“There you are.” Eva crossed to me from the door. “You disappeared so quickly I thought you might have ditched me and gone home.”

“You know I wouldn’t do that,” I said quietly. Now that the high of pheromones and hunger was fading, all I felt was embarrassment. “I’m sorry about back there. I didn’t realize it was a scent. I should have.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because that didn’t make you look good. Who knows how many people saw me charging across the room in search of non-existent cupcakes?”

Eva stepped to the side, leaning against the railing with me. “Esme, do you think I’m angry with you for it?”

Angry? No, I didn’t think that. Disappointed maybe. Probably frustrated I’d once again be the center of a news story if the official photographer caught any of it. Just Esme Williams, the fuck-up half of the twins.

“Because I’m not. At all. His scent may not have hit me as strongly, but do you have any idea what it means that it hit you?”

I glanced over at her.

“When I was backstage at the award show? The first one I scented was Tyler. Fucking cinnamon and apples. I didn’t think it was pie, but it was like the best candle I’d ever smelled. All I wanted to do was roll around in the scent until I was covered in it, and then I wanted to do it all over again.

“And then I met the rest of them. I don’t have to tell you a story you already know. But when a scent hits you like that, it means something. Don’t be embarrassed because you reacted the way you were supposed to.”

I tilted my head back, spotting the couple of stars which were still visible with the city’s light pollution. “I called the man a cupcake, Eva.”

“And I said he had a nice ass. So?”

He won’t want me.

I cringed at the automatic thought, but it was true. It’s where the fear had come from. The realization that my body reacted to him on a visceral level, and there I was standing next to Eva. Cupcake scent aside, I’d done this song and dance too many times for it to be unfamiliar.

“Bennett Gray is a phenomenal tattoo artist,” she said. “And I’ve wanted to get a piece done by him for a long time. He gave me the card to their studio, and I’m going to go for a consultation. You can come with me, and we’ll see what happens.”

I turned away long enough to roll my eyes. I already knew what would happen, but I just nodded.

“Come on,” she pulled one arm out from where I had it crossed and tugged me back towards the party. “Dance with me, eat some real food, and then we can go home. Okay?”

“Okay.”