“Good mornin’. You’ve got a meeting at eight thirty, so you can drink it slowly. After that, you’re free for the day,” she said.

“That’s good. I want to shadow that new salesman for a couple of hours and see how he’s doing.” Graham went into his office but he left the door open.

He set his briefcase on the floor beside his chair, set his coffee on the desk, and sat down to relax for a few minutes before his meeting. He should have told the girls that he’d asked Mitzi on a date, but he wanted to savor the time he’d spent with her on Sunday and those couple of kisses a little longer. Besides, when he told them that he’d actually asked Mitzi out, even if it was an informal family affair, they’d immediately start thinking the M-word. Graham would need a lot of time to say that word out loud.

A shadow in his peripheral vision startled him and he sat straight up. He must’ve spent more time letting his mind wander than he’d thought. He leaned forward to pick up his briefcase and get the papers out for his meeting. When he straightened up, Rita was in front of his desk and Vivien was standing in the doorway with a disgusted look on her face.

She tapped her watch and mouthed, “Fifteen minutes.” Vivien backed out and shut the door behind her.

Rita wore skintight jeans, an off-the-shoulder top, and high heels. Her long blonde hair framed her face and she’d applied bright-red lipstick.

“I’ve got less than ten minutes, Rita,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you, my grandmother died. We’re going through her house to get it ready to sell,” she said. “Kayla said she’d seen you Saturday and she told you that we were thinking about getting back together.”

“I’m not thinking any such thing.” He couldn’t believe that she was dressed like that when her grandmother had just died. Granted, times had changed, but she looked like she should be standing on a street corner, not mourning a relative.

“Well, darlin’, I am, and you know I get what I want,” she said. “I want to be a mother.” She moved around the desk and started to massage his shoulders. “Remember when I used to do this after football games?”

He pushed away her hands and stood to his feet. “Rita, we’re not in high school anymore, and we’ve been apart for more than a decade. I’ve moved on.”

“With who?” She glared at him.

“Someone else, and I like her a lot. I don’t want to ruin anything I’ve got with her. And she loves the girls.” He went to the door and stood beside it.