Breda nodded. “I’m afraid that is the case. Your room is now gone.”

Antonia was seething. How could he do something so low-down and dirty like that? The last conversation she had with him was a stressful one, but he gave no indication that he would pull this kind of stunt. After news of the canceled wedding had circulated to all their guests, Derek had called her on the night before her trip, making a last attempt to keep her in the country so they could talk. She told him she would still take their honeymoon trip, by herself, and didn’t want to hear anymore. She’d even done the polite thing of mailing his engagement ring back to him. Did he want to get back at her by throwing a wrench in her plans? Antonia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Do not let this asshole thwart you again. When she opened her eyes, she struggled to smile. “None of this is your fault, Breda. But could you please, pretty please, just help me out? This is my first day in Ireland, my car is an absolute piece of shit, and I’m so tired.”

Breda’s eyebrows furrowed. “I understand, Ms. Harper. But my hands are tied. The Renvyle Oyster Festival is this weekend, that’s why everything is so busy.” She paused, taking pity on Antonia’s ragged appearance. “I can check with surrounding hotels for something.”

Antonia was grateful for the courtesy. “You don’t know how helpful that is. I would really appreciate it.”

Breda gave her the same sympathetic smile as she returned to her computer and started making phone calls. Antonia found a seat in the small lobby and lamented the thought of going anywhere else. She had specifically picked this quaint little hotel because it was centrally located within Clifden. She had planned to walk down the street to a café that sold fresh-baked scones, for coffee and people watching. As she sank into the lobby couch, her spirits followed. This was supposed to be her romantic and rustic Irish honeymoon with her future husband. Her second best chance of enjoying this trip was pretending that she could do it all by herself. Derek managed to fuck that up too.

As she began to lose all confidence in herself, Antonia was reminded that she had never gone abroad by herself. The last time she’d left the country was when she was in college. She did a summer program in Rome and thoroughly enjoyed herself, but she had been with a large group of students and a couple of professors. Ireland was more daunting than she imagined. She’d stumbled her way through airport customs before she presented her passport to an elderly agent. Antonia had been the only black person in line and wondered if that was somehow suspicious. The man had waved her on after she eventually made up her mind on if her trip was business or pleasure. “It’s a mixture of pleasure and novel writing,” she’d told him with a nervous laugh. “So it’s kind of business?” She’d stopped short of telling him that she was also trying to find herself.