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Chapter 1

In a rush to pack before her ex-fiancé discovered her hoe She knew that breaking up with Baird McKinley had been the best thing for her to do—though she wished she’d taken her good friend Cearnach MacNeill’s advice way before she reached the altar Wedding andshe could have done She should be relieved and happy now,The asn’t giving her up easily

The Celtic Christ on her tabletop tree did little to lighten her s for her stay at the MacNeills’ Argent Castle

Nore house behind her parents’ e her batteries, relax, and enjoy sohts she spent operating her party-planning business

But her parents were on their way to Ireland to visit family, so they wouldn’t be around to help her out if she had trouble Their trip was so sudden—unusual, given the way they always planned things far in advance—that she had asked if they were taking it because of the upset over the wedding But they’d assured her they just needed a vacation They hadn’t taken one in years because they’d been busytheir own chain of hotels They had looked frazzled and worn out Calla hated that she’d upset the fiasco, but they’d been relieved that she hadn’t gone through with it

She still couldn’t believe her dad had gotten his flight ti to have all day to pack Had she known their flight was so early, she would have already been packed, taken her parents to the airport, and then driven straight froent Castle Instead, she’d had to take the, and finally set out for the castle Her e of the itinerary

With a snowstorloves in the pocket of her field pack and felt so She pulled out a picture of Baird and her that a photographer had taken for their Save the Date cards She’d thought she’d gotten rid of any reminder of that photo shoot She tossed the picture in the trash

God, she regretted having been such a fool How could she have allowed herself to be taken in so completely by Baird’s charm?

Calla shook her head, glad the MacNeills had extended the invitation to stay with theave her a place to regroup after the disastrous end to her ale

She turned off her Christs out to the car when she heard car doors slam out front Four of them

Her heart skittered It could be nothing, she told herself Maybe the MacNeills had sent someone to take her to the castle, concerned about the weather, or worried about Baird and his kin She peeked out the curtains and saw Baird stalking toward her front door, two of his brothers and a cousin leaning against his car and waiting for him

Her skin prickled with goose bumps

Taking a deep breath, she tried to get her wildly beating heart under control She desperately wanted to ignore Baird’s knock on the door But her car was sitting near the front door, not hidden in the garage, and he would guess she was here Besides, their car was blocking her path, and she couldn’t leave until they moved it

She wasn’t afraid of Baird, as long as he was si back to him, but she wanted his constant harassht take this further if he finally realized he couldn’t convince her to return to him

“Co a little annoyed, though he was trying hard to soundto appeal to her