

“Awww!” the women exclaimed in unison as they walked into the parlor.

Remington’s tail began to wag in full loop-de-loops as he made his way around the room, greeting everyone. Darcy trotted along behind him. Louie, a mellow dude if Elle had ever met one, promptly curled up on the rug in the center of the room, drawing a round of laughter from their guests.

“Well, aren’t you precious?” Eboni said, stroking Darcy under her chin.

“That’s Darcy,” Elle told her. “She’s a four-year-old pug and such a sweet girl. I really don’t have a bad thing to say about her. She’s easy-going and gets along with pretty much everyone, two and four-legged.” She gave them as much information as she could about all three dogs.

Miriam walked to the middle of the room and sat down next to Louie. “Hey there.”

He raised his head, tail thumping happily against the rug. Remington, not one to be outdone, raced over and leaped into Miriam’s lap, popping up to lick her face.

“Oh, well, hello,” she said with a laugh.

“He’s enthusiastic,” Elle agreed. “I have to say, I’ve gotten really fond of him. He and Darcy have both been staying in my room, so I can personally vouch for them as excellent roommates.”

“Is that so?” Miriam said to the little dog, who was still bouncing around in her lap. “I like your enthusiasm. Tell me more about his runaway tendencies?” She looked up at Elle.

“I’d left my bedroom door open, and he and Darcy both got out. They went out through an open door in the kitchen. She stayed in the garden. He was gone for thirty-six hours and found over five miles away. It may be that he’ll settle down once he’s got a family of his own, or he might be a wanderer at heart. He was picked up as a stray about six months ago.”

“Poor little guy.” Miriam rubbed him, and Remy lay on the rug in front of her, gazing up at her as his tail swished happily. “It must be hard, not having a place you belong.”

“Yeah.” Elle swallowed over the tightness in her throat. She knew that feeling well.

“Well, I’m pretty meticulous about keeping my doors shut.” She leaned down so that Remy could kiss her face.

They spent another thirty minutes together, and all four women interacted one-on-one with each of the dogs. Elle could tell that Remy was Miriam’s favorite, and Darcy was Eboni’s, but she wasn’t overly confident about an adoption pending for either of them. In the end, the women left to take a bottle of wine to the gazebo and promised to let Elle know about the dogs later.

“That went really well, don’t you think?” Megan said as they took the dogs back upstairs.

“It seemed to.”

“I think you might get your first adoption out of this one.”

“I hope so.” Elle glanced down at Darcy and Remy.

“Louie sure wasn’t doing his best to charm anyone today,” Megan said with a smirk.

“His laidback style will be just what someone’s looking for, though.”

“Oh, I meant to tell you, Monica Jackson called earlier today.”

“Really?” Elle hadn’t talked to their contact at Modern Home and Gardens since right after they’d agreed to their three-month contract with Theo.

Megan nodded. “She wanted to remind us about the photo shoot they’ll be doing here next month for our big spread. She suggested we plan a special event for the occasion, and that got me thinking. What if we held some sort of charity fundraiser for the shelter? We could host a bunch of people in the ballroom, dinner and dancing, sell tickets, have a raffle, raise a bunch of money, and create some awesome photo ops while we’re at it.”

“I love that idea,” Elle said, immediately taken with the vision Megan had put in her head. “Have you run it past Ruby yet?”

“Run what by me yet?” Ruby asked from Elle’s bedroom door.

So they all curled up on Elle’s bed and talked, and by dinnertime, they had a solid plan in place for their Fairy Tails Ball. There was only one thing they needed: Theo’s blessing.

“A charity ball?” Theo rubbed at his brow and tried not to fall victim to the pleading look in Elle’s eyes.

“To raise money for the shelter. We’ll sell tickets and have a raffle, maybe a silent auction. Hopefully we can convince some local businesses to contribute items.”

“What about cost?”

“We have some room in our stipend, money we haven’t spent on supplies for the program. If you approve the event, we’ll put that money toward it, plus ticket fees to cover the difference.”

He didn’t want to host an event here. He hosted enough damn events in England, and they always ended up being more of a hassle than they were worth. But his time here with Elle was running out, and he wanted to do whatever he could to make her happy in the meantime, so he found that he couldn’t deny her this moment. “Okay.”

Her eyes lit, and she bounced on her toes like an excited child. “Really?”

He nodded. “I’ll cover the cost of the event so you can donate all your earnings to the shelter.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, Theo, you don’t have to—”

“I know that. I want to. I can certainly afford it, especially since I’ll soon be free of the expense of this place.”

And just like that, the light in her eyes snuffed like he’d smothered the flame of hope there with his bare hands.

