Page 29 of Call My Bluff
And who knew? Maybe the night would surprise him.
The steady thumpof R&B music followed Olivia as she made her way across the back patio of an old, ivy-covered house. Floor-to-ceiling windows spilled light across the sloping lawn and gave a glimpse into the packed living area where fifty or sixty people were moving to the beat of the speakers. It was too loud, too crowded, toomuch, but Robin never could resist the need for extravagance.
Olivia wrapped the edges of her coat around herself and exhaled a breath that hovered white in the air for a moment before dissipating into the dark. The click of her heels seemed unusuallyloud as she hurried across the immaculate paving stones. She seemed to be the only person outside.
The only person stupid enough to be outside, you mean.
Olivia huffed at the condescending voice in her own mind. She’d given the party a solid hour, but her social battery was empty. Unfortunately, Robin’s room was directly above the DJ stand, and there was no way Olivia would find any peace there—closed doors or not.
She swiftly glanced over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t been followed and then stepped off the edge of the patio and scampered around the corner of the house. Robin’s mother had what Robin called “delicate nerves,” and nowhere in her husband’s massive house had proven relaxing enough for her disposition. As a result, Mrs. Kline had her own outdoor retreat—a small summer house at the edge of the property. It was shielded from view by a row of tall cedar trees, which still boasted evergreen needles at this time of year. Olivia followed a paved path through the branches and breathed a sigh of relief when she came out the other side and saw that the little house was dark.
Apparently, none of the other partygoers had found the hideaway yet. Hopefully, it would stay that way.
She checked behind her again, feeling a little like a thief as she stole toward the secret haven. There was nothing she wanted more in that moment than peace and quiet—and to take her shoes off. Olivia climbed two small steps to the door and raised the latch, which Robin had told her would be unlocked. She slid the door open and slipped in through the gap before shutting it quietly behind herself. She really didn’tneedto be quiet, seeing as how she was the only one there, yet she couldn’t bring herself to break the stillness that hovered in the air.
She turned at last and pressed her back against the door, finally feeling the thump of the bass speakers fade into the recesses of her mind. It was only then that she realized the dark room was already warm, when it should have been cold.
“Don’t freak out,” someone said quickly. “It’s only me.”
Olivia’s hands flew to her mouth, stifling an instinctive shriek as a lamp clicked on.
“I’m sorry, Pix. There wasn’t any good way not to scare you,” the unwelcome figure said from his spot on the couch.
Olivia surveyed Noah with wide eyes, and the pieces of her brain that hadn’t gone into flight mode scrambled to understand his sudden appearance. “How did you—? Where did—? What—?” she stammered as too many questions tried to come out all at once. She took a deep breath and tried to slow the hammering of her heart.Whydid he keep doing that!?
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” was the question that finally fought its way to the surface—though, on second thought, it probably wasn’t the most pressing.
Noah gave a pained sort of smile and pushed one hand back through his hair, which was already standing on end. “I’m hiding,” he admitted.
Olivia glanced out one of the wide windows, almost expecting to see a wild animal she’d somehow missed before. “From what?” she asked.
Noah gestured toward the house in the direction she had come. “Probably from the same thing you’re hiding from.”
She took a step into the room and finally took in her surroundings. Noah was sitting on one of two comfortable-looking sofas that faced each other over a glass coffee table. The lamp he’d turned on illuminated a carved wooden side table and matchingdesk in the far corner, which was bracketed by tall bookcases full of books with titles in gold foil. He’d obviously figured out how to turn on the heat, and the small space was cozy despite the winter chill outside. “So, you’re a party guest?” she asked.
“Well, I’m not trespassing, if that’s what you mean.”
She shook her head, still coming to terms with the fact that he was even there to begin with. “No, I just didn’t see you inside. And I didn’t know you knew Robin.”
“Who?”
“Robin Kline? The girl who lives here?”
“Oh. Well, I don’t, actually. I came with friends from work, who I guess know her—or knowofher, at least.”
Olivia bit the inside of her cheek to hold in a snarky comment; Robin’s mass invitations really got out of hand sometimes. She shrugged off the long peacoat she’d gotten for Christmas and reached to hang it on a rack near the door.
“Wow.”
The single word slipped from Noah’s lips as if by accident, and Olivia glanced down at her outfit like she was seeing it for the first time. Her top was red with long, split sleeves that fell from her elbows like lacy wings, and the fabric shimmered like a million little stars in the right kind of light. She’d paired it with black pants that hugged her curves and strappy heels that showed off a fresh pedicure. She looked good, and she knew it, but the shell-shocked expression on Noah’s face made an unexpected surge of pleasure course through her veins.
Not that she actually cared what he thought, specifically, but it was nice to feel appreciated all the same.
“Close your mouth, Campbell. You’re gonna catch flies,” she warned.
His mouth, which had been slightly open, snapped shut, and she could see his throat work as he swallowed. “Sorry,” he muttered, still watching intently as she crossed the colorful rug and sat on the couch opposite his. “I’ve just never seen you quite like that. I feel like I needed a heads-up.”
“Too much for you, huh?”
