LET ME BE ME

you live with aren't

---

d

he shop are a

e of the front door. The quiet gurgle

e-sharp like clove,

ich coming by at noon. Make sure the samples are

t part i

got to take out

back, already

today. Not because I planned it. That's just

rming, elegant, the silver-haired perfumer with a French

who kept me alive when I

d me. Paid for t

inks he owns pieces

peering over his glasses. "The Zurich blen

mumble, but I already

ecklace. Still wearing it? Makes y

l twist. "It's not y

rything you wear in this s

. But it's the kind of love that comes with rules

Aurora b

t high ponytail. Cream pantsuit. Her scent is strong-oud and

touching them. "I came to check on your little perfume dis

s a drop. And the bottl

ens when you work like an art

esn't create. But she knows how to talk, and sh

ersation and lights

s your help with client manage

clients just fine

ora says sweetly. "But that's what

hit

ron and walk to the back

I should've left t

own studio.

s... it feels l

ight to be enough in the eyes of p

ht, I st

Music soft. Just me

something new. Something sharp and swee

n-the one with the black wax seal and the wor

know if

r necklace resting besi

see how