“It’s inevitable, Elle. I’ve told you that from the beginning.” He felt like he’d just swallowed a rock, his stomach heavy and painful, and he didn’t like the sensation.

“I know. I just…I keep hoping you’ll change your mind.” She shook her head. “I’ve been foolish, I guess.”

“No, you haven’t. I probably shouldn’t have agreed to let you stay in the first place. I’ve gotten all your hopes up without meaning to.” He turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets.

She rested a hand on his shoulder. “We know it’s coming, and we’re already preparing for our next venture. This event will be a fun way to wrap up our time here, so thank you.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so. And I don’t regret our relationship either. It’s been…it’s really special to me.”

“To me as well.” He turned back to her, taking her hands in his. “Maybe we can keep in touch after I leave, try to see each other long distance.”

Elle made a sound like she’d just stepped on something sharp. “Whoa…yeah. Really?”

He couldn’t quite believe he’d said it either, and as he watched hope bloom again in her eyes, he wondered if he’d made a horrible mistake. Long distance relationships never really worked, did they? They’d probably only be prolonging the inevitable by trying to keep their relationship alive across the Atlantic. And yet, the thought of letting her go…

She squeezed his hands. “Let’s just…let’s just keep our options open for now. I mean, my life has taken a lot of unexpected turns, too many to ever rule out one more. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility, right?”

“Right.”

She leaned in to rest her forehead against his. “Whatever happens, I like the idea of not having to say goodbye as soon as our contract is over.”

“Yeah.” His heart beat like he’d just finished a long run. “Me too.”

Elle made her usual early morning trek to the castle after spending the night in the guest house, slipping in through the side door before anyone was up and about. She went for an early jog with Remington, then showered and got ready for her day. At breakfast, Miriam and Eboni asked if they could take Darcy and Remington for a walk around the grounds.

Elle tried desperately not to get her hopes up as she watched them walk out the front door. To distract herself, she went upstairs and called her dad. It had become a weekly ritual, and one she enjoyed. The women and dogs were waiting in the foyer when she came back downstairs.

“We want to adopt Remington and Darcy,” Miriam said in a rush as she approached them, breaking into a wide smile as Eboni nodded in agreement.

Elle’s heart lurched into her throat. “Really? Both of them?”

“We’ve given it a lot of thought,” Eboni said. “And when we saw them again this morning, we knew these are the dogs for us. They’re such good friends already, and so are we, so they’ll still get to visit with each other when we hang out.”

“It’s perfect,” Miriam echoed, still smiling broadly.

“That is perfect.” Elle pressed a hand to her chest, surprised to feel tears pricking against her eyelids. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. Her first adoption, and it was a double. If all went well, both of her babies would be going home at the end of the weekend. “I can’t believe it.”

Two hours later, after the paperwork had been signed, Elle walked Darcy and Remy down the hall to their new owners’ room to spend the rest of the weekend with Miriam and Eboni. As she walked back to her room empty-handed, she felt…empty-hearted as well. It had been so long since she’d had her bedroom to herself, no scuffling sounds from inside the crates or the brush of fur against her legs as she climbed out of bed.

She sat, staring at her hands, fighting back tears. Darcy and Remy had found wonderful homes. This was great news. The fact that they’d still get to visit each other after their adoptions was a cherry on top of the cake that she never could have anticipated. And yet…

She swiped a hand across her eyes and rushed downstairs, not realizing where she was headed until she was knocking on the door to Theo’s office.

“Who is it?” his deep voice called from inside.

“Me,” she said softly.

The door opened almost immediately, and Theo tugged her inside, closing the door behind her. “What’s up?”

She hardly ever came to his office and certainly not in the middle of the workday. Now that she was here, she felt a bit foolish, but she’d just needed to see him. “I just adopted out Darcy and Remington.”

“Both of them?”

She nodded. “Their new moms are friends, so they’ll still get to see each other sometimes.”

“That’s wonderful.” Theo’s blue eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Why don’t you look happier about it?”

“I am. I really am.” She swiped at fresh tears. “I’m just going to miss them, that’s all.”

“Well, sure. They’ve stayed with you for the last month and a half. I imagine you’ve bonded quite a bit with them. This is the first time you’ve ever fostered a dog, right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t realize it would be this emotional.”

“I’m sure it’s hard for anyone to part with an animal they’ve loved and cared for, and you, Elle, are not one to keep your emotions buried very deep.”

“No, I guess I’m not.” And if it was this hard to let go of Darcy and Remington, she’d better watch herself where Theo was concerned, because she already knew her feelings for him ran deeper than they should, and he wasn’t hers to keep either.