ROMAN'S POV

The sound of another set of footsteps approaching snapped me out of my thoughts about Aria. My mind had drifted somewhere else — too deep, too dangerous. For a second, I thought it was Lauren returning with the juice she promised me, but when I looked up, it wasn’t her. It was her friend, Tessa.

“Lauren told me you stopped by, so I decided to come say hello,” she said with an easy smile, stretching her hand toward me.

I stood up politely, meeting her halfway with a handshake. Her grip was firm, confident the kind of handshake you’d expect from someone who didn’t need to pretend to...