Chapter Fourteen #2
Olivia had determined that the Constantine siblings were both incredibly stubborn and competitive. When she turned towards Theo and tried to sneak a look at the answer written on the small card in his hand, he snatched it away. “No cheating, Liv. This is a fair game. We play by the rules.”
“No one plays by the rules.” Olivia rolled her eyes.
“We do,” Georgia interrupted. “And stop being so goddamn cute, you’re going to make me puke with all your googly eyes at each other.”
Olivia glanced up at Theo, noting how close their faces had got during their conversation. Looking into his deep brown eyes, she felt her lips turn up in a cheesy grin, matching his, before leaning further forward until their lips were centimetres apart.
“Since when do you play fair, Theo?” she whispered.
His eyebrow quirked slightly, his eyes gleaming. “What does that mean?”
From the look on his face, and proximity of their bodies, Olivia knew something was about to happen. She could feel the way his hand had snaked around her waist.
If she were to lean forward an inch their lips would touch. Press delicately over each other.
Since she’d known him the scales had been tipped solely in his favour. He never played fair. All hot and dishevelled every time they met up at the coffee shop, brushing his leg against hers, answering her video calls with his breathy baritone that sent her eyes glancing over his plump lips.
She wanted to find out if he tasted like the Americano coffee he ordered, or the spearmint breath mints he always carried around in the pocket of his coat.
“Now you’re not playing fair.” Theo’s voice came out gravelly. As if the words were only for her.
She leaned forward the rest of the way and melded her lips over his in a quick peck, reaching for the card at the same time. Theo moved his hand back as she pressed forward into the brief but firm slant of their lips.
A gagging sound could be heard throughout the room, their kiss ending as Theo turned to throw a sofa cushion in the direction of his sister, causing her to squeal and leap onto Ross’s lap.
Ross whispered something into Georgia’s ear, making her teasing smile drop as she moved off his lap.
Olivia sulked at her failed attempt at cheating.
“Nice try, sweetheart,” Theo said putting the card down beside him.
Clicking her tongue, she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, smirking as he followed the action, before shifting herself closer to his body and swinging her legs over his lap with a swift movement. She could still taste him, her lips buzzing with the flavour of his beer and a hint of spearmint.
“Our turn!” Georgia suddenly beamed, smile back on her face as she swivelled towards Finn and shook her head slightly at his questioning gaze. Finn raised his eyebrows at her, eyes flicking between her and the man sitting behind her, before muttering something about grabbing another drink.
Seeing Theo’s dynamic with his sister made Olivia wish she had a sibling.
Their relationship was playful, with sibling banter thrown back and forth around the room at top speed.
Despite their bickering, Theo offered Georgia a cushion for her spot on the floor where she was sitting cross-legged, and ensured she had a blanket when the sun dipped behind the clouds and the day turned into night.
Olivia was also jealous of the apartment view. The London skyline looked more beautiful than ever outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Bright lights from signs, cars and lamp posts dotted a blank canvas of shadowed chimneys and navy night sky.
Half an hour later, and a few drinks in, things had got incredibly heated. Ross and Olivia’s team was losing by a landslide, whereas Finn and Georgia were on the very last question. This time anyone could answer. As many guesses until someone said the right one.
Finn bounced on his feet. “Ah, this is a good one. Okay, pay attention, Georgie pie.”
Olivia’s eyes flicked between the two, who over the past half an hour had got increasingly more cocky and inebriated with each question.
Both of them pacing the living room, one minute jumping up and down when they got the answers right and the next yelling profanities and food-related threats at each other when they didn’t.
Finn and Georgia were absolutely thrashing them.
Trivial Pursuit used to be Olivia’s favourite board game.
Not tonight. Not when she had absolutely no chance of winning when playing against those two.
They seemed to have too many inside jokes just like Ross had said, sharing looks and both answering questions correctly on the first try.
They seemed to know nearly every answer.
Their antics kept the smile draped over Olivia’s face the whole time she watched them.
It was as if there was a direct telepathic link from his mind to hers.
Olivia thought it was endearing.
Theo’s hand had started drawing lazy circles on the top of her arm. They sat on the sofa, her sock-clad feet now draped over his lap, as she cradled a glass of wine. She swore she had never laughed so much.
“Your sister is quite a character.” Olivia giggled, leaning her head against Theo’s shoulder.
