We may look almost identical on the outside, but on the inside, Rowan is the one that feels things more intensely.
He’s always been the more expressive one, the one that lets his emotions override logic.
A lot of times those emotions are negative, and it’s difficult to pull him out of his own head.
But by the way he’s looking at Ash, I have a feeling the cat will be able to help him with that task.
“This cat is fucking awesome,” he murmurs, and I laugh. I join him on the floor, sitting cross legged while Ash happily weaves between the both of us, receiving an abundance of pets.
“I’ve got food and a small litterbox in the car, but we’ll need to make a pet store run later,” I say.
“Sounds good. Also, why thefuckdo you smell like that?” Rowan asks suddenly, his eyes narrowing as he sniffs the air. He freezes mid-pet, staring at me. “Who were you around?”
It takes a moment for recognition to dawn on Rowan’s face, but when it does, it’s priceless. His light blue eyes grow wide, and he sucks in a sharp breath.
“Holy shit,” he breathes. “You found them? Is it what I think it is?”
I was going to draw this out and take my time processing what just happened with Blair, but I should have known my twin would pick up on it.
“I found her,” I breathe. “I found our scent match, Rowan. It’s Blair.”
“Blair?” he sputters. “TheBlair? Bartender cat lady Blair? Travis’s Blair?” He stands up and begins to pace, and I watch him with amusement. “Holyshit!BlairBlair?”
Ash trots back to me and nuzzles into my chest. “Not just Travis’s Blair.OurBlair.”
“Holy fuck. Holyfuck,” Rowan paces around the room, anxious energy cascading off him in waves. “I…I have to see her. I have to,now. How did she react? Does she know? What are you doing just sitting here when she’s out there?”
“When who’s out where?” Travis asks from the hall. He comes to a stop in the doorway, and his mouth twists in shock when Ash waddles over to him. “Who isthat?”
“That’s Ash,” I say, standing. “When were you going to tell us she was a scent match?”
Travis turns his attention from the cat to stare at me like I spoke a different language. “Who?”
“Blair, dumbass!Blair!” Rowan shouts. “She was our scent match this whole time?”
Travis opens and closes his mouth, seemingly at a loss for words. “You saw her?” he asks finally.
Ash sits in front of him, looks up, and meows.
“Yeah. How do you think I got him?” I motion to Ash, who happily flops onto Travis’s feet. “Did you really not know she’s a match?”
“I…suspected,” Travis grumbles, staring at the cat. “But I wasn’t sure. There are always so many people at Scentsthat it’s impossible to distinguish everyone.” He looks at me, his dark eyes suspicious. “Does she know we’re roommates?”
“No. She left in a hurry after we met.”
“Did you piss her off?” Rowan asks. “Why would she run away?”
“Did she acknowledge the match?” Travis continues.
“No.” I shake my head, ignoring Rowan. “At first I thought she did, but...”
“…but?” Rowan demands. “Butwhat?”
“But you know her better than I do,” I say to Travis, ignoring Rowan’s freak out. “And I think we have our work cut out for us.”
Travis’s lip twitches in what is almost a smile. “She’s not looking for anyone. She’s made that clear.”
“She hasn’t met all of us, yet,” Rowan says. “Maybe she’ll change her mind once we meet her as a pack.”
