Goodbye, Mr. Regret

Vince understood Timothy better than most.

If Sandra and Abell had actually managed to persuade Timothy to file for divorce, they would have reached out to him ages ago-asked him to get in touch with Jessica, at least. But now, with the court date less than twenty-four hours away and still no word, it was obvious things weren't going as planned.

Larkin turned to Jessica and asked gently, "So, you're really sure there's no chance of you and Timothy getting back together?"

Jessica nodded.

"In that case," Larkin continued, "once the hearing's over tomorrow and you and Timothy are officially divorced-why not marry our Vince?"

Jessica blushed so deeply she could feel the heat creeping up her neck.

She waved her hands in protest, flustered.

"You don't want to?" Larkin prompted.

Hurriedly, Jessica grabbed a notepad and scribbled, "It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

She wrote, "Mr. Zimmerman is such a good man. I'm not worthy of him." Vince, silently watching from across the room, caught the words she'd written.

Larkin chuckled. "You're an exceptional woman yourself, Jessy. There's no such thing as 'not worthy.' Vince has always been the more gentle one in the family, always quick with a smile. I think you'd be a wonderful match. And I know he admires you, too."

But Jessica still felt uneasy. The timing was all wrong: she was just coming out of a marriage, for one. And someone like Vince-well, with his family, his standing, and his talents—he could easily find someone who'd never been married, someone without a child, not someone like her with so much baggage.

and Timothy divorce,

Vince and Timothy had

way Jessica did. No woman had ever moved him so deeply, or impressed him

custody of Henry, he'd find a way—no matter what it took-to bring the boy over

stunned. She couldn't even look at Vince now. If things ever turned romantic between them, she doubted she'd have the courage to keep talking to him at all. She'd always

more-especially given his

to her grandmother

to Larkin.

to start anything new, not

with everything so

warmly. "Jessy, Vince is

good

you, I wanted

a divorce, there's no need for me to hold back? I'd hate to see someone else swoop in

interrupted, "Not

just agreed a second ago—don't

worried she'd withdraw from him altogether if things moved too fast. At the very least, he wanted her to feel she could

that if, in the end, she still hasn't turned up, Jessy could pretend to be her for a while to comfort my mother. But if Jessy and I announce an engagement, there's no way she

Larkin's face. He turned to Jessica, his voice a little softer.

Jessica wrote, "Twenty-seven."

younger than you now. She disappeared when she was six. It's been twenty