Vivienne bristles beside me. “We’re both well aware of the current situation and the goals for this interview, Anne. There’s no need to lecture Jace about them.” Her voice is sharp.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” Anne replies. While she does look remorseful, surprise and confusion also flash across her face before she schools it into a neutral expression again. “Let’s move on.”

I eat the last bite of my breakfast and set my plate to the side.

“Were there any other events on campus you attended together?”

“No,” Viv replies. “Jace came to my dorm once. That photo was already leaked to the press. We left campus right after that for the Thanksgiving break.”

“Ah, yes. The break when you traveled to Nebraska while your security team believed you were still on Lincoln’s campus?”

“Yes,” Vivienne replies curtly. I can feel the tension radiating off her.

I grab her hand underneath the table and give it a light squeeze.

She relaxes. “We spent most of the time at Jace’s family’s house.”

“Did you drive anywhere together?”

I seize the opportunity to lighten the tense mood. “We didn’t let Viv drive anywhere after the cart incident.”

To my relief, Vivienne laughs, just as I hoped. “Of course you would bring that up.” To Anne, she adds, “He’s kidding, that was on the farm. No one saw.”

“What was the cart incident?” Anne looks between us in confusion.

“Vivienne got our farm vehicle stuck during her visit,” I elaborate, grinning at Viv.

She rolls her eyes. “I told Max I hadn’t done much driving. He insisted, so I decided I’d impress you by driving around the farm like a native Nebraskan.”

I chuckle at this new revelation. “You blew me away with your ability to get the cart stuck on a dry, flat road. My dad, too. It’s one of his favorite stories to tell.”

“Really?” Viv asks, looking both surprised and sad. “I didn’t think he would… I mean, I figured I wasn’t—”

“They didn’t just forget you,” I assure her. I both love and hate the fact Vivienne fits so perfectly in my family.

Viv swallows a couple of times rapidly. “Jace…”

“It’s fine, Viv. They understand.”

Anne clears her throat, startling me. I completely forgot she was in the room. Viv jumps as well, indicating she did, too.

“How about we take a break?” Anne suggests, rubbing her forehead.

I let out a sigh of relief. “Sounds good to me.” Vivienne nods in agreement.

“Cara, you can stop the recording.” Anne’s assistant rushes to comply with her instruction. Anne closes her notebook. “I’ll see you both later,” she says, standing and leaving the room. Cara follows her.

As soon as the door shuts behind them, Viv drops her head to the table. “Ugh,” she groans.

“You didn’t think that went well?” I ask, smirking.

She turns her head to look at me. “I’m so sorry, Jace.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is.” She raises her head and traces her finger in circles on the table. “I didn’t tell them. When I got back, I should have told them about us, that it could come out, but I didn’t. And then, by some miracle, no one at Lincoln talked about us to the press. But I made a huge scene at the game. I might as well have announced I was in love with you on national television.”