“Not a clue. Her scent has never been out around me.”
“Well, you’re about to find out.”
Madison was waiting when the elevator doors opened, crashing against my chest the moment she could fit through them. A groan tore out of me, both from the impact against my bruised ribs and the rush of sweet, buttery raspberry hittingmy nose. That scent settled into my foundation like rebar in concrete, locking into place with a simple breath.
She wouldn’t evaporate if I let go, but I didn’t want to chance it. Eventually, she jerked back sharply and stared up at me with enormous eyes.
“Happy to see me?” I asked playfully, even though my stomach was in knots.
“Scent match,” she whispered.
Jude and Alve both watched me with laser focus. Fate was a fucked-up bitch. At least it had waited until she was free of Tyler. I wasn’t entirely certain what I would’ve done if I’d known she was mine when she was talking about him. I might’ve gone full caveman, tossed her over my shoulder, and walked right out of there with her.
My hands itched to touch her and she didn’t resist when I pulled her back in, her fingers curling in my shirt.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
The elevator started pinging, protesting us keeping the door open, so Alve nudged us into the vestibule in front of the open suite door.
“I need to sit down,” Madison announced.
Rather than let her go, I scooped her up, earning a squeak from her and a searing burn in my ribs. I ignored that for the moment, marching inside and setting her on the nearest couch. “Here’s your phone and purse, as promised.”
She took both from my outstretched hand and held them to her chest.
I plucked her cookies and cream milkshake from the tray Alve awkwardly held while staring at us, and passed her the cup. She sipped it with a contented hum and I parked myself at the other end of the couch with my own drink, eyeballing Jude and Alve to take up their own seats. I wanted to be closer, but overwhelming her wasn’t a great idea.
“Do we have a plan?” I asked.
“I wish,” Madison said between sips. She held her milkshake so tightly I was worried the lid was going to pop off and spill all over her.
“I’ll pay for a hotel if you’d prefer that,” Alve offered.
“You’re not cut off yet,” I pointed out. “The purchase went through for the milkshakes, but you might want to buy any essentials before Tyler decides to lock your cards. Or make some revenge purchases, I won’t judge. I hear gold is a good investment.”
Madison laughed, a hint of hysteria in the sound. “I feel like my brain is melting. How am I supposed to cope with my whole life falling apart? And now I have three scent matches I don’t know what to do with.”
Jude frowned. “Three? You haven’t scented me.”
Madison’s cheeks flushed. “I guess the third isn’t totally confirmed, but I’m pretty sure my riding instructor is one, too.”
Oh, good. Just what we needed: another stranger added to the mix.
This definitely wasn’t what Ava had in mind when she was up my ass to make friends, but there wasn’t a damn thing any of us could do when fate decided to have a sense of humor.
“The more the merrier?” I asked dryly and sighed. I didn’t know what fate had planned, but maybe Madison wasn’t the only one who needed her life flipped upside down to get to where she was supposed to be.
Ihad Leo’s number saved in my phone as “the arena” so Tyler wouldn’t get weird about it. What was I even supposed to say to him? How the hell was I going to handle it if Leo was a scent match, too?
Probably not well, all things considered.
Fantasizing about him was a far cry from pursuing something.
I glanced at Jude. His scent was hidden, and I didn’t dare hope that all this time he had been part of fate’s plan. I might be a little furious with myself if he was a scent match. Would I have pushed back on Tyler’s rule about packing up if Jude was my scent match and I had known it earlier?
I shook the thought away. One thing at a time. I dialed Leo’s number and held my breath, waiting for him to answer. It went to voicemail after a few rings and I was too nervous to leave a message, so I ended the call.
A second later, my phone buzzed, the arena name sliding across my screen. “Hi,” I answered, my tongue thick in my mouth.
