"Thank you so much for inviting me to share your meal with you," Chiara said as everyone sat down at the brand-new table. It was gorgeous, solid teak, with matching chairs.

"No need to thank me, because I didn't, it was all my mum's idea," Andrew said succinctly as he reached for a container. He gave Chiara an even look as he began spooning food onto his plate.

Everyone else stared at him, too shocked to speak.

Ellie looked horrified.

"Well, it was to your mum that I was speaking, so I'll say it again," Chiara said, smiling sweetly. "Thank you, Ellie, for inviting me to share your meal with you, this is one of my favorite places to eat in Havorfield Village."

"My pleasure," Ellie assured her. "It's nice not to be the only girl at the table."

"So, Chiara, is that Italian?" Ned asked.

"Yeah, my grandparents emigrated here from Sicily when they got married," Chiara said. "My dad's English and everything, but he grew up speaking a little, and wanted me to have an Italian name."

"I think it's very pretty," Noah interjected.

"Thanks," Chiara replied.

She'd just taken a bite of her food when she let out a little squeak and jumped in her chair. She swallowed and cleared her throat.

"Are you okay?" Ned asked, leaning forward from his place next to her so he could see her face.

"Yes," she answered, nodding. "The dog? William Wallace, is it? He, uh, startled me, that's all. Under the table?"

"Oh god, Noah, Andrew, one of you please take care of the dog? Now?" Ellie asked, mortified. "I'm so sorry," she said to Chiara. "I don't even want to know what he did."

Noah jumped up and wrangled the dog, who was indeed skulking under the table, probably hoping for some tasty tidbits to come his way.

"I'm really sorry," Noah said to Chiara while he hauled the dog away from the table. He dragged William Wallace, who was protesting vociferously, into the laundry room, quickly shutting the door in the dog's face.

Noah sat back down, looking decidedly red in the face, and Chiara took pity on him. "It's okay, honest," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm fine, I am."

Noah just nodded, unable to speak.

The only person who seemed unaffected by the dog's snuffling of Chiara's nether regions was Andrew. He continued to eat, spooning more vindaloo onto his plate and getting himself another bottle of water.

He sat down and looked around, as if asking why everyone was staring at him.

"What?" he finally asked. "What did I do?"

"Andrew!" his mother said. "I'm surprised at you."

"Mum, I'm not the one who snarfed at the gardener's crotch, am I?" Andrew protested. "That was your second born son's ill-mannered dog!"

Ned, who was in the act of taking a drink, spewed his mouthful of water all over the table at Andrew's words.

Ellie gasped again.

Noah, eyes wide, began to turn interesting shades of dark red.

And Chiara, lately of the crotch sniffing by William Wallace, just took a deep breath and sat back. She opened her mouth to say something, though she had no idea what, but Ned got in before her.

"What's the matter with you, mate? You're being damned rude to a guest in your new home!" Ned wiped his mouth with his napkin and threw it down next to his plate. "She's actually your first guest in your new home as well."

"No she's not, you are," Drew answered back. "She's just a rude, opinionated young woman who works for me and doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut, who makes fun of me when I'm not feeling well, who yells at me when I've done nothing wrong."

He shoved his chair back.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Drew said, being careful to over enunciate each syllable, "I seem to have lost my appetite." He turned and left the room without another word.

"Oh shit," Chiara said. "I'm so sorry, everyone, I've ruined your meal--"

"Please don't apologize for my son's appalling manners," Ellie said, shaking her head. "He's usually a fairly nice person, and I'm usually pretty happy with how I've raised him. But he can have quite the temper sometimes, and tonight seems to be one of those times. I've found that the best thing to do when he's having a tantrum is to just let him be."

She picked up her spoon. "So let's just finish our meal, shall we?"

Chiara looked around the table, not sure what to do, but Ned and Noah had both picked up their utensils and were eating, so she did, too.

"So, Chiara, are things always this exciting where you are?" Ned asked with a smile.

Chiara noticed that he had a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose that didn't show on TV or on a computer screen. They only made him cuter and more appealing, in her opinion.

"No, actually, my life is usually as boring as a graveyard," she replied. "I was born and raised in Havorfield Village, lived here my whole life, never been farther north than London, actually." She grinned around the table at everyone. "Then a famous pop star moves into the neighborhood, becomes one of my clients, and suddenly I've got delivery people running over my cuttings, huge dogs sniffing at me, and the aforementioned pop star yelling at me, sometimes multiple times in one day." She shrugged. "I don't know what happened."

