Dan slid an arm around her shoulders, smug and shameless. “Face it, Penelope. Arden’s brain crushed you.”
“And Gideon’s brooding,” Penny countered, flicking her gaze toward him. “I’m sorry, is brooding now a trivia strategy?”
“It worked,” Gideon replied, bone-dry, and that earned him a laugh from Arden that she didn’t bother to hide.
She dropped her pen and sighed with a mock flair. “Don’t inflate his ego, Penny. He’ll be unbearable the rest of the night.”
“Please.” Penny sat up straight. “The only thing I care about now is snacks. Snacks are therealprize. Speaking of…” She turned to Dan. “Didn’t you promise me nachos if I lost?”
Dan narrowed his eyes. “I promised nothing. You hallucinated that deal.”
Penny gasped, clutching her heart like a spurned lover. “Wow. Treachery. Betrayal. This is how revolutions start.”
Arden leaned into the back of her chair, laughter easing the tightness in her chest. Across from her, Gideon leaned in, close enough that his arm brushed hers. The touch was subtle, but her body reacted as if it were deliberate. A live wire threaded from his skin to hers.
“Good teamwork,” he said softly.
“Surprised?” she asked, teasing—though her heart thudded like he’d confessed something far more dangerous.
His voice stayed low, rough at the edges. “Not even a little.”
The words sank into her, quiet but heavy, leaving ripples in their wake.
Before she could say anything more, Penny’s voice barreled back in. “Okay, losers, we’re not done until someone buys me dessert. Arden? Back me up here.”
The moment fractured—sharp and sudden.
Arden blinked, startled by how quickly it vanished, and grabbed her bagwith a little too much efficiency. “Always, Penny. Nachos and dessert. Let’s make it happen.”
Dan tossed his jacket over his shoulder, smirking. “Lead the way, Penelope. But don’t think I’m paying just because you got smoked.”
Penny sniffed, nose in the air. “I’m a woman of simple desires, Daniel. Just buy me one overpriced slice of cake, and I’ll consider forgiving you.”
As the chaos shifted toward the bar, Arden turned back around.
Gideon sat unmoving, stone-carved and staring straight through her. That devastating smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“You coming?” she asked, aiming for breezy but failing miserably at casual.
His eyes locked on hers.
“Absolutely.”
One word. But it hit like a promise.
She turned back, forcing her legs to carry her forward, but her heart pounded like itknewwhat was coming.
The night wasn’t over.
And neither were they.
Laughter followedthem into the night, sharp against the bite of cold air. Their boots clicked over rain-slick cobblestones. Penny linked her arm through Arden’s, her hair flashing violet under the streetlamps like a rebellious halo.
“Okay,” Dan announced, slinging an arm around Penny’s shoulders with exaggerated swagger. “Group tattoos. No backing out. Something bold. Possibly unhinged.”
Penny gasped, clapping her hands like he’d just proposed marriage. “Yes! Full chaos. Matching ink. And I’m documenting every moment. This is premium blackmail content.”
Arden’s smirk came easy—the kind that turned heads and made people wonder what she knew that they didn’t.
