After dinner ended, Vesta got into Thorne''s car.


    She looked at him and asked, "Are you upset?"


    She was, of course, referring to the fact that she had ambushed him by getting his location from Coy without his permission.


    "No," Thorne said tly, then added, "I''ll have the driver take you home." He instructed the driver to head to the Hawkins residence.


    Vesta didn''t object. She just watched Thorne for a moment before reaching out to take his hand.


    Thorne stiffened. Just as he was about to pull away, Vesta leaned in closer.


    He turned his face away, gently but firmly removing her hand from his. He shifted in his seat, putting a little more distance between them.


    Just then, his phone rang.


    He picked it up. "I need to take this," he said, answering the call.


    Despite the clear rejection, Vesta showed no sign of embarrassment. She simply settled back into her seat. "Of course."


    Thorne began discussing business with the person on the other end of the line, and the call stretched on for several minutes. When he finally hung up, Vesta didn''t bring up what had just happened. Instead, she smiled and smoothly transitioned the conversation to his work call. "I thought that project was alreadypletely wrapped up."


    "No, we ran into a snag. It''s slowed things down a bit."


    Vesta nodded, and they continued to talk aboutpany matters. The atmosphere became surprisingly pleasant, as if the earlier tension had never happened. Vesta made no more attempts to get close to him.


    She knew that pushing too hard could backfire. If Thorne lost his patience and decided to end things, it would do more harm than good.


    When they arrived at the Hawkins residence, Vesta paused before getting out. "It''s been a while since I''ve been inside. Come in for drink?"


    Thorne remained in his seat. "I can''t. I have some other things to attend to. Maybe next time."


    "Alright," Vesta said, not pressing the issue.


    Without another word, Thorne had the driver pull away, leaving before anyone from the house coulde out to greet them.


    It was only when they saw the car driving off that the family realized Thorne had been the one to bring Vesta home.


    "Why didn''t Thornee in for a bit?" Rhoda asked as Vesta walked inside.


    Vesta didn''t answer.


    Seeing the look on her face, Maureen knew things hadn''t gone well. "How did it go?"


    Vesta had made her move in the car to test Thorne''s feelings for her, and the result was painfully clear. He might not have ended things officially, but his cold avoidance of her touch spoke volumes Her nt to salvage their rtionship by getting pregnant now seemed nearly impossible.


    "Just take it slow," Rhoda offered. "You''ll get your chance. At least he didn''t break up with you, right?"


    Rhoda''s words echoed Vesta''s own


    thoughts. If she wanted to win Thorne back, she knew she had to be the one to take the initiative. Still, she decided against ambushing him again and tried calling him instead


    Unsurprisingly, he didn''t answer. He didn''t call her back, either.


    Vesta had expected as much. After a moment of thought, she called Coy.


    "Did Thorne say anything to you about yesterday?" she asked. "About you telling me where he was."


    "No, Mr. Henderson wasn''t angry or anything," Coy replied. "But... he did say it can''t happen again. So, Ms. Hawkins... I''m very sorry."