“I’m sorry.” She released her breath. “It’s none of my business.”

“How’s Katie?”

“She’s good. I mean, still argumentative, but nothing too extreme.”

“And everything is working out with Dr. Jones?”

“We see him every three weeks now, and if everything continues to improve, we’ll scale back to monthly after the holidays.”

“Excellent. How is she doing in school?”

Before she could respond, he was standing up straighter, the warmth gone from his eyes as he looked past her towards the house. Without looking back, Lina knew Phil was approaching. She’d thought he was out cycling, but clearly she’d been wrong.

“Drayton.” Phil’s voice broke the silence, and then Lina felt his hands gripping her hips as he pulled her back against the hard length of his body, one of his hands sliding over her stomach in a blatant show of possessiveness.

“Good afternoon,” Nick said coolly. “Thanks for hosting my son.”

“Anytime. He’s a good kid.”

“Phil?” All eyes turned at the sound of the female voice. A petite blonde, who Lina assumed was Emily, was walking towards them from the Land Rover. “Oh my God, I thought that was you.”

Lina felt Phil stiffen behind her. “Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” he said.

The confusion on Emily’s face was obvious. “You live here? Are you Logan’s father?”

“Yes. This is my house. This is my wife.” Lina heard the warning behind his words.

“Wow.” She shook her head. “I had no idea. I thought you and…” She trailed off, dropping her eyes as she seemed to grasp the situation.

Lina gripped Phil’s hands and pried them from around her waist. “How do you know my husband?”

“Lina?” Phil touched her arm.

“Don’t touch me,” she whispered before taking a step closer to Nick. “How do you know him?” she repeated, her eyes on Emily.

“I’m so sorry,” Emily said. “I’m sure I just misunderstood. I…” She paused as her eyes briefly shifted to Phil. “He was in my running group.”

“The Saturday-morning running group in Baltimore?”

“Yes.” Emily nodded.

“With Kim?”

“Stop it, Lina. You already know the answer,” Phil said before shifting his attention to Nick. “Why don’t you leave?”

“I’d like my son,” Nick said. “I’d be happy to take Logan as well. The two of you need privacy.”

“Don’t tell me what I fucking need!” Phil exploded, stepping around Lina and directly in front of Nick. “This is none of your fucking business.”