Vero POV

  “Alright, everyone, grab your drinks and settle in right here on the rug,” I said, easing myself down onto the soft fibers with the deck of cards clutched in one hand and my cold beer bottle in the other, the condensation already dripping onto my fingers.

  The living room carried that familiar scent of greasy pizza slices we had torn through earlier, the empty boxes stacked haphazardly on the side table, and the coffee table in front of us held a mess of scattered napkins, a few stray crusts, and glasses with remnants of wine and beer sloshing inside them.

  Juliet stretched out lazily against the base of...