She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder, slipped her small feet back into her shoes, and picked up her purse. Instantly the cigarette case was back in her hands. “I’ve always gotten what I want. You know that, Graham.” Her mouth turned up in a smile but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I want a baby. I’m not too old to have one.” She fumbled with the cigarette case, turning it over and over in her hands, as if it were her security blanket. “I even planned on giving up smoking for a baby, but when we went to a fertility clinic, we found out that my husband, Derrick, is sterile.”

Karma is a bitch on steroids, Graham thought.

“Aren’t you going to say it serves me right?” Rita asked.

“No, I’m truly sorry. Have you thought of adoption?”

“I don’t want to adopt. I want the pregnancy, the birthing, and the whole nine yards again.” She nodded. “How are the girls going to feel about having a brother or sister that they only get to see once a year?”

He thought of how excited they were the previous night about Paula’s new baby. “You’ll have to ask them about that, not me. I can’t imagine why you’re even telling me this. It’s none of my business.”

“I would like to . . . hell, Graham, you never make anything easy. I want to build a relationship with them and with you, and like I said, I’m not giving up. We can rekindle what we had,” Rita said.

“It’s a little late to build something now. Besides, they think you’re ashamed of them, Rita. They told me that the way you looked at them made them feel like they were fat and ugly. Their words, not mine.”

She jumped up so fast that she dropped the cigarette case on the floor. “It was just a surprise, that’s all. With your size, I wasn’t expecting them to be able to wear my jeans, but God almighty, Graham, they’re huge.”

“Not huge.” Graham glared at her. “They’re big, but they’re not fat, and they’re beautiful. Why would you even want to be around them when you feel like that?”

“They should know their siblings even if I have to adopt, don’t you think?” She bent to pick up the case and shoved it in her purse.

“Like I said before, that’s up to them, but in my opinion, building even a friendship with them will take a long time, and a baby won’t be the glue that binds them to you as a family.” He crossed the floor and opened the door. “Don’t pop by my office again. What we had died years ago.”