Chapter 1“The dare is that you both have to stay in this room for sixty minutes without your phones. You can laugh it off after, but you’re not leaving early.”Roman closed the guest-room door behind them and turned the lock. The sound was small and final. Music and voices from the party downstairs reached them only as a low, muffled pulse through the floor. The room itself was plain—neat bed, single armchair, shaded lamp left on low, heavy curtains drawn against the night. Tessa stood near the foot of the bed with her arms loosely crossed, watching him.“You didn’t have to accept it,” she said.“Neither did you.”“True.” She glanced at the locked door. “We’ve spent two years in the same rooms and never once managed a conversation that lasted longer than the time it takes to refill a drink. Now we’re stuck in here for an hour because someone thought it would be funny.”Roman leaned against the wall beside the door. “Was it funny to you?”“At the table? Mildly. Standing here? Less so.
Last Updated : 2026-08-20 Read more