Is Matt the boy I met at the pool this summer? Lina read the text as the front door closed, signaling Katie and Matt’s departure. “Megan?” She stepped into the family room, where Megan and Logan were watching TV. “You texted your father?”

“He would have wanted to know.”

Lina bit her bottom lip. As much as she wanted to chastise Megan, she knew doing so would risk alienating her completely. “I wish you would have discussed it with me first,” Lina said in the calmest voice she could muster.

“Why? Were you going to tell me not to tell him?”

“No, I—” She looked down as her cell phone began to ring. “Never mind,” she said, turning to leave the room. “Phil—”

“That kid just took a shower in our house?” Phil barked out.

“Calm down,” Lina whispered as she headed upstairs.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! I told you last summer what I thought about him!”

“If you don’t lower your voice, I’m hanging up.”

“You don’t have a right to make unilateral decisions. I’m still her father!”

Lina ended the call, continuing up the stairs and into her bedroom, her heart pounding in her chest. The phone began ringing again. She waited for four rings before she brought it to her ear. “If you yell, I’m hanging up.”

“Lina,” he began, his voice intense but low, “don’t hang up on me.”

“He’s a nice boy.”

“I met him. He’s not a nice boy.” His voice was clipped but controlled.

“He is. I’ve spent hours around him.”

“Hours? You’ve spent hours around him, and I’m just hearing about him today?”

“It’s not my fault she didn’t tell you. How would I know you didn’t know?”

There was a long pause. “Did you think I knew?” he asked, his voice losing its intensity. “Really?”

“No,” she admitted, her voice resigned. “I mean, I didn’t know for sure, but I figured you didn’t know.”

“She’s my daughter too. It should have been you or Katie, not Megan, telling me.”

“You’re right. I should have told you, but I was afraid you would react just the way you’re reacting. You’re condemning him based on the way he looks.”

“Give me a little more credit than that. I had a conversation with him, remember? I want what’s best for her. It’s as simple as that. And he isn’t it.”

“See? You’re not even willing to give him a chance.”

“He’s out of school, Lina. She should be dating boys her own age.”

“There’s just two years between them.”