“Most people think stars are boring.”
She grins up at me, making my insides feel like they’re melting. “Well, I don’t.”
“This is my first date.” The confession erupts from me.
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“I don’t know why I even told you. Twenty-three and haven’t been on a date.” My nerves make it harder not to say exactly what’s on my mind. “It’s a bit embarrassing.”
“No, it’s not.” She shakes her head vigorously. “I’m sure loads of girls have wanted to date you.”
“As soon as we started talking, they changed their minds.” I gaze up at the twinkling stars. “Then I kinda gave up on the idea of ever finding an omega who would accept me for me.”
“Riven…” She wrings her hands.
“Oh no.” I taste bile. “I messed up, didn’t I? Calder’s always saying that I should take a second before speaking.”
“You haven’t messed up.” She takes my hand, gently prying my tightly balled fingers apart to slip her fingers through mine. Her tender touch immediately puts me at ease. “This is perfect. Honestly. It’s the best date.” She looks down at our interlocked hands. “But I don’t know whether I can be the person you want me to be.”
I tilt my head to the side, watching how she tugs her bottom lip with her top teeth. I think back to what I’ve read about human body language. That means she’s worried, right? “You’re worried about that?”
Her voice is almost a whisper. “I don’t want to let you down.”
“You could never let me down,” I retort. “You’re who I want. Exactly as you are.”
“You don’t know the real me.” She slips her hand from mine, puts hers together then blows into them before pulling her coat tighter around her shoulders. “I have a complicated family. I work all the time. I basically live in the library. I couldn’t be anyone’s perfect match.”
“You know, I never thought I’d join a pack.” I sigh wistfully. The best way I’ve found to connect to people is through sharing my own experiences. “After growing up in a household with so much noise, I thought it’d be better if I was on my own. Easier. When Hale asked me to join his pack, I didn’t think I’d fit in, even though Calder was already my best friend.”
Her eyes are locked onto me, like she’s hanging on my every word.
“I didn’t think a pack would want an alpha who thinks differently.” I fiddle with one of the dials on the telescope, even though it’s already set up perfectly. “But I took a chance, and I’m glad I did. I found a home. Hale, Calder, and Ezra are my family now. I know I’m not very good at saying the right things, but I think you’re probably feeling a little like how I did then.”
“Have you ever regretted it?” she asks. “Joining a pack?”
“Sometimes I wish it was a bit quieter, especially when Calder is ranting about deadlines.” I can’t help but grin. “But no, never.”
“I never really felt like I fit in much either, not until I came to SVU and found the Stellas,” Kady says. “But now that I’ve found myself, I don’t want to lose myself again.”
“Joining a pack doesn’t have to mean losing yourself.” I hope she can hear my sincerity. “None of us are perfect.”
She keeps her gaze fixed on her lap. “And you really believe that we’re scent matches?”
“I do, but I don’t believe our destiny is written in the stars. No matter how much I like to look at them. All I know is that I want to get to know you, Kady. Only you.”
Her smile makes her blue eyes twinkle under the light of my headlamp. “For someone who thinks they don’t say the right things, you’re pretty good with words.”
A swarm of butterflies take flight in my stomach. No one’s ever said that to me before, and the compliment means so much more coming from her. Smiling, I look into the telescope again.
“Woah!” Kady points up at a few dazzling lights streaking across the inky blackness. “What are they?”
I spin the telescope to look, gasping at what I see. “What…? It can’t be…” The shower isn’t due for days yet, but I’m not imagining the shooting trails. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s not supposed to happen now.”
“I guess we’ve all had unexpected surprises lately.”
She puts her hand over mine again. Even though a once in a lifetime constellation phenomenon is happening, I can’t bring myself to look away from her. Kady Sinclair is all I ever want to see. I carefully map her face like it’s the sky—her large, aquamarine doll eyes, cute nose, the slight sheen of her pink lips, and pointed chin. I’ll never get tired of looking at her.
Somewhere in the distance, crickets chirp and leaves rustle, the air feeling supercharged and magical. Kady inhales deeply, lying back onto the soft grass, her blonde hair fanning over the blanket around her head. I lie down by her side, settling in to watch the shooting stars overhead.
