Behind Dr. Bob, Josie could see that Mary had led Devesh into the kitchen. She poured him a drink, and Josie watched the glass fill. She watched Mary brush his palm as she handed it to him, watched it nestle firmly between his fingers, and felt the blood rush to her head.

“Can you excuse me for a minute?” she said to Dr. Bob.

“Sure, no problem.”

She stood quickly and her head spun. To get to the bathroom, she would have to walk through the kitchen, and to get to her room she would have to walk directly in front of them. She wished Maddy would cry so she would have an excuse to go upstairs, but all she could hear was the clinking of glasses and the hum of conversation.

“Do you need something?” Dr. Bob asked.

“Oh, no, sorry. I just have to check something outside.” Her head was still spinning, but she willed herself through the living room, to the sunroom and then to the backyard.

The air was cool and it felt good on her skin, and she slipped off her shoes and walked barefoot across the grass to the redwood bench under the trellis. She sat down, put her wine on the ground, and rested her forehead in her hands.

She did not like this surgeon. She played the moment with the book in her head a number of times, trying to figure out what it was that had her so undone. If anything, he irritated her, she decided. He would probably do the same to Mary—scratch at her until she couldn’t bear it.

She heard the backdoor open and looked up. He stepped onto the patio and she stood.

“No,” he said. He pointed his finger at her and grinned. “This time you’re going to stay.” He walked slowly to her. “Running from coffee shops, dinner parties …” he said. “Where exactly are you going in such a hurry?”

She opened her mouth, but could think of nothing to say.

“And without any shoes,” he continued.

She looked down at her bare feet. She had knocked her wineglass over when she stood, and it had splashed her ankles red. “I live here,” she said.

“I know. You’re the ‘more than a nanny.’”

She swallowed. “I take care of Tyler and Madeline.” His confidence was maddening, and she wished he would just leave her alone.

“And you study the more than eleven point five million square miles that is Africa, that’s twenty percent of the earth’s surface,” he said.

She looked up.

“I have a useless ability to remember conversations,” he said. “Thanks to Tyler, I’ll forever remember that ‘Africa’s highest point is Uhuru Point at nineteen thousand three hundred and forty feet.’” He sounded so surprisingly like Tyler that Josie’s mouth curled into a small smile.

“I know, I know. I can tell you what you said the last time we met, as well.”

She raised her eyebrows at him.