“Hey, Sam,” Jace replies, grinning.

“Hi, Vivienne,” Sam greets as he reaches us.

“Hey, Sam,” I respond. “How’s it going?”

“Not too shabby.”

Gretchen comes up behind Sam, her gaze fixed on Jace. The same surge of possessiveness I experienced in the store suddenly resurfaces.

“Hey, Jace,” she greets quietly. Her voice is breathy. She moves to give him a hug, and Jace reciprocates.

“Hi, Gretchen, how are you?” Jace’s tone is casual.

“Great! Everything turned out well, didn’t it?” She gestures around at the decorated barn.

“It all looks beautiful,” I compliment, jumping into the conversation. “Nice to see you again, Gretchen.”

She looks over at me for the first time. “You too,” she replies, giving me what looks to be a forced smile. She eyes my outfit. “That dress looks really nice on you,” she offers, begrudgingly.

“Thank you.”

“Gretchen and I were just heading to get some drinks.” Sam breaks the brief silence that’s descended over our foursome. “Can we get you guys anything?”

I open my mouth to reply, but Gretchen jumps in first. “Jace, you can help me, right? We can give Sam and Vivienne a chance to get to know each other better.”

I eye her innocent expression cynically, fairly certain she has a different motivation for changing her escort to the bar. I don’t make any objection, though. Jace looks to me, and we have a silent conversation where he raises his brows questioningly, and I nod in assent. I’m surprised to realize we can communicate wordlessly.

“Whiskey?” he asks me.

I nod, and he and Gretchen walk off toward the bar set up alongside the makeshift stage. She’s beaming.

“That was nice of you,” Sam comments, drawing my attention away from their retreating figures.

“Huh?”

“Gretchen’s had a thing for Jace since we were kids. She’s spent years waiting for him to wake up and decide they’re soul mates. It made more sense when we were younger. We all grew up together, our parents are all friends. I was hoping she’d get over it at college, but…” He lets his voice trail off, and glances over at me. “It’s good for her to see you two together. I think part of it was that Jace never looked twice at any girl. But finding out he brought you home, brought you to his brother’s game, was bringing you to this wedding, it’s been a much-needed wake-up call for her. It’s obvious Jace is crazy about you.”

I shift uncomfortably in response to his last sentence. “Does Jace know? How she feels about him?”

“I think he had an idea in high school. I’m guessing he thinks—or hopes—that she’s over it now.”

“So she’s never said anything to him?”

“Not that he’s told me. I only know because I found her crying at Homecoming our junior year after Jace went off with—uh…” He glances awkwardly at me.

I laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m well aware of Jace’s effect on girls. And that he’s taken advantage of it.”