Then, finally, Penny sighed.
“Just so we’re clear—if I ever get access to a time machine, I’m going back to throw hands.”
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it—quick and surprised.
She grinned like she'd just called dibs on chaos. “I’m serious,” she said, pointing at Arden like she meant business. “I’ll come in swinging like a pint-sized gremlin and makeeveryoneuncomfortable.”
Arden shook her head, smiling despite herself. “That, I would pay to see.”
“You joke, but I’m scrappy.”
“I believe you.”
With a sweeping gesture worthy of theater, Penny raised her glass. “Well, cheers to found family, then. Because, for the record, you’re stuck with me now.”
Arden rolled her eyes, but her chest felt a little less tight.
She lifted her own glass. “Stuck with you, huh?”
“Absolutely. No take-backs.”
Their glasses clinked, and for the first time in a long time, Arden let herself believe it.
Maybe Penny was right. Some family was chosen.
Maybe Arden wasn’t as alone as she thought.
Penny shifted, reaching behind one of the throw pillows.
“Oh—bythe way, a package came for you.”
Arden blinked. “For me?”
“Yeah.” Penny dug it out and passed it over. “Didn’t check the label, figured it was something boring, but it’s got your name on it. Came this afternoon.”
Arden set down her glass, frowning as she took the small parcel. No return address. Just her name, neatly printed in a clean font.
She peeled the tape back, heart ticking a little faster for no good reason.
Inside, nestled in pale tissue, sat a bottle of Mon Guerlain.
Her signature perfume.
A new bottle—sleek and familiar. Identical to the one on her dresser, almost empty now.
Arden stared at it.
“I didn’t order this,” she murmured.
Penny glanced up from the last bite of naan. “Maybe you did and forgot? You’ve been… elsewhere, lately.”
“Maybe.” Arden turned the package over, searching for some kind of explanation, an invoice, a card, anything.
Nothing.
She studied the delicate etching across the glass, lingering longer than she meant them to. The scent was right. The bottle was right.
Everything about it was right… and that’s what unsettled her most.
