“So are mine.”
“The clientele are demanding.”
“Good. I do my best under pressure.”
“The rules aren’t flexible.”
“Neither am I.”
He exhaled, unreadable. “Tomorrow night. Eight sharp.”
“I’ll be here.”
He slid a folder toward her: sleek, black, same as everything else in this place. Her fingers brushed his as she took it. Intentional. Grounded.
“You knew I’d come.”
“I trusted you’d make the right choice.”
“And if I hadn’t?”
His eyes darkened. “Then I’d have been wrong about you. But I’m not wrong often.”
She didn’t blink. “What if I’m not easy to manage?”
He smiled. “That’s why I’m hiring you.”
A wink of silence. Then: “Welcome to The Blackwell Room.”
“Thank you, Mr. Blackwell.” She let the title hang, then twisted it.
“Gideon.” His brow lifted almost imperceptibly.
She smiled, deliberate. “Gideon.”
His expression shifted. Subtle. Dangerous.
He nodded once—a silent cue. Marco appeared beside her, as if summoned by tension and inevitability.
“Until tomorrow,” Gideon said.
Arden turned, folder in hand, pulse steady. She didn’t look back. She didn’t have to. He was still watching.
And she’d landed in the right place for the first time in far too long.
The night airslid beneath Arden’s collar, sharp and cool against her skin.
Inside, she’d been polished. Controlled. Out here, the facade thinned. She shoved restless hands into her pockets, willing the tremor to stop.
The folder rested against her hip like a test, but it wasn’t drive tightening her chest. It was him. A tight laugh slipped out. This was supposed to be progress. A step into something bigger. Instead, she’d walked into something charged, complex, nameless.
Some part of her wasn’t ready to walk away.
?
The second Arden walked in, she was hit with a wall of sugar, spice, and pure Penny. Vanilla. Cinnamon. And a thick cloud of determination masquerading as baked goods.
“Surprise!” Penny beamed from the kitchen, holding a tray of cupcakes like she’d just defused a bomb with frosting. Flour streaked her apron. Her curls bounced with every movement. “I had a feeling tonight called for a celebration.”
