Page 87 of Holiday Interference
The glass doors slide shut behind us, muffling the party. Inside, the countdown is starting. But out here, it’s just us and the skyline in the distance. Cold air wraps around us like a dare.
Noelle leans into me, breath fogging against my shoulder. “It’s freezing.”
“I know.” I tug her closer. “But I have something I want to show you.”
Her eyebrows lift. “Cal…”
I reach into my jacket pocket and pull it out.
A brass key, tied with a frayed red ribbon I stole from one of the catering boxes. It’s not fancy.
But it’s ours.
Her face softens instantly. Her hand lifts to cover her mouth, like she’s trying to keep the emotion from leaking out.
“Noelle, I know this might seem quick, but I was taught early that life can change in an instant. I love you, and I don’t want to wait. Will you move in with me?”
My fingers find her waist. Hers thread into the lapels of my jacket.
She swallows hard, and her voice cracks when she whispers, “I love you, too, Cal. And yes, I will move in with you.”
The key wobbles a little in my hand, but the second she lifts her chin and her mouth touches mine, I forget everything else.
She kisses me like we’ve got nowhere else to be. No one watching. Just this sliver of midnight and the two of us folded into it.
Behind us, cheers erupt through the penthouse windows—glasses clinking, someone yelling “Happy New Year,” Finn’s voice unmistakable as he shouts something crude about resolutions.
Noelle doesn’t flinch.
Just kisses me deeper, fingers slipping into my hair like she’s anchoring herself to the moment.
And God, I hope she is. Because I am.
When we finally break apart, breathless and flushed, she smiles up at me. “Best start to a year I’ve ever had.”
“Same,” I murmur, brushing my thumb along her cheekbone. “And I’ve got plans to make it even better.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. First step: keep kissing you every midnight I can.”
Her laugh is quiet but cuts through the chill. “You really are a softie.”
“Only for you.”
The doors behind us slide open, and the noise spills out.
Riley’s holding two beers and yellingat one of the other rookies to hurry up and take the damn picture.
Inside, Maddox has Sloane pulled against his side, forehead to hers, the weight of the world melted off his face for the first time since October.
Beau’s got a glass in one hand and a video monitor in the other, probably checking on his daughter.
The rest of the team is loud and messy and whole in a way I never knew I needed.
Noelle steps back toward the doors. I follow, but something near the windows catches my attention.
Finn.