She heard him exhale a small chuckle. “Yeah, she gets it from my mum.”
To the left of them, Georgia leaned down as if she were about to enter a rugby scrum “Pay attention, got it. Hit me.”
It was a universal question. First team to answer got the point. Finn and Georgia were one answer away from winning, whereas for the rest of them it meant that, if they got the question right, they’d get one more chance to make the game last five extra minutes.
Theo and Olivia had admitted defeat ten minutes prior, but Ross seemed to hit a second wave of determination, his gaze zoned in on Finn, shooting daggers his way.
Finn paused, rereading the card before glancing at Ross. A look of something malevolent flickered across his face, so quick one might not notice, before his eyes met Georgia’s once more. “Think university.”
“Oh God, this is going to be interesting,” Theo muttered.
Georgia’s face paled slightly, her excited jig halting.
“Wait, are we supposed to guess as well?” Olivia asked.
“Try your best, Liv, but these two have a weird sense of shared telepathy.” Theo leaned over and kissed her forehead, tucking her further into his side.
Over the course of the night Theo had been really selling the fake relationship thing.
So much so that by the time the moon had risen high in the sky and the sound of the London nightlife began to buzz, she had grown accustomed to his light touches.
Every now and then she would feel her cheeks heat at the way his thumb caressed the top of her arm as he read out the questions, at the way his eyes met hers as she thought of the answers, at the way he gently nudged his thigh against hers to calm her when Ross clicked his fingers and rushed her to answer.
Georgia’s eye twitched, before she muttered the words. “Give me more.”
Finn shot another quick look at Ross, who was sitting on the edge of his chair, meeting his eyes with a sharp glare. He looked like a panther ready to pounce on his prey at any moment.
“Karaoke…” Finn continued. “Irish pub.”
Ross clapped his hands and leapt up. “Shania Twain!”
“No, dipshit,” Finn snapped, standing up straight and titling his head as though he was tired of the man’s arrogance.
“Oh! I know!” Georgia jumped up, beaming a winner’s smile. “Amy Winehouse!”
By the time they left Finn’s apartment, it was very late.
“When you first told me about Finn, I thought he was a playboy, but seeing the way he and Georgia are together I can understand how wrong I was. I’m glad they’re getting hitched. Both of them are so in love it’s hard to look at.”
“What?” Theo laughed; his arm still locked around her shoulders.
“Finn and Georgia. Those two are so compatible, and the chemistry” – Olivia made an explosive motion with her hands – “it’s dynamite.”
“Ross is her fiancé, not Finn.”
Olivia opened and closed her mouth before letting out a small “Oh.” Her eyes flashed with unfiltered surprise. “I just figured he was a friend or something. He was really quiet all evening.”
Theo frowned. “Why did you think Finn was her fiancé?”
Olivia began to tread carefully with her words. This was Theo’s baby sister whom she’d made an assumption about. And his best friend.
“Well, she knew his favourite song, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her, and she was all flirty, and they seemed to have inside jokes that helped them ask questions.
Those factors don’t scream hate. Quite the opposite.
You have to know someone really well to communicate both verbally and non-verbally like that. ”
Theo laughed. “Sure. Flirty. Those two have been at each other’s necks for the past eight years. They’re more like siblings than anything else. Plus, she’s my sister. He’d never go there.”
“Just because she’s your sister doesn’t mean he can’t like her.”
Theo shook his head, shoving away the idea of his sister and best friend of nearly a decade shacking up together.
No way.
Finn would’ve told him.
Plus, Finn found no shame in sharing details about his sexual partners. Of which, he’d had plenty. But commitment wasn’t his style, and Theo knew that. There was no doubt that Finn knew one step out of line or attempt at a fling with his sister, and Theo would be there, fist coiled at the ready.
Georgia deserved someone who could commit to her one hundred per cent, not a playboy with a new chick at his side every Saturday night.
“When I was writing my second novel, I took a psychology class all about reading body language. It was really interesting, and I only remember parts of it, but it included a lot of insight on how to tell if someone is attracted to you,” Olivia stated.
“Finn’s feet were pointing towards her all night, and her body was always turned towards his.
That’s why I thought Ross was just a friend.
Although he had his arm around her, she never seemed to notice. ”
Theo frowned. If what she was saying was true, then neither Finn nor Georgia knew about it either. As far as he was concerned it would be the blind leading the blind when it came to uncovering their true feelings. Especially love.