On Saturday afternoon, Anna stood on the sidelines of the soccer field, watching Toby and Ethan on the field. Toby gave her a wave, a smile lighting up his face.
“Is he any good?” she heard Phillip say behind her.
“You showed up,” she said. She’d told him about Toby’s game, but she’d secretly hoped he’d forget.
Phillip shrugged. “There’s nothing else to do in this town.”
“What are you doing here, Robins?” her father demanded. “Why don’t you just leave my daughter alone?”
“With all due respect, sir,” Phillip said, “I just want to get to know my son.”
“What’s his number?” her father asked. “The number on his jersey?”
“Well, first of all,” Phillip said, pointing toward the field. “That’s not a jersey. And second, how would I know?”
“Because they got those jerseys last week, and the boy has been talking about it nonstop since.” He leaned into his face. “He’s number six. He thinks he’s six because he just had a birthday. Even I know that. How come you don’t?”
“Maybe it’s because Annaliese kept him from me.”
“Is that how you’re gonna paint it?” her father asked. “Because that won’t fly with not knowing what number is on his jersey. Not when you’ve been forcing both of them to spend time with you every day this week.”
Phillip held up his hands. “No one forced anyone. It was always Anna’s choice.”
“Dad,” Anna said, never loving her father more than she did right now. “It’s okay.”
“The hell it is.”
Anna walked several feet away from the crowd as the whistle blew and the game started. “Phillip, you are welcome and even encouraged to come to Toby’s game, but you need to go stand somewhere else. Toby’s not with me, so there’s absolutely no reason for you to be with me right now.”
“Maybe I want the pleasure of your company.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you’re full of shit.”
“You’re so cute when you act all American,” he said with a grin. “And I don’t think I told you how cute you look with your hair cut. You wore it longer when we were together.”
He lifted a hand as though he planned to touch her short waves, but she took a step back.
“This is inappropriate, Phillip.”
“Why? We were married once.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked in disgust. “I was always too tame for you. Too boring. And a wife and kid? Please…”
Frustration washed over his face. “Okay, you want to know the truth?”
“Yes, please. The truth.”
His suck-up smile faded. “I got a new job.”
“I know. You told me,” she said, gesturing with her hand. “A grown-up one, you said.”
“Yeah, that’s right. But they think I’m a family man. They specifically wanted a family man.”
She sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God. You don’t even want me. You just want the boring family to impress your boss.” When he looked down at the ground and remained quiet, she said, “I’m right!”
He looked up. “Anna…”
“So they all think you have a family? And you used Toby and me. Do you have a photo of us in your office?”
He cringed.
“Oh, my God,” she said. “You are unbelievable.”
“I need this job, Annaliese. My grandfather’s pissed that I haven’t held a job for more than a year and he’s threatening to cut me out of his will and take away my trust. But seeing all those men with their families makes me want one, too. Then I realized I have one. Sure, we’re a bit rusty, but you and I cared for each other once.”
“So you want to pretend to be some happy family?” she asked in disbelief. “You’re insane.”
“If you’d just give us a chance…”
“No,” she whisper-shouted. “I will not give you a chance. If I had my way, I’d never see your face again. I’m only talking to you because you happen to be my son’s father.”
She started to walk away, but he called after her, “If you don’t come back to London, then I’ll tell the police you kidnapped Toby and take him back to England myself while you sit in jail.”
She spun around to face him, her worst nightmare come true. “You can’t be serious.”
“I don’t want to do it this way, Anna, but it’s within my legal rights.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Why are you doing this, Phillip? We’re happy here. Toby’s happy here, happier than I’ve ever seen him. And my father…I want my son to know his grandfather.”
“And him,” Phillip said. “You want him.”
“Matt?”
He didn’t answer then said, “I’m willing to negotiate.”
She released a bitter laugh and turned toward the field. “Our son is playing his very first soccer match and you would rather work out the terms of blackmailing me into pretending to be your wife at an office picnic.”
“Fine, forget the office parties and picnic. Hell, I’ll even tell them you and I are separated, but I need Toby.”
“You need your son as a prop?”
“I’ll start spending more time with him, too. It wouldn’t look right if he acts like he’s scared of me.”
“You would really use our son that way?”
“He’s my son, too.” When she didn’t answer, he said, “It doesn’t have to be this way, Annaliese.”
“You can’t do this. That’s got to be the most selfish thing I’ve ever heard.” She shook her head. “No. I’m going to fight you on this.”
“I’ll sue you for full custody and use this trip to Missouri as evidence that you tried to kidnap him.”
“It will never work. The court will see that you haven’t paid child maintenance or seen him in years.”
“And I’ll point out that I took a week off from work to see my son and talk reason into you before I resorted to pressing charges. Are you willing to take the chance?”
Matt had been right. Phillip was never going to sign the paper. Her next best step was to go back and throw herself on the mercy of the court.
“I’m flying home on Monday morning,” Phillip said, “I have two tickets. One for me and one for Toby. You are welcome to come with us, too, but make no mistake, Toby will come with me.”
Anna stared at him in disbelief.
“I’m holding a ticket for you, Annaliese. They’ll hold it until tonight, so let me know. Regardless, I’ll see you at the Kansas City Airport at ten on Monday morning.”
Then he turned and walked away.
Anna tried to hide her worry from her dad and Matt’s mom, and although she did a poor job of it, they didn’t ask questions.
The boys won their game, and Ethan scored a goal. Anna was happy to have this moment with them, but all she wanted to do was pull Matt away and tell him about Phillip. Once snacks were passed out and Matt gave the team a congratulatory speech, everyone scattered to the parking lot.
Matt had been giving her questioning glances. He knew something was wrong, so she wasn’t surprised when he pulled her to the side, leaving the boys next to his mother. “Did I see Phillip here at the start of the game?”
She gave a slight nod. “Yes.”
“He left early?”
“After he delivered his ultimatum, he had no reason to stay.”
He scowled. “Ultimatum?”
She gathered her courage, then said. “You were right, Matt. He’s not going to sign, and he’s tired of waiting.”
“What does that mean?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “It means he purchased two tickets to London for him and Toby, leaving Monday morning. He’s holding a ticket in my name until tonight.” She took a breath. “Matt, he’s taking Toby one way or the other,” she said in a broken voice. “And if I try to stop him, he’ll have me arrested for kidnapping.”
“Okay,” he said. She could see he was trying to stay calm, but she heard the panic in his voice. “We need to call Blair.”
“I already did. She says short of talking Phillip out of it, there’s nothing I can do.”
He didn’t respond.
Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
“No,” he said, wrapping her up in his arms. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Mummy?” Toby asked in a small, scared voice. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m okay,” she said, wiping her face. “Why don’t you see where everyone wants to go for lunch. You can be in charge of taking the votes.”
“Okay…” He wasn’t buying her excuse, but at least did as she suggested.
“We have to tell everyone,” she said as Toby walked away. “But not yet.”
“Let’s tell them after the wedding.”
“Do you still want to get married?” she asked. “I know before you said you did regardless, but this is real, Matt. Consider the circumstances.”
He kissed her. “You’re not getting out of marrying me that easy, Anna Fischer.” Then he sobered. “Tell Phillip that you’re flying with him. We can’t let him take Toby alone.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Toby is our number one priority. That hasn’t changed.”