Ned's smile grew as he listened to her words. "It's kind of a relief that you handled all of that so well," he told her. "Lots of girls I know would've burst into tears, being talked about, being talked to, like that, I reckon."

On Chiara's other side, Noah just nodded in agreement.

"What would be the point in that?" Chiara asked, astonished. "It was kind of funny, if anything, wasn't it? I wasn't offended or anything, and most of what he said was true, after all." She looked around, blinking her long, curly lashes as she flicked her braid behind her. "Like I said, though, I'm very sorry I disrupted your meal, truly."

After everyone was finished, there was very little to do in the way of clean up, so Ellie asked if Chiara had time to show them around the grounds a little bit.

"Or do you have to get home?" she asked. "I know it's just you and your dad, right?"

"My dad's on the side of the county today, supervising a complete overhaul on a new development, so he won't be home until late," Chiara responded. "I have plenty of time, if you're interested in looking around. Are you all interested in plants and gardens and that?"

All three nodded, though Chiara found it hard to believe that Noah and Ned really cared about roses, hydrangeas and crepe myrtles.

"Okay, then, but we must let William Wallace out so he can come with us," she requested.

Noah grinned and ran to let the dog out, and the four humans and one canine went outside in the hot dusk. It was Chiara's second favorite time of day, next to sunrise, when the birds and bugs were at their happy loudest, and children and dogs could be heard everywhere.

As they were walking the back perimeter, and Chiara was pointing out the lilacs that perfumed the entire yard every spring and summer, they heard loping steps behind them, and Drew joined the group, saying nothing, merely nodding all around.

Ellie gave her oldest a look, but held her tongue, perhaps believing he'd been embarrassed enough for the time being.

"There used to be Italian cypresses here, but the ivy got up in them and kind of choked them out, so we cut them down last year," Chiara told everyone. "Plus, they cut the morning sun, which was a shame, because morning sun in the kitchen is really lovely, don't you think?"

"Yes, definitely," Ellie agreed. "Morning sun in a kitchen is vital to the heartbeat of a house, I think."

"Exactly," Chiara said, pleased that someone knew what she was talking about.

They circled around to the front, and Chiara showed them the more formal plantings, including all of the seasonal bulbs.

"If there's anything in particular you want planted anywhere, just let us know, and we'll make sure to get them in the ground," Chiara said to Drew, keeping her tone even.

He nodded.

"Drew, where you thinking of putting the tennis court?" Ned asked. "You said you were, right, mate? You're right, you have plenty of room."

Drew nodded again. "I don't know yet, but yeah, it's one of the things I'm really looking forward to."

"You play tennis?" Chiara asked, her voice casual.

Drew nodded. "All four of us in the band play. Ned's the best, probably, but I really like it as well. Probably the back of the house would be better than the sides, don't you think?"

Chiara shook her head. "I'm not the person to ask about stuff like that," she said. "You should ask the person you hire to design it where the best place would be, they usually know all that stuff."

Drew looked at her. "You're probably right. Off the top of my head, though, I'm thinking that where the rose garden is would be the best place. That way the house would shade it in the afternoon, during the hottest part of the day."

Chiara stopped in her tracks at Drew's words and took a deep breath. "I didn't realize you were thinking of taking out the roses," was all she said.

"Oh, son, would you be considering that?" Ellie asked, putting a hand on his back. "They're so beautiful, and so nicely tended and all," she added, smiling in Chiara's direction.

"If you're going to take out the rose garden, then the delivery men ruining the clippings wouldn't matter, you should've told me," Chiara said to Drew.

He looked at her and shrugged, but she could see the slight, smug arch to his brow.

They were in front of her truck now, in the shade of the carriage porch.

"Well, I guess I'll be going, then," she said opening the door and rolling all the windows down to cool off the interior.

"Thanks so much for your hospitality," she said to Ellie. "And it was lovely to meet you," she said to Noah and Ned.

"You, too, hope to see you again very soon," Ned said with a friendly smile and wave.

Noah just smiled from next to his mother as she backed up the truck.

To Drew she didn't say a word as she turned around and drove away.