He stepped back, looking at her. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, I’m afraid.”

“A fitting metaphor since it was the dog walking that brought us together,” she said. “I’m wondering if we shouldn’t have left it at that.”

“What do you mean?”

Looking at his earnest face and his warm dark eyes, she almost caved. But no: She’d been a fool for love once. That was enough.

“I think your refusal to come to New York was just an excuse to slow things down between us.”

“What? No! In fact, while you’ve been away all I could think about was finding a way to spend more time together.”

She shook her head. “I don’t see how we can move forward, Tito.”

“This is how: My rental the last week of August canceled, so I’ll have my house back. And next summer, I’m not going to rent it out at all. I’m going to be working full-time with Marco on the oyster farm. He’s expanding. It will replace my summer rental income perfectly. Anyway, the point is, in a few weeks we can live at my place.”

“We?”

“Yes, Elodie. I want to know if you’ll move in with me.”

Elodie awoke tucked against Tito. He was still asleep, sunlight streaming through the bare window. The way the light fell across his face highlighted the white stubble on his jaw. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch it, not wanting to wake him.

She let herself luxuriate in that moment, to really take in the fact that after all these years, after having given up on love, she’d found it in the most unexpected place. In the most unexpected man. And yet, the issue of geography could not be ignored. There was no way she could move in with him. She had a home—in New York City. There could be compromises, there could be adjustments. But if he would never spend time there, it wouldn’t work.

She voiced none of this last night. She’d just kissed him and said, “That’s a lovely offer.” He didn’t press, and that was the end of it. Now, in the light of a new day, she’d have to deal with it. But first things first.

Elodie glanced at her nightstand, where she’d placed the gift box containing the pink diamond eternity band. She decided she’d give Celeste the gift first, then tell her that she’d lied to her about the fate of the Electric Rose. And confess that she’d told Gemma about her relationship with Liam.

Anticipating this talk made it impossible for her to lounge in bed. She dressed and crept out without waking Tito, walking to Celeste’s.

She found her in the yard with a cup of coffee sitting at the picnic table.