She looked up into his eyes as she passed by. “I guess you wouldn’t be willing to donate a little sperm so my child would be their full brother or sister? We can go to a clinic or we can do it the old-fashioned way.”

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Graham gasped. “Are you crazy? Does Derrick know you asked such an insane thing? And think about it, the next child would most likely be a larger person, too.”

“If you don’t want to help me, I’ve got a short list of guys who’ve been flirting with me for a year or more. If you are willing, like I said, it can be through the clinic or through the bedroom. We were pretty good in that area until I got pregnant.”

Graham was speechless.

Rita went on. “Derrick and I’ve been . . . well, let’s just say that I’ve fallen out of love with him. Or maybe I never did love him. Maybe he was just an escape from bawling babies and a husband who didn’t make enough money to get me what I wanted.” Her tone was as flat as if she’d just said that it was raining outside.

Graham shook his head emphatically. “You didn’t like bawling babies and not having money when we first met. What’s changed?”

“I’ve changed a lot, Graham. Now I want to be married for the right reasons. I’ll make someone a good wife, and I’ll be a good mother this time,” she answered. “Give that some thought when you get into a cold bed alone tonight.”

He motioned toward the door. “Goodbye, Rita.”

“Never hurts to ask and test the waters, does it?” She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. “My biological clock is ticking. Bye, Graham.”

He shut the door behind her and slumped down into the nearest chair. She’d been there less than fifteen minutes but it had seemed like hours. He knuckled his eyes to ease the pain in his head, but it didn’t work. Maybe it was the smoke on her breath when she kissed him that caused his headache. He went to the cabinet, took out some air freshener, and gave the room a thorough spraying.

Had she changed? Could they be a family at this point? Should he give her one more chance? Questions floated through his mind, but there didn’t seem to be any answers. Pulling out a drawer, he took out a bottle of Advil and checked the date. They’d expired two years ago, but he swallowed two with a sip of cold coffee anyway.

“No!” he said. “Never.”

“Never say never,” he thought he heard Vivien’s voice say in his head.

“This time I can say it because I’d rather be dead than go back to Rita,” he swore out loud.