“I figured you’d be the next to arrive,” she said with a wave. “Brenna won’t be here for a while. She had to take Jeff to the airport.”

“He’s not coming for the weekend?” Katie asked, more than a little disappointed. She, along with her sisters, adored Brenna’s husband. He was funny, affectionate, the brother they’d never had.

“Nope. He had to go to some doctor convention.”

“I can’t believe he’d rather go there than hang out with us.”

“I agree. I mean, we’re charming and we have unlimited access to pasta. What’s not to like?”

The two women laughed, then embraced. Katie hugged her sister hard, holding her close for a second. When they released each other, she tried not to notice how great Francesca looked in her white cropped T-shirt and pale blue skirt.

Francesca had always been the pretty sister…pretty and nearly physically perfect. She was perfectly tall (5 feet 9), perfectly slender, with that annoying combination of large breasts and nonexistent hips. Her perfect features-wide hazel eyes, a full mouth, and cheekbones that defied gravity-combined to create a face that could not only launch a thousand ships, it could heal several debilitating personality flaws. Long, thick brown hair tumbled down her back, while perfect, olive-colored skin seemed to radiate light.

All of this and a brain, too, Katie thought with a combination of love and pride, flavored with a touch of sibling rivalry. Katie had always been the smart sister, but Francesca’s success in her Ph.D. program demonstrated there were fairly efficient brain cells firing behind those big eyes.

Katie grabbed her suitcase. “Poor Dad and Grandpa Lorenzo. They always look forward to Jeff’s visits. He keeps them from feeling outnumbered by the women.”

“They’ll survive, but I’m not sure we will,” Francesca said as they walked to the back door and stepped into the utility room. “You need to brace yourself. There’s an estrogen fest going on in the kitchen. The Grands are on a roll and Mom is only making it worse. If you don’t keep your distance, your ovaries may mutate.”