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 open wound. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “I feel like we shouldn’t have left her alone. I...