Page 33 of Call My Bluff
He pressed the heel of his hand against the center of her foot. “Nah, my comfort food is Nutella toast with bananas,” he admitted. “My mom used to make it when I was sick.”
Olivia nodded, understanding the sentiment. “For me it’s chicken and gravy with rice. Mom made it for dinner every time Dad got home from a mission, and it still makes me feel like everything will be okay.”
Noah furrowed his brow. “Where would he go?”
“My dad? He was Special Forces for years, so he would just disappear—sometimes in the middle of the night—and we never knew exactly where he was or how long he’d be gone. Sometimes it was days, sometimes it was weeks, but he always came back.”
A cloud seemed to pass behind Noah’s eyes, though his expression remained neutral. “Sounds terrifying,” he said.
“I didn’t love it,” she admitted, “but for us it was normal. An unsettling, bizarre sort of normal, I suppose. I never breathed easy until the chicken and gravy came out.”
He gave her foot one final squeeze before setting it on the cushion beside him. Olivia briefly considerednottaking up two-thirds of the couch but then dismissed the idea. She was comfortable, and he didn’t seem to mind, so she tucked her bare feet under his leg and settled herself more fully against the throw pillows, feeling a little like the Queen of Sheba. It wasn’t a terrible sensation.
“Would you rather live in a tree house and never come down or in an underground bunker and never come up?” she asked.
Noah chuckled softly, shaking his head, and Olivia felt his humor mirrored on her own face. “Alright, so if I lived in a tree house...”
Almost an hour passed before she even wondered what time it was.
“Wow, it’s already eleven fifty-five!” she exclaimed after finally spotting a clock on one of the bookshelves.
Noah grunted in acknowledgement and stretched his arms toward the ceiling. “Well then, you’ve got five minutes to decide,” he said.
“Decide what?”
“Whether or not you’re going to kiss me at midnight.”
She snorted. “Okay, done. I’m not going to kiss you at midnight,” she said.
“Cone of silence, remember? Nothing that happens in here will follow us out there,” he said, gesturing toward the closest window.
Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and leveled him with a serious stare. “We’ve talked about this, Campbell. I am not going out with you.”
“And once again, Cohen, I’m not asking you out,” he declared with a smirk. “But I do think you’re going to kiss me anyway.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I think you want to, whether you like it or not, and what better chance to try it out than on New Year’s Eve when it doesn’t have to mean anything?”
His voice was full of challenge, like he was daring her to protest, and Olivia found herself actually considering the possibility. He was right, one kiss didn’t have to mean anything, especially if they agreed it wouldn’t.
“But, I mean, if you don’t think you can handle it, then that’s a different story,” he taunted.
“You talk a big game, Campbell, but what happens when you can’t live up to your own hype?”
He shrugged. “It’s never happened before.”
The gleam in his eye grew brighter, and Olivia felt herself make an impulsive decision. She swung her bare feet to the floor and rose to stand. “Fine, I’ll give you a chance to prove yourself,” she said.
Noah shot to his feet beside her, and the sudden heat in his eyes made her ribcage tighten.
“But I have rules,” she added.
He took a step forward, and she instinctively stepped back. She glanced at the clock. There were still three minutes until midnight, and she didn’t have to let him into her bubble until then.
“Rules?” he asked, already looking a bit like a tiger on the prowl.
“Yes, rules,” she repeated, taking another step back as he came closer. She held up her index finger as she counted. “One, your hands have to stay in neutral territory.”
