Page 12 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Chapter eleven

Mia

I turn the handle and push into the Orchid Conference Room.

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Pacific in three directions, turning the space into what feels like a glass box suspended over paradise. Contemporary furniture in dove gray and warm teak fills the room, and a huge conference table sits in the middle.

Looks like I'm the first one here. Time to take a deep breath and—

Footsteps echo in the hallway. Multiple sets, getting closer.

I spin toward the entrance, smoothing my skirt with damp palms, professional smile already forming.

The smile freezes. Then shatters completely.

Josh walks in first, looking sharp in a navy button-down that brings out his eyes.

Behind him, Keanu strolls in wearing charcoal slacks and a crisp white shirt that makes his golden skin practically glow.

And then Noa enters, and the very air seems to shift around him.

The charcoal suit he wears fits like it was sculpted onto his body, every line perfect.

"Josh? Keanu?" My voice cracks like I'm thirteen. "Noa?"

They spread out, forming a loose semicircle between me and the door. Josh fidgets with his cuffs, fingers worrying the fabric. Keanu's usual easy grin wavers slightly at the corners. Noa watches me with those midnight eyes, his expression completely unreadable.

"What are you all doing here? I'm supposed to be meeting—"

Their scents hit me like a sledgehammer to the sternum, their alpha pheromones crashing over me in a tsunami of sensation.

My knees give out. I catch myself on the conference table, palms slapping against the glass as my legs refuse to hold my weight. The room spins. My lungs forget how to work properly.

Too much. It's too much. Three alphas, three overwhelming scents… and they're blending together into something that makes my brain short-circuit. I can't separate them, can't think, can't—

I need to get closer.

My omega instincts have hijacked the controls, and I'm pushing off from the table, stumbling forward on unsteady legs.

I reach Josh first, burying my nose on his neck and his eyes turn to midnight. Dark roast coffee and cardamom, rich and complex with a kick.

Without thinking, I grab his arm and pull him sideways, already reaching for Keanu.

Ocean salt and bright yuzu flood my senses, crisp and energizing like diving into tropical waters at sunrise.

He lets out a low groan that only deepens my trance as I'm now dragging him closer to Josh, lining them up.

Noa doesn't move when I reach for him, just lets me position him beside the others. Vetiver and ambergris wash over me, earthy and masculine, making my omega actually purr.

I have them standing shoulder to shoulder now, and I'm moving down the line like I'm sampling a line of coke, breathing deep, my nose traveling from Josh to Keanu to Noa and back again. Each scent distinct but somehow perfect together, like notes in a chord.

"Oh my god." Heat floods my face as reality crashes back. I stumble backward, nearly tripping over my own feet. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I—"

"It's more than okay, Sunshine ," Keanu says softly, and when I look at him, his pupils are blown so wide his eyes look black.

"Natural reaction," Josh adds, his voice rough, strained.

Noa just watches me with an intensity that makes every nerve ending spark to life.

My omega instincts roar, screaming two words over and over: PACK. MATE.

Every cell in my body recognizes them, wants to press against them, to bare my neck, to beg them to—

"We are AlphaMagnate808," Noa says, his voice cutting through the pheromone haze like cold water.

The words bounce around in my skull without making sense. "What?"

"The TikTok account that messaged you." His gaze holds mine. "We're the ones who invited you here, Mia."

The fog of pheromones clears slightly as confusion takes over, though thinking still feels like swimming fully clothed. "You're... all of you? Together?"

Josh steps forward, his hands moving as he talks.

"We found your hair oil through Claire, our assistant.

She was wearing it, and we..." He catches my bewildered expression and his cheeks flush.

"We thought she'd suddenly become our scent match, which obviously doesn't make sense since she's a beta we've known for years.

Anyway… your oil, it captured part of your scent.

I ran it through my proprietary algorithm, which confirmed a 98% probability of scent match compatibility. "

"So we had to know for sure," Keanu adds, running a hand through his hair. "So we invited you here. Each of us met you separately, took half a dose of scent blockers so we could assess without overwhelming you."

"Or revealing ourselves too soon," Noa finishes. "We needed to be certain before—"

"What the fuck." I take an instinctive step toward them, my omega desperate for contact, but then manage to step back.

They exchange glances, guilty, worried, uncertain.

"Every one of you I met, all of it was what, a test?" A spark of anger flares in my chest, providing a welcome distraction from the overwhelming urge to close the distance between us.

"Mia—" Josh starts.

