She returned the hug, and then kicked off her shoes. “It was long. It’s good to be home.”

“You look good. Better than you’ve looked for a while.” He grinned. “And you’ve finally put on some weight.”

Kate gave a rueful smile. “Who could resist all that pasta? And the gelato? And the bread…”

“You only live once, Kate.” He reached down and scooped up Foo.

“Ha! You’re preaching to the choir. And I think my body has decided that it wants to live life to its fullest, if you get my drift.” Her pants felt a little too snug for comfort on the flight home from Italy.

“Trust me, a man likes a little something to hold on to.”

Had he said that to Kenzie Sloane?

She banished the memory of the tattoo artist from her mind. “Speaking of gaining weight, you could use a little extra meat on your bones.” His Florence + The Machine t-shirt hung loosely from his broad shoulders. “I might have to send you to Italy.”

“I have to set a good example for Food Dog.” Finn scratched under the pug’s chin. “No one told me that pugs are on perpetual diets.” Foo yawned contentedly in Finn’s arms. Finn jerked his chin toward the wall behind Kate’s head. “What do you think of the paint job?”

“I love it!” Kate gazed around her. The walls of the foyer had been painted sea foam blue. And the formerly dark-stained wood trim gleamed with crisp white paint. The entry looked fresh and inviting. “It came out better than I imagined. It makes the place look modern.”

Pride gleamed in Finn’s eyes. “Yeah, this old house is beginning to get a spring in her step.”

“And the roses are gorgeous.” A bouquet of exquisite pink roses that captured the sunrise in their velvety depths added an elegant note. “Are these from Muriel’s garden?” Muriel was the other half of the dynamic elderly Richardson sister duo. Although Alzheimer’s disease robbed Muriel of cognitive function and memory, it had not yet devastated her ability to create beauty from the earth. She maintained her garden with dogged devotion, occasionally over-pruning when she had forgotten she had pruned something just minutes before. But her garden bloomed under her care. Sometimes Kate wondered if the plants knew their caretaker needed them as much as they needed her. For there was no question that Muriel’s garden was the most glorious on the street.

“Yes. Enid and Muriel have been awaiting your return. They invited you to tea this weekend.”

“Has Enid been well?”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, she seems back to her old self.”

“Thank goodness.” Her smile quickly turned into a yawn. “Sorry. It’s five a.m. in Italy.”

“You need to get to bed. Do you want help with the bag?”