Page 35 of Echoes of a Silent Song

Callum blinked.A mocha or something he could remember, but this?

“Should I write it down for you?”Joy asked.

“No need.”On sudden inspiration, he pulled his phone out from his pocket and opened up his voice recorder app.“Just say it again.”

Joy lifted her chin and repeated the order.When he switched off the recorder, she nodded toward his phone.“Good idea, Mr.Knight.”

“It’s how I remember things when I’m composing.”He tucked the phone back into his pocket.

“Oh, you compose?”

“Not as much anymore.It’s been a rough few years.”His standard answer.But now, blessedly, thank the Lord, he could elaborate beyond that.“But the muse is starting to return.It’s slow going, but it’s coming back.And Blair, well, she inspired the first musical idea I’ve had in half a decade.”

He knew he’d made a mistake as soon as the words left his mouth, but Joy’s mischievous grin confirmed it.“Oh, shedid, did she?”

“She doesn’t know, and this coffee is a way of thanking her.A small down payment on the debt I owe.”

His attempt at mitigation did nothing to dim Joy’s smile.“Isee.”She also must’ve seen something untoward going on in the orchestra room, because she banged on the window of the office.“Hey.You three.Cut.It.Out.”

“Anyway.”Callum moved toward the door.“Thanks for the tip.”

“She’s pretty special, y’know.”

Joy’s words at his back stopped him, and he turned.“I’m sorry?”

She was eyeing him again.Sizing him up, as though deeming him worthy.Or possibly unworthy.

“Blair.She’s one in a million.Don’t hurt her.”

He held up a hand.“It’s just coffee, Joy.”

“Mm-hmm.That’s what they all say.”

They all?Who were they all?Did Blair have a steady stream of men wanting to buy her coffee?And why did he care, anyway?

He kept his tone and expression carefully neutral.“Sometimes coffee is just coffee.”

The bell rang, and kids streamed by the window on their way out of the classroom.Callum put his hand on the doorknob but waited for the hordes to pass.

“She is single, just so you know,” Joy added, her tone rich with mischief.

Callum sighed.Blair?The ice queen?Not seeing anyone?He was going to have a heart attack and die from that particular surprise.Best not to say anything, though.

“Again, thank you.”He strode from the office behind a couple of straggling students.Never had he been so grateful for his third-hour music theory class and an excuse to get away from Blair’s meddling mother hen of a best friend.

It really was just coffee.

A cup of coffee sat on Blair’s desk.

Cardboard.Decorated with the unmistakable teddy-bear logo from her favorite shop and a little plastic stopper in the lid to keep the heat in.

She shed her jacket and hung it on the rack by the door, then picked up the cup to investigate.It wasn’t her birthday, nor any sort of professional milestone.Had Joy woken up extra early this morning?Had Dad brought a surprise?

CAL, the handwritten name on the cup read.

Cal?Did she even know anyone named Cal?

Well, whoever Cal was, he knew her exact morning coffee order.At least, if the weird shorthand beneath his name could be believed.BTSCTCH OAT LATTE XTRA SHOT WHIP.