Granger didn''t respond.


    Neither did Vesta.


    Moran had thought his little scoop would get some reactions, but after a long silence, he couldn''t help himself.


    He typed: [Hello? Anyone home?]


    Granger finally replied: [In a meeting.]


    A momentter, Vesta followed suit: [Busy.]


    Moran: [...]


    Then, Thorne finally appeared: [Swamped.]


    Moran: [...]


    [Everyone''s that busy?]


    Thorne: [Yep. Talkter.]


    With that, Thorne went silent again. Granger really was busy, so he didn''t say anything more either.


    Vesta saw Thorne''s brief appearance and disappearance. She didn''t type another word, but she found herself staring at the screen, lost in thought. A couple of days ago, she had arranged for Coy to bring Thorne to a dinner without his knowledge, hoping to ambush him. She''d made a move in the car, trying to kiss him, but he had rejected her. When she tried to contact him the next day, he was unreachable. Since then, she hadn''t tried to contact him again. It wasn''t that she was embarrassed, but she knew she couldn''t appear too desperate.


    "Vesta?"


    Maureen Spencer and Rhoda had returned, pulling her from her thoughts.


    "You''re back," Vesta said, nodding.


    "Yeah," Henley Hawkins said, taking a seat. "We just ran into an acquaintance who mentioned that the invitations for The Harden Group''s annual g have already been sent out. Did Granger say anything to you about it this year?"


    With the new year approaching, they had been flooded with invitations,rgely thanks to their association with Thorne. But they hadn''t heard a peep from Thorne or Granger. They figured Thore''s invitation was up in the air, but they had always assumed one from The Harden


    Group was a certainty.


    Now, hearing that others had received theirs days ago, they began to worry. The only reason they wouldn''t be invited was if Granger had deliberately excluded them. But Henley and the others found that impossible. If Thorne wanted to push Vesta out of his circle because of their cooling rtionship, he might have asked Granger to do it. But then why would Moran still send


    them invitations to his events?


    They concluded that Granger must have sent Vesta''s invitation directly to her, given


    their supposed friendship.


    Vesta lowered her eyes. "No," she said quietly.


    Henley and Rhoda stared at her, stunned. The reality sank in: Granger wasn''t inviting them this year.


    In their minds, there was only one possible reason—he was still upset about the incident with Leah Spencer.


    Rhoda and Leah''s faces instantly darkened. Leah, biting her lip with tears welling in her eyes, turned and ran upstairs.


    Frankly, Henley and Maureen were shocked that Granger would hold such a grudge over Leah. They had assumed that, for Vesta''s sake, he would still extend an invitation C Apparently not. Then again, if he had invited them, Leah would have probably insisted on going.


    Laverne Hawkins sighed. "It seems we all need to be more careful. We can''t even mention Leah''s name in front of him anymore."


    Rhoda''s expression was grim, but she knew her daughter was at fault, so she said nothing.


    Vesta knew the truth. Granger''s decision had nothing to do with Leah. He was using it as an excuse to draw a line in the sand between him and her.