Luna was sure she’d die if she didn’t get into that house soon. Was dying of anticipation an actual thing? Could be, judging by the pulsating pains in her chest and back and arms, her sweaty palms, and the way she couldn’t stop fidgeting. It was like she’d touched a live current and all that extra energy decided to take its slow time zipping and zapping its way through her body instead of killing her outright.

When the car finally rolled to a stop, the driver wasted no time hopping out and slamming the door behind him.

“Guess this is us,” Alex said, smiling a little. “Ready?”

Luna nodded, adjusting the giant gray wool scarf around her neck, pulling it up near her jaw. She tucked her chin inside, so the edge stopped right under her nose, inhaled, and held her breath for five seconds. It still smelled like Tasha. She hoped the scent would last the weekend. After Luna had picked which scarf she wanted to borrow, she’d gone to town spraying her sister’s perfume on it.

Sometimes, she got a little overwhelmed. A lot overwhelmed, actually. A while back Tasha had helped her figure out a couple of ways to calm herself down. Writing or making lists worked sometimes. Squeezing stress balls or running in place could get the job done. Her best bet was usually comforting smells, like Tasha’s perfume. If home and safety and rainbows had a smell, it would be her.

The driver opened Luna’s door and offered a gloved hand to help her out of the massive SUV—she took it and jumped to reach the ground. Alex slid across the seat behind her. She watched him, not at all jealous of his long legs. Not one bit. Whatsoever.

Alex asked, “Why are you frowning?”

“I’m not.” She was.

He leaned in close. “It’s your happiest place on Earth. No frowning allowed.”

“Then stop being so tall,” she muttered.

She loved Alex’s laugh. All of them, really. This one was a closed-mouth chuckle, knocking around low in his throat. “I’m not tall. You’re just tragically short.”

“I am not! I’m still growing. There’s still hope.”

“Sure,” he said. “Anything’s possible.”

The driver said, “Your instructions are to wait here with the others. Your bags will be brought inside for you.” He nodded toward three people standing at the foot of the porch with a considerable amount of stone steps.