“Honey, you never forget your first love. Whoever this woman is, she won’t ever be able to make you forget me.” She laid a hand on his chest. “I own this heart. I always have, since the first time I kissed you. You might as well go on home and break up with her, because I will have you back.”

“Want to make a bet on that?” he asked.

“Don’t need to. Like I said, I get what I want,” she said.

“You wanted to be the wife of the owner of a Cadillac dealership,” Graham said sarcastically. “You never did want me, Rita.”

She tapped his chest again. “I want you now.”

“It’s too late.”

“It’s never too late for love.” She blew him a kiss as she left.

He barely had time to get his papers out of his briefcase when Vivien said the CPA had arrived. Lauren was a tall, thin woman with short blonde hair and brown eyes. She had a no-nonsense, get-down-to-business attitude that he liked. He’d thought about asking her out a few times but never could find the right moment.

“Good morning, Graham. I’ve scanned everything and it looks good.” She pulled a wingback chair around to his side of the desk and sat down. Then she removed her laptop from her briefcase. “I see you’ve got hard copies for me, just like your dad always did.” She waved a hand toward the stacks of papers. “I’ve told you that all those aren’t necessary.”

“I like a hard copy when we go over the numbers. I see things clearer when I have real paper in my hands,” he said, just like he did every three months at this meeting.

“Okay, then, let’s get started so we can be done at noon.” She nodded. “I bet you like a book in your hands better than a digital one, too, don’t you?”

“You got me.” He grinned.

He focused on everything Lauren said and even took a few notes to go over later, but in the back of his mind, all he could think about was Mitzi. He wanted to tell her about Rita coming to the office before the gossip spread through Celeste like wildfire. By the time he got home that evening, folks would have him and Rita making another trip to the courthouse.

The meeting lasted past noon, so Vivien brought in a light lunch for them, and they ate while they finished up. Lauren packed up her laptop and shook Graham’s hand. “I hear that you and your ex-wife are talking. It’s none of my business at all, but . . . well, just be careful.”

“May I ask why you’re saying that?”