Page 28 of Shiver

She rolls her eyes, leaning farther into the couch cushions. “I’m not picking on her; I’m making conversation,” she says with a pout.

“You’re an asshole, and you’re patronizing her,” another woman with bubblegum-pink hair calls from across the room, but her tone holds no bite, and it makes me smile. The way these women banter reminds me a lot of how things used to be between my sister, Cora, and me.

“Okay, ladies, I think it’s time we play a little introductory game, don’t ya think?” Gloria asks with a wide grin that sends a chill down my spine. I’ve already caught onto the fact that everything she does is with purpose and sheer mischief.

Everyone around me groans.

“Nothing good ever comes of this game,” I hear someone whisper quietly.

She waves a hand in the air, dismissing the loud groans and protests as if they never happened at all. “Let’s play truth or dare, but with a twist,” Gloria says, her face beaming.I’m beginning to realize this woman is a menace to society, and I think I may be her next victim.

“Oh, here we go,” Aiyana says, chuckling under her breath. “What the hell could be the twist this time? Don’t you think you’ve run out of those by now?”

“Not a chance. The woman has the brain of a genius, but she uses it for evil,” one of the women says with a groan.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop complaining,” Gloria says cheerily, slapping her hands to her thighs. “This is how the game will go. We’ll each go around the room and introduce ourselves. You’ll say your name and one fun fact about you. The twist is that you get to choose whether or not this ‘fact’”—she says the word with air quotes—“is actually true or not. If someone calls you out on your lie and it actuallyisa lie, you have to play truth or dare.”

“Okay, so to clarify, we’re basically just saying our name and something about us, and we can choose to fuck with each other?” Aiyana asks.

“Yep,” Gloria confirms.

“Alright, I’ll start,” the curly-haired brunette who greeted me at the front door says. “I’m Charlie, Gloria’s youngest daughter, and one fun fact about me is that my mother has been tormenting me since the day I arrived as a wee lil’ babe.”

“I won’t deny any part of that statement,” Gloria says proudly.

Charlie rolls her eyes and nods her head toward the pink-haired woman beside her. “Okay, I’m Rose, and Charlie’s my wife.”

“Well, that’s not a fun fact, but it’s true,” Gloria grumbles, clearly disappointed by Rose’s mundane response, though I sort of love how cut-and-dry she is.

Charlie laughs, planting a kiss on top of her wife’s head as she says softly, “I think it’s the most fun fact there is.” It damn near makes meswoon.If I were reading that line in a book, I’d be giggling and kicking my feet.

“Alright, lovebirds, onto our little bird, Lark.” Gloria tips her chin toward one of the two redheads in the room.

We continue like this for the next hour. Some of the women finally decide to tell a lie, each of which is easily caught because they know each other so well.

And much to my surprise, I’m actually havingfun.

When they get to me, my stomach starts to twist. I was enjoying myself to the point that I forgot to formulate a response, and now I feel stuck.What should I say?

“Hi, I’m Samara.” I try to think quickly on my feet. “And I graduated from Harvard Law before moving back to Philadelphia to practice family law.”

“Hah.” Aiyana snorts, pointing a finger at me. “That’s a fucking lie; you went to Columbia with Rome.”

My eyes widen. “How doyouknow Rome too?”Good lord. For a homebody, that man certainly gets around.

“Audrey was my wedding planner, thanks to Luca’s suggestion,” she says, smiling brightly.

Before I’m even able to form a response, Gloria’s already back on her bullshit.

“Truth or dare, Samara?”

I repress the groan building in my throat as I consider the possible consequences of either option. Truth is probably safer because, from what I’ve seen of Gloria so far, she’s likely to dare me to streak down the road, and I have zero interest in getting arrested.

“Truth,” I grumble halfheartedly.

Her eyes light up, and a wide smile spreads across her face. “Why did youreallycome to see Luca the other day?”

I roll my eyes, doing my best not to come across as flustered as I am. Considering that’s literally half of what makes me so good at my job, it shouldn’t be as difficult to pull off as it feels at this moment. Namely, becauseI’mnot even sure why I went over there. “As I said, I was only checking on my client. Nothing unusual. That was such a waste of a question,” I say, keeping my tone even.

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