“Okay, fine.” Jules put down her napkin with a little more firmness than necessary. “I was imagining taking you to an Olive Garden with a ton of food instead of a fancy restaurant, and it seemed like a funny idea. That’s all.”

Vivian looked at her as if she weren’t sure Olive Gardens existed, much less that Jules would ever go to one. “‘Taking me’ to an Olive Garden?”

The emphasis in her words left no doubt as to what she objected to the most. Jules’s face scalded. Why had she phrased it like that, like it would be a date or something? You idiot. “I know it’s ridiculous. That’s why it made me laugh.”

Vivian flagged down their server for the check. “It must be nice to be easily amused. You make your own entertainment.”

“I wasn’t trying to be insensitive,” Jules said. “I know this publicity is bad.”

There was an awkward pause. The server arrived, and Vivian said nothing until he’d departed again. Then she sighed. “You think this is bad?”

“It’s not great, is it?”

“It could be worse. It will be”—Vivian gestured vaguely at her abdomen—“once this news gets out. Just wait.”

“It isn’t just that,” Jules blurted out. “How would you like being called ‘lowly’?”

A baffled expression crossed Vivian’s face. “What?”

Shoot. Jules hadn’t meant to mention that. Compared to Vivian, she was getting off comically easy here. The caption hadn’t even mentioned her name.

“Nothing,” she muttered.

“Clearly it isn’t. Spit it out.”

No getting out of it now. Jules sighed and crossed her arms. “The website called me your ‘lowly assistant.’”

“Well, that wasn’t very nice of them.”

“I know it isn’t a big deal,” Jules said through gritted teeth. “I just—”

“You don’t get anywhere by worrying about the tabloids. They’ll say what they say. What matters is that you know the truth about yourself.” Vivian placed her napkin on the table with a snap. “And if you think you’re lowly after all this, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

Good thing she didn’t say anything else because Jules’s ears started buzzing. Had that been a compliment? It sure sounded like one.

“Uh, yeah. Th-thank you for lunch,” she stammered as she took out her phone. “I’ll text Jimmy to get us.”

“You do that. And then confirm our flight home.”

Jules blinked. “What? You know I’m not on your flight, right?”

Vivian looked at her with wide eyes. Clearly she had not known that.

Dammit. “When I bought my ticket, they copied you on my itinerary. At least they were supposed to.”

“Why aren’t we on the same flight?” Vivian looked like she was getting ready to throw a pretty spectacular tantrum.

“It was full! The only flight I could get was tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”