“I’m sorry, Jess.”

“No, really, Nana Jo and Pops are the best people I’ve ever known. I knew from a really young age that I was better off.”

“They sound amazing.”

She suddenly felt naked. Here she was, her ex-boyfriend didn’t even want to raise a kid with her, mother chose drugs over her, raised by grandparents and still living with them. River had two sisters who adored him so much they helped him figure out how to dress to reach his full hotness potential.

“What is that expression?” he asked, leaning in. “What did I say?”

Jess was made uneasy by how quickly he read her. A panic she didn’t completely understand rose in her throat, making her want to look for an exit. This party was the kind of thing that happened to the heroine of the story, not the best friend. What was she doing here?

Humor, as usual, was her best defense. “Just imagining how from your perspective your Diamond Match has a truckload of baggage.”

He didn’t laugh. “Don’t we all?”

Her smile faded. “Do we?”

“We do. But come on. I know you well enough to know that you’re not carrying baggage.” He was holding her gaze, and she felt physically unable to look away. “You’ve chosen your circumstances, Jess. I like that about you. You take what you want and leave the rest behind. You decide.”

He was right. She felt herself stand up straighter, lean toward him.

“There you are!” a voice called out. “River, come on down here, and bring that young lady of yours.”

Still holding her eyes, he fought a smile. “Is this young lady of mine ready for some more mingling?”

Jess laughed. “I’ve sufficiently recharged my battery, yes.”

Taking her hand, he led her back down the hall to the party, toward the tiny old man who’d called out his name. He had to be in his eighties, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a well-worn black suit. Beside him was a woman with a thick braid of white hair around the crown of her head and makeup-free crepe-lined features. She was wearing a simple black dress with a lace collar and pearls. Somehow she was even smaller than her husband.

“How’d they convince you to come out?” River asked, grinning.

“Caroline leaned on Dorothy,” the man said in a thick German accent.

“And by ‘leaned on,’ ” Dorothy chimed in, “he means that Caroline promised me I’d get to see you.”

River bent to kiss her powder-soft cheek. “Johan, Dotty, this is my Jessica.”

My Jessica.

Her heart fell in a swoon, from her chest to her feet.

“Jess, Johan and Dotty Fuchs.”

She didn’t even have time to recover; both tiny octogenarians were coming toward her, each wanting an embrace.

She bent, hugging them in turn. “Hi. Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Fuchs.”

“Jess,” River said quietly, reverently, “Johan and Dotty were our very first Diamond Match. Their granddaughter brought them to us back in 2014, and she was right: they came through with a score of ninety-three. Our first score in the nineties.”