I pinched the fabric of my shirt and lifted it to my nose. Her scent was still strong, but it was nothing compared to her in person. “Honestly, now I’ve scented her, the shirt isn’t enough. Sorry, Ben. Your shirt might get booted from the place of honor.”

He laughed. “If it can be replaced with Esme in this house and pack? I’ll be more than happy to burn the shirt. Or frame it to remember the moment our lives changed.”

Luke was staring at the painting on the wall. “I still can’t believe it.”

We all loved those paintings, but Luke had been the driving force behind them. Though he was the traditionalist in our studio, his taste in art varied, and he’d always loved their wild style. I couldn’t believe she’d done them either. Just one more reason this was a small miracle.

I didn’t know if we would have gone to a matchmaker to find someone, but we’d thought about it. That huge section of the house reserved for our Omega was like a bruise we were all aware of, bumping into it every time we remembered or passed the empty room. Now it might not be empty.

This weird mix of excitement and terror was going to make me sick.

“What do we do now?”

“We court her,” Avery said, as if it were only that simple.

“Right, but how?”

Ben leaned forward. “I don’t think we can let her rest too long. If she has that kind of doubt, she’ll talk herself out of it.”

“Do we have her phone number?” Avery asked. “I didn’t think to ask.”

“I’ll reach out to Eva and see if she’ll ask Esme if it’s all right to get it from her,” Ben grabbed his phone.

I stood and stretched. “Okay, but let’s not make a habit of going to Eva for things about Esme. All it’s going to do is reinforce everything she’s afraid of.”

“Look at that,” Kade said. “The Beta pup has some smarts.”

As I passed I held up my middle finger toward him, and he laughed, a rumbling sound. At the doorway, I stopped. “Once we have her number, anyone have a good first courting move?”

“Honestly?” Luke shrugged. “I think Ben is right. We can’t let her rest too long. But as far as courting, it has to move slowly. Another night like this, when she’s not in complete shock from meeting us and seeing the house would be a good start.”

Right. Her sister sprang meeting us on her, and I was glad it worked out. But I only wanted Esme to have positive memories of us.

“Tomorrow,” I said. “Let’s make sure to touch base with her tomorrow. She needs to know we’re serious.”

Ben quirked an eyebrow. “Sure you don’t have an Alpha hiding under there somewhere?”