“We call him Grandpa,” Katie answered, looking up from her phone. Hearing Katie refer to Drew as “Grandpa” seemed absurd, and Lina wanted to laugh, but then she realized there was nothing funny about it to Katie. Her grandma had given him her stamp of approval, and that was enough for Katie. It clearly didn’t matter what her parents thought. “He’s really smart.”

“Yes.” Lina nodded. “I remember that about him.” She sat down at the table across from Katie. “Is he still a professor at the University of Chicago?”

“I guess. Grandma really likes him. She said they might get married.”

Phil was right. Her mother was crazy. “She used that word, ‘married’?”

“Yes. They slept in the same room. Why was Dad such an asshole to him?”

“He just doesn’t approve of the type of father he was, or grandfather for that matter.”

Katie frowned at her. “I think he could be a good grandfather. Do you hate him too? Is that why you barely talked to him tonight?”

Lina was surprised Katie even noticed she hadn’t talked to Drew. “I don’t hate him,” she finally said. “He’s basically a stranger to me. Do you think you’ll see more of him?”

“If Grandma marries him I will.” Katie looked down at her phone.

“Would you like that?”

“I guess.” Katie began typing on her phone. “Can you stop talking now?”

Chapter 20

20

Lina was heading into her yoga class the following morning, hoping it would help to shake the feeling of malaise she’d been experiencing since seeing Kim, when she received a text from Nick.

Thoroughly enjoyed Logan. Does he ever not smile? We should be back in town by 3 p.m., so he can be picked up any time after.

The right thing to do would be to have Phil pick him up, considering he worked minutes from Nick’s home, but Lina didn’t want to do the right thing. She wanted to see Nick. Talking to him would make her feel better. It always did.

Logan was born happy. I’ll see you this afternoon.

As Lina sat in her car taking in Nick’s three-story brick row house, which looked similar to the other homes lining both sides of the street in the tony section of Federal Hill, where restaurants and the theatre were within a short walk, she pondered what it would feel like to live in a city. It was so different than her suburban lifestyle, with their single-family homes and backyards.

“Come in.” Nick stepped back from his door. “The boys ran down to the sub shop around the corner. They should be back momentarily.”

Lina passed within inches of him and felt a response in every part of her body. “This is nice.” Her eyes took in dark hardwood floors, crème-colored walls and contemporary art as she walked farther into the house, trying to get her nerves under control.

“Thank you.”