Normally, he wouldn’t have spared the gesture a second thought, but the two of them were acting like teenagers caught smooching under the school bleachers or something … which was ridiculous. This was Pen and Jay. Luke shook his head. The idea of anything romantic between his sister and his best friend … No. He had to be imagining things. His fanciful romantic thoughts about Julia were making him see things that weren’t there.

“Is there a problem?” Pen finally asked, the note of challenge stronger now.

Was she referring to the hand holding or the schedule change?

Jay cleared his throat. “I’m, um … I’m going to go check with the front desk on … something,” he said, hurrying back inside.

“Coward,” Penelope muttered. But her accusation lacked heat.

Luke tilted his head and considered his sister. “Just curious. Why so many?” He glanced around at the assembled group of corgis. They’d left off the yapping, thank goodness for small miracles, and were lolling around on the terrace, soaking up the late afternoon sun. “Mrs. W.’s four fur balls not enough for you?”

“Frankly, no.” Penelope lifted her chin. There was no mistaking the stubbornness now. “I wanted the guests to be able to spend some time petting and playing with the dogs. If we only had Mrs. W.’s, there wouldn’t be enough to go around. Besides,” she added, bending down to scratch one of the corgis behind its pointy ears, “you know she’d never let anyone handle her babies.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed.

Penelope relaxed, the obstinate line of her jaw softening. “Remember when I was sick and the hospital would sometimes bring in dogs for the patients to snuggle?”

“Yeah,” he said gently. Something sad and sweet tweaked inside his chest. “I remember.”

She shifted, settling onto the terrace patio. One of the corgis she’d been petting hopped up, floofy bottom wiggling against her legs. Penelope laughed. “Those were some of my happiest memories from that time.” She continued to pet the dog in slow, soothing strokes. “I wanted to share the joy of that experience with our guests.”

“It’s a good idea, Pen.” He sat down next to her, heat from the sun-warmed bricks of the terrace patio seeping through his jeans.

She glanced up at him. “You think so?”

“I just wish you would have told me about it,” he couldn’t help adding, as he tied the leashes around the base of one of the heavy wrought iron benches lining the terrace.

She rolled her eyes.

“Where did they all come from?” He gestured to the myriad fluffy bodies surrounding them. Two of the dogs had taken up residence on either side of Luke, a furry fox face resting on each of his knees. “More importantly, where will they all go?”