Page 17 of Call My Bluff
Olivia raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “No, not a date,” she corrected. “I am not going out with you, remember?”
“You’re going somewhere, and you’re coming with me, right? So, technically, youaregoing out with me,” he said with a wolfish grin, and Olivia narrowed her eyes.
“Yes, we would be going somewhere, but Campbell, repeat after me: This is not a date,” she said slowly.
“La la la la, I can’t hear you!” he sang, clapping his hands over his ears. He headed toward the living room, and he could feel her hot on his heels.
“Campbell!” she shouted, but he only smiled and sang even louder as he made a circuit around the coffee table. He was going to make the most of this chance, even if it killed him.
Which, judging by the look on her face, it might.
On Saturday afternoon,Olivia pulled her Mustang into Noah’s driveway, which was more mud than gravel, and honked her horn twice.
He came out through the garage and half jogged to her car. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to honk when you pick up a date?” he asked as he opened the passenger’s side door and slid inside.
She turned in her seat and pinned him with the kind of look she usually reserved for her brothers. “Campbell, this is not a date,” she said again, even though she knew the effort was futile. He still hadn’t said those words back to her, despite several days of pressing on her part.
“You’re also supposed to open the door for me,” he added, shaking his head as if truly disappointed. “I really thought you’d be better at this.”
Olivia bit the inside of her cheek to keep her amusement in check. Why was he always making her laugh? If she had a brain in her head, she’d still be curled up on her couch watchingFriendsreruns.
But apparently, her common sense was on vacation.
“This is a revenge excursion only. There is no version of a date where I go shopping for creepy dolls,” she replied.
Noah rubbed his hands together quickly, and his face split into an evil sort of grin. “I hope we find one that’s haunted,” he said, apparently ignoring the rest of her statement.
She pursed her lips and chose not to belabor the point.
“So, where are we going, anyway?” he asked.
She backed out of the driveway and started toward the nearby town of Willow Creek. “You’ll see,” she answered mysteriously.
“Oh, surprise location!” he blurted. “Okay, points for that, Pix.”
Olivia sighed deeply and kept her eyes on the road. A little while later, she pulled into the empty parking lot of a building that looked as if it had been accidentally dropped onto the pavement, like Dorothy’s house inThe Wizard of Oz. A creaking sign above the front door read “Beulah Mae’s Bargain Boutique.”
Noah was the first one out of the car, and he stood looking up at the structure with one hand shielding his eyes. “I’m not sure ‘boutique’ is the word they were looking for,” he said, and Olivia chuckled as she rounded the front of the car.
“Oh, come on, Campbell! I’ve wanted to stop here for ages, but no one ever wants to come with me.”
“There might be a reason for that,” he said dryly, but he followed anyway as she approached the door. A bell tinkled above her head as they passed inside, and all sound seemed to cease when the door closed behind them. Even their footsteps seemed to be muffled.
Olivia looked around. They weren’t in any sort of store she’d ever seen before, but rather at the entrance of what seemed to be an unending maze of shelves, crates and racks of all shapes and sizes. Every surface was covered in... well...stuff. Typewriters and frilly hats, china plates and glass lighthouses, carved wooden pepper shakers and costume jewelry—you name it, it was there. Olivia felt the low hum of excitement building inside her chest. This was like an estate sale on steroids.
“Yep. Anything we find in here isdefinitelyhaunted,” Noah said from behind her.
She turned sharply and smacked his chest with the back of her hand, but any response he may have had was cut off by the hacking cough of someone nearby. Olivia and Noah both jumped and peered around a dressmaker’s mannequin to find an ancient-looking woman standing behind a rolltop desk.
“Welcome to Beulah Mae’s Bargain Boutique,” she said kindly, though her voice sounded as if she hadn’t used it in a very long time. “Browse at your leisure, and please let me know if you need anything. There are bells on the walls at regular intervals if you get lost.”
If they got lost?!Well, that wasn’t ominous at all.
Olivia glanced back at Noah, who seemed to be fighting a smile. “Thank you!” she told the shopkeeper, and she waved to the woman before turning down the first narrow walkway to their right. It was lined on both sides with low tables covered in beaded handbags.
“Points deducted for potential to die,” Noah whispered.
She shushed him with a quick wave of her hand. “She’ll hear you!” she admonished quietly. “Besides, this is not a date, and I’m not being graded.”
