LAUREN'S POV

“Was this a bad idea?” I asked, my voice steady even though my hands were doing everything but steady. I kept my focus on the road, the white lines blurring beneath the low glow of the dashboard as the car cut through the late afternoon traffic.

“Was what a bad idea?” Roman asked, his gaze flicking toward me out of the corner of his eye.

“This whole… decorations and throwing Aria a party,” I said, the words coming out in a rush. Saying them felt like scraping at an ...