xt morning, tangled in

late and crate conversations. Ariana hadn't stayed long. Just enough time to stir something real before slipping into the night like a

m a power surge, and the basil in the fridge had wilted into melancholy. She tossed it out, s

o taste "the pizza that seduced Wall Street." Riley kept her head d

opened-and the

sn't

ipboard in hand. Steely posture. She approached the c

Qui

arily. "Depend

credentials like a badge. "We're producing a documentary se

nked. "Di

ur shop. Possibly your life. Thin

unds...

tightly. "It so

sunlit boardroom filled with

a liability. One particularly chatty executive referred to Riley as "an emot

er COO said. "That

campaign," Ar

is a conv

t be quantified. Riley wasn't a PR asset or a press problem. She was a person with pink snea

idn't li

fee tonight? Qui

later. "Only if you bri

ucked above a bookstore. The skyline flickered in th

sweater. Riley nearly stopped in her tracks. The Wall Str

ingly well," Riley

ng radical," Ariana

her chair. "I had a media s

replied. "They ap

dened. "And you

itch. I wanted to

ity. "Feels like I'm alread

le. "Riley... if this becomes noise, I'll mut

yes. "You sure

ng," Ariana

uds trail across the moon. Neither spoke of hea

"There's something

ised an

For three months during grad school. That

ward. "That's wh

e I walked in because I was ti

ing here makes sens

bag and slid a folded

this

e summit. Black tie. And in the bottom corner,

aw dr

ant me

you wi

ously. "Do they se

conversations and ov

s dang

"You make thi

at the invite, t

anything fanc

lied. "Consider it

is won't become

out, her hand w

, we'll give

ess Ariana had sent over-still tagged, still intimidating. She'd never worn anyth

s. Pink sneakers. She

st, and opened the shop for half a day-just long enough to prep a

ed. Chauffeur waitin

dy?" Ari

lied. "But I'm

glasses clinked. Ariana navigated the room like royalty,

le s

ers f

like an anchor, and togethe

er and whispered, "She'

lied, "She

nce was

ing the city, Riley leaned into Ariana and w

're the only real t

y sm

with pizzerias and poets, their worlds cont

eth