Page 14 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Chapter thirteen

Mia

"You okay? You look like death." Elena appears beside me at the resort's main entrance, concern creasing her brow as she takes in my restless pacing.

I grab her arm without breaking stride. "Please walk with me. I can't stand still."

"Where?"

"Anywhere. Away from here." My eyes scan the perfectly manicured landscape until they land on a hand-painted wooden sign nestled between two hibiscus bushes. The cheerful yellow letters read "Waterfall Trail." Perfect. "There."

We head toward the small path that branches off from the main walkway. Native ti plants mark the entrance, their broad red and green leaves creating a natural archway.

Moments after we step onto the packed earth trail, the world transforms. Towering palms rise above us, their fronds whispering secrets to each other in the breeze. Ferns unfurl on either side of us, and flowering ginger plants release bursts of zestiness as our shoulders brush past.

"So?" Elena asks, matching my pace. "Tell me what happened!"

"They were the person who DMed me." The words tumble out. "Josh and Keanu… and this other alpha I met last night."

Elena stops so abruptly I almost trip over her. Her mouth falls open like she doesn't where to start. "Wait, what? Josh and Keanu? And who's that alpha you met last night?"

"I went down to the beach to check out the glowing ocean after I texted you," I say quickly, the words rushing out. "There was this alpha playing ukulele by a fire. Noa. We talked, and then..." Heat floods my cheeks. "We kissed."

"You KISSED?" Elena's voice rises an octave.

"Yeah, but I pulled back. Didn't let it go further." I tug her forward, needing to keep moving. "Anyway, they're the ones who flew me here. They orchestrated everything. The ticket, the suite, the encounters... everything."

"But why hide it? Why not just tell you from the start?"

I take a deep breath, preparing for what's about to blow her mind completely. "Because... they're my scent matches."

Elena freezes mid-step. Her eyes go so wide I can see white all around her irises. "WHAT?" The word echoes through the trees, sending a bright red bird fluttering from a nearby branch. "Your scent matches? All THREE of them?"

"All three."

"Holy shit. Holy actual shit." She grabs my shoulders, shaking me slightly. "Mia, do you understand how rare this is? Three scent matches who also happen to be loaded? That's like... like finding a unicorn AND winning the lottery!

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do!" She's practically vibrating with excitement. "This is huge! This is life-changing! This is—wait." Her expression shifts. "What about your business? The whole reason you came here?"

"They're backing it." I start walking again, needing movement. "Full funding for franchising the salon."

Elena hurries to catch up. "So it's your franchising idea you wanted to pitch, uh! Knew it."

"Yeah, and they're ready to fund everything." I duck under a low-hanging branch heavy with some kind of yellow fruit. "But they also want... more."

"More as in...?"

"They want to date me. Get to know me. See where this whole scent match thing goes."

Elena makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a scream. "Of course they'd want that, you're scent matches! Aren't you interested?"

"Of course I am! But I'm also..." I wave my hands in the air, searching for words. "I don't know how to process this. It's too much, too fast."

"Okay, okay." Elena grabs my hand, squeezing gently. "Take a breath. This is all good news, even if it's overwhelming. Why don't you tell me exactly what they said? Every detail."

So I do. I tell her about the conference room revelation, their arguments, me booking it out of there faster than someone dodging their chatty neighbor…

"I swear—" I stop, press my palms against my eyes where a headache is beginning to bloom.

"When they walked into that conference room together, and their scents.

.." I drop my hands and look at Elena. "I've never smelled anything like it…

I literally walked up to them and sniffed them.

Each one. In a line. Like some kind of.. . feral omega."

Elena's lips twitch, and I can see her fighting hard not to laugh.

"Don't."

"I'm not laughing."

"You're trying not to laugh."

"Maybe a little." She steps carefully over a root pushing up through the path. "They're your scent matches, they want to fund your business dreams, and date you. This sounds so terrible."

I bump her shoulder gently. "I know it sounds perfect, but what if the attraction is just biology? What if they just want a pretty omega to complete their pack and don't care about who I actually am?"

"Did they say something to make you think that?"

"No, but—" I sigh. "Every alpha I've ever dated loved my ambition at first. 'Oh, how inspiring, a career-driven omega.

' Then reality hits. The late nights at the salon.

The missed dinners because someone needed an emergency color correction.

The way I talk business during what's supposed to be romantic moments.

" I kick at a fallen leaf. "They all eventually expected me to dial it back.

To be available at their convenience. To shrink myself down to fit their idea of what an omega should be. "

A distant rushing sound catches my attention, barely there at first, like wind through leaves. But with each step forward, it grows clearer, more distinct. Water. Moving water.

"So the thing is," I continue as we walk, the sound growing louder, "what if these three are the same? What if—"

The path curves sharply to the right, and the dense foliage suddenly opens up.

I forget what I was saying. Forget everything except the view in front of me.

Water cascades down into a pool where mist rises in delicate clouds, painting two little rainbows across the spray.

"Jesus," Elena breathes beside me.

I make my way to a flat boulder near the pool's edge and sit. Elena settles beside me, pulling her knees to her chest, cool droplets landing on our faces in an irregular rhythm.

"Want to know something stupid?" Elena picks at a piece of moss growing on the rock. "I keep thinking I should give you advice, but I'm literally the worst person for this."

I turn to look at her, confused. "Why?"

"Because I lied to my pack from day one. Pretended to be a beta. Hid who I was." She glances at me, her expression rueful. "Not exactly the poster child for healthy relationship communication."

"You were protecting yourself."

"And maybe your alphas thought they were doing the same." She shrugs, watching the waterfall. "Protecting themselves from disappointment if they were wrong. Not wanting to pressure you if the match wasn't real."

I watch a bright green leaf spiral down from somewhere above, landing on the water's surface. The current immediately claims it, sweeping it toward the far edge of the pool.

"My alphas forgave me," Elena continues, her voice almost lost under the waterfall's roar. "Saw past the lie to why I told it. If they hadn't..." She doesn't finish, but she doesn't need to.

"But how do I know?" My voice sounds small even to me. "How do I know they won't expect me to give up everything I've worked for? How do I know they won't get tired of my ambitions?"

Elena turns to face me fully, water droplets clinging to her eyelashes.

"You can't know. Not for sure. But here's how it differs from your previous experiences: they're your actual scent matches.

That's destiny giving you a cosmic green light.

" She pauses. "So you be brave, like I know you are.

Be crystal clear about who you are and what you need.

'This is who I am. This is what I need. Think you can handle that?

' And then you hold them to their word."

"That simple?" I let out a shaky laugh.

"That hard." She reaches over and squeezes my hand. "It means taking a chance. Being willing to walk away if they can't accept all of you. But Mia, the risk is worth it. Trust me."

I close my eyes and let the mist settle on my face like a thousand tiny kisses.

I've been disappointed so many times that I learned to expect less, to prepare for eventually being too much or not enough.

So the idea of finding partners who'd actually want all of me feels terrifying… but also a little exhilirating?

"I guess I can test the waters." The words come out slowly, carefully. "Set boundaries about my work. See if they respect them. And if they don't..." My chest tightens at the thought, but I force myself to finish. "Then I walk away. Scent match or not."

Elena grins. "There's my girl."

We sit in comfortable silence for a while, watching the endless cascade of water. The chaos that brought me here begins to transform, reshaping itself into something I can work with.

A plan. Or at least the beginning of one.