Page 47 of Echoes of a Silent Song
And all his senses filled with nothing but her.
Callum was touching her back.He wastouchingherback.Bare skin on bare skin, sending a delicious electric current up the length of her spine.Granted, they were holding hands too, and the stubble of his cheek grazed her temple ...but those were perfectly innocent touches.They could happen with anyone.If she’d had any inkling she’d end up dancing with Callum, she absolutely would have worn that navy sheath, boring though it might be.
But then he wouldn’t be touching your back.
He really did look like his headshot.And she’d meant what she’d said, when he’d asked her if that was good or bad.Because it truly was a good thing—he was so incredibly handsome, all chiseled and coiffed in that effortlessly perfect way characteristic of all handsome men.
But it was a bad thing too.Because now she had no choice but to admit that Joy was right.Blair had a crush on Callum.
Wait.No.More than a crush.
Shelikedhim.
He was her closest coworker.Her boss, if you wanted to get all technical about it.He was leaving at the end of the year.
And she liked him.
He shifted and pulled her closer, and now his fingers touched slightly more of her back.His other hand held hers just a bit tighter.And his cheek pressed against hers just a little closer.Her lungs filled with his cologne—fresh and woodsy and musky and male.She snuggled closer and breathed him in and stopped coming up with all the reasons she shouldn’t like him.Instead her mind paraded before her all the reasons she should.The reasons she did.
Callum Knight had come into a situation that was at best humbling and at worst humiliating and was giving it his all.Putting in effort.He’dbeen intentional about learning the kids’ names.Remembering who played on which sports teams.He’d pitched in for Peggy Sue on Difference Makers Day.Though he’d never planned on this job, or even wanted it, he’d jumped into it with both feet, dedicated and determined.He had given these kids the one thing they’d needed most: someone who cared.He was passionate and funny and had—to her alarm—chipped away at the block of ice that encased her heart, and he’d done it like he’d tackled everything else these last two months.Gradually.Patiently.Persistently.Doggedly, even.Not always perfectly, but when he stumbled, he always got back up, dusted himself off, and tried again.And that just might be what she admired most about him.
Was God trying to pry open the slammed-shut door of her heart?And was Callum the reason why?
All too soon the slow song was replaced by some annoying pseudo rap that caused the kids to separate from their dance partners and launch into a ridiculous series of moves they’d no doubt learned from social media.Callum pulled back, and she expected him to step away ...but he didn’t.
His hand was still on her waist—though no longer on bare skin—and his other hand still held hers.He’d frozen in place, as though letting her go was the last thing on earth he wanted to do.
Wait.Did he have feelings too?
Oh yes.
Ohno.
This could get complicated.
A one-sided crush she could handle, but by the way he was looking at her, it was definitely not one-sided.Smoky-emerald eyes fixed on hers, his expression as helpless as she felt.As though he’d spent the last four minutes figuring out the same things she had, and now the thing between them—this thing they’d either ignored or fought off or been blissfully unaware of—was now athing, and what on earth were they going to do about it?
Well, that last bit he didn’t seem to be wondering, because those green eyes had shifted to her lips, and he inched closer.Her breath caught.Are we really about to do this?The question hovered in her throat, but sheswallowed it.She didn’t want to break the spell, because this sort of magic might not happen again.In fact, she—
“Ms.Em?Ms.Em?Oh thank goodness, Ms.Em.”
Blair’s eyes flew to a frantic Thalia standing to her right, tears smearing her eye makeup.
“I think Ryden’s drunk,” she choked out.
Callum had increased the distance between them to something professionally appropriate.“Drunk?”
“I didn’t notice it at first.I ...I think some of the guys maybe sneaked something in and he started drinking after we got here.But now he smells like booze, and he’s acting really stupid.”
“That’s an understatement.”Blair rolled her eyes.A few feet away, Ryden stood on a table, doing a wobbly sprinkler dance for a small yet enthusiastic crowd.
“I’m on it.”Callum was already elbowing through the crowd, making a beeline for Ryden.
“This is so embarrassing.”Thalia flung her arms around Blair.
Blair wrapped an arm around her student.“I know, sweetie.I’m so sorry.Thank you for telling us.This is too big for you to handle on your own.”
“I’ve had a crush on Ryden all year and been looking forward to tonight so much, and then he does this.”
