Page 29 of Fragile Heart

“We should probably get ready,” I say. Melissa hums and sits up, dropping her feet to the porch. “What does someone evenwearto the rodeo?”

Chapter Thirteen

BRIELLE

The person working the parking lot waves me forward to another section of the large dirt lot. As I get closer, a young man no more than eighteen pushes off a fence post and directs me into an open parking spot, using an orange flag to signal where I’m supposed to go.

Once I’ve gotten the Land Rover wedged between two astronomically large trucks, I turn it off and face Melissa, and then ask the question that’s been bouncing around in my mind the entire drive up to Jackson.

“Would you ever want to actually find your scent matches?” I ask.

There’s no reason to lie to myself about why I wanted to go tonight. It starts and ends with Caleb Taylor.

Melissa hums in thought, pushing her glasses up her nose as she mulls over her answer. A family parks across from us, and I focus on the woman easing out of the passenger seat. Her hair is done in large barrel waves and sits nearly to her waist. Her jeans are a dark wash with a heavy flair, and her boots are sodark they’re nearly black. As the others drop out of the truck, she leans back into it and grabs a white cowboy hat, setting it on her head and adjusting her hair in the side mirror.

I glance at the white linen dress and gladiator sandals Melissa helped me pick out. Nerves tighten my belly, but I push them away. I’ve spent the last seven years trying to be what everyone else wanted.

“I’m not sure,” Melissa says, getting out of the car. I follow her, looping my arm with hers once I’ve grabbed my purse and crossed it over my body. It’s not overly crowded, so it’s easy enough to make our way to the entrance of the arena. As we stand in line, she messes with the sleeve of her shirt, adjusting the rolled hem until it sits above her elbow rather than below it. Her body sings with nerves. Guilt flashes through me. As she messes with the second one, she sighs.

“On paper it sounds great,” she says, “but it’s not really a get-out-of-jail-free card, you know? You might be the perfect biological match, but that doesn’t mean you’ll match in other areas.” She focuses on me, her green eyes nearly sparkling in the fading evening light. “Would you?”

“I think,” I say, trying to decide how best to admit that, short of the Council’s confirming blood test, I’m positive I already have. “I think I would be, I guess.”

She nods. “It would be nice in some ways, probably. Maybe it could feel like a new chance, you know? A chance to have the happy ending you thought you were getting with Brett. Just as long as you don’t leave me in the dust.”

A lump settles in the back of my throat, and I swallow convulsively, trying to dislodge it. A group of guys stand behind us, a bit too close for my comfort, but I keep my back straight. Melissa glances over her shoulder before taking a subtle step forward.

“You know I’d never leave you in the dust,” I say, squeezing her hand. She smiles and nods.

“You finding a scent match would be so cool, Bri.”

“You think so?” I ask.

I mess with the neckline of the dress to keep from picking at my cuticles. Another couple minutes, and I’m going to have a freak out over the amount of people so close to me. How the hell do Omegas function without using suppressors? All of this sensory overload is about enough to turn me into a hermit, and I used tolikebeing around people.

“Of course,” she says. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before adjusting her glasses. “Just expect me to lay down the law of not breaking your heart with them. You’ve had enough of that already.”

An Alpha’s fruity scent wafts toward us as the wind picks up a bit. My skin tightens, that invasive itchy sensation an unwelcome addition to the night. The breeze picks up after a minute, but not before the Alpha’s scent has me thinking of yesterday.

The reminder of Caleb’s cinnamon scent rushes through me, my body responding without me meaning to. Lavender surrounds us, breaking through my lotion so fast it’s honestly a bit impressive. I don’t miss the barely-there acidic bite to it, either.

My cheeks flush as Melissa tilts her head. I dig out the lotion and reapply it. It does a half decent job, but not nearly enough if I’m going to be within scenting range of an Alpha.

Crap. I’ll need to put on my scent blockers once we’re inside.

One of the guys behind us grunts like he’s been punched. I take a step forward, too, looping my arm with Melissa’s. Before I can work up the courage to just admit to her my problem, we’re at the turnstiles. I pull out my phone and let the kid working the admissions scan the ticket. His gaze travels down my body,catching on my sandaled feet, before shooting back to my face. At least it wasn’t my boobs?

“Have a good night, miss,” he says to me, touching the brim of his cowboy hat.

The moment we’re through the entrance, I make a beeline for the bathrooms. The last thing I need is my scent breaking through a second time.

How is therealreadya line for the women’s side? The damn thing doesn’t even start for another twenty or so minutes. I look around, trying to see if there’s another option. Melissa bumps my shoulder. I blow out a breath.

“You’re not allowed to panic,” I say. Her eyebrow climbs high enough I can see it over the rim of her glasses. When she nods, I admit in a rush of air, “I think I already found one.”

There’s a long, suspended moment. Her eyes widen as what I’ve said sinks in. And then she spins around, all thoughts of keeping calm forgotten. Her hands shake as she grabs both of mine.

“Youwhat?” she asks, her eyes wide.

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