ARIA

I walked into Dante's study, and the door clicked shut behind me. Suddenly, I was alone with my phone and increasingly frantic voicemails from Elise, while being hyper-aware of what had happened in this study room the last time I was here with Dante.

I should have called her immediately. She's my best friend, the one person who's always been in my corner. She deserves better than finding out about my engagement from the New York Times.

I press her contact, and the phone barely rings ...