"You deceived me." My voice comes out tight, strained. "You lied to me."

Keanu and Josh shuffle their feet like scolded children. But Noa holds my gaze, expression unyielding. "Do you deny we're scent matches, Mia?"

I can't. Not when every cell in my body screams that these are my alphas, my pack, my mates. The word 'no' literally won't form in my throat.

"That's not the point." My voice shakes with the effort of staying focused. "You lured me here under false pretenses. Are you even interested in my business, or did you just want to… acquire an omega?"

Their confident alpha energy starts shifting, leaving them looking genuinely sorry.

"We had to be sure," Noa says quietly. "A scent match is so rare. Precious. We couldn't risk being wrong."

"Or risk scaring you off," Josh adds, pushing his glasses up his nose. "If we'd been wrong, at least you would have had a nice vacation. And we genuinely are interested in your business. The molecular structure of your oil formulation is fascinating, and the scalability potential—"

I plant my hands on my hips, trying to look stern despite the fact that their scents are making me dizzy. "Wow."

Keanu winces. "Look, we know it sounds bad. That's why we wanted to tell you everything today. We didn't want to keep things hidden from you."

"How considerate," I say flatly, though the words start coming out breathier than intended.

"We know this isn't ideal," Josh says, his blush spreading down his neck. "We wanted to be upfront but—"

"But would you have come?" Noa cuts in, stepping closer, and I have to fight not to grab him by the collar and dive my nose back into his neck.

"If three random alphas had messaged you saying 'we think you're our scent match, please fly to Hawaii so you can be all relaxed while we smell you properly'? "

He has a point, but admitting it feels like surrender.

"That's not... You don't understand." I take a shaky breath, trying to ignore how good they smell, how much I want to fly my body right into them. "I came here for my salon. I prepared a whole pitch about building something that matters, about—"

"Then give it," Noa says simply.

I blink hard, trying to focus through the haze. "What?"

"Your pitch. We're listening."

The room goes quiet. They're all watching me, waiting. Their scents swirl around me, making it hard to remember my own name, let alone my pitch.

I straighten my shoulders, forcing my foggy brain to cooperate. "Fine. You want to know why I'm here?"

The words I've practiced a hundred times feel slippery, keep trying to escape, but I grab onto the core of it.

"I want to build something bigger than a viral hair oil." My voice wavers, but I push through. "A franchise model that... that creates community. Safe spaces where people feel beautiful, valued."

I'm losing the thread, their scents making everything fuzzy.

"My grandmother built that in Lakeview. I want to... to scale it. Without losing the soul."

The prepared statistics won't come. The profit margins I memorized dissolve. All I have left is the feeling, the passion.

"You wouldn't just be investing in a salon," I manage, gripping the table again for support. "But in belonging."

Silence stretches. They look at each other, some silent communication passing between them that makes my chest tight with anxiety.

Then Noa nods. "We're in."

My mouth falls open. No words come out.

"Just like that?"

"The business case is intriguing," Josh says, though his eyes keep drifting to where I'm white-knuckling the table edge.

"But more than that," Keanu adds, "you believe in it. Your passion is obvious. And we know your salon is successful."

My anger wavers, cracks.

"But this isn't just about business, is it?" I ask, my arms getting sore.

"No," Noa admits, moving closer. I sway toward him involuntarily.

"We're scent matches, Mia. That's real, and we want to explore it.

Get to know each other properly. See where this goes.

" He pauses, and something in his expression softens.

"But if you don't want that, if you only want the business partnership, we'll respect that.

We'll help you build your empire and keep everything professional. "

"I didn't think business would still be your priority after smelling us," Keanu chimes in. "But even so, give us a chance. Let us take you on dates. Mix business with pleasure." He pauses, then flashes a wicked grin. "We will absolutely spoil you senseless."

Being spoiled senseless sounds... God, it sounds amazing. But I can't think straight. Can't process any of this with their pheromones turning my brain to mush. Case in point, I'm this close to losing it and transforming this conference room into a maison close.

"I need time," I manage, the words coming out steadier than I feel. "This is... a lot."

That's it Mia, you're doing great. You need to think and you can't do that here, drowning in their scents.

"I need to go. Now."

I don't wait for a response. I turn and flee before their scents can pull me back, before I'm compelled to climb them like trees.

My fingers shake as I pull out my phone in the hallway and text Elena:

SOS. Meet me at the resort entrance in 10. Everything is insane.