Page 40 of The Sound of Silence

I shook my head, disgusted with myself, and went back to class. The questioning eyes of the other woman in the room met mine. They didn’t voice their questions aloud—they knew better than to ask. They understood in ways I could only try to imagine. So, for the next hour, they followed my lead and we finished the class as scheduled.

Once the last of the women filtered out of the room, I went to my office, closed the door behind me, and sat down behind my desk. I had next week’s schedule to prepare and a list of supplies that needed ordering. I moved the mouse to wake the computer, but before I could get to work, the screen on my cell phone lit up, catching my attention. I had three missed calls from my sister. That could only mean one thing—Christopher had finally spilled the beans about Val.

“Asshole barely held out for a week,” I muttered.

Giving up on writing the schedule, I went over to the minibar in my office to make myself a cup of coffee. I would need caffeine to get through a conversation about Val with my sister, that much was certain. After adding a splash of cream to the dark roast, I returned to my desk. Rather than put off the inevitable any longer, I dialed Isabella’s number and hit the send button. She answered after only two rings.

“Derek, I’ve been calling you all morning,” she said by way of greeting.

“I teach classes in the morning. You know that.”

“Hmm,” she murmured. “So, how are things?”

“That’s why you called me three times?” I countered.

“Well, no. I wanted to talk to you about the new girl, Val. I thought I’d let you know that she’s working out really well. She’s a fast learner.”

I smiled to myself. She didn’t call just to tell me that. My sister was fishing and I wasn’t going to bite.

“That’s really good to hear, Bells,” I said, deliberately keeping my tone aloof.

“She had the menu memorized after only one shift, and she’s always on time,” Isabella went on. “Smart as a whip, that one. Where did you find her?”

I leaned back in my chair. Stretching an arm up to place a hand behind my head, I contemplated how long I was going to torment her.

“She lives in the building attached to The Mill.”

“Which location? The one in Queens?” she probed. I couldn’t help but smirk. What my sister really wanted to know was if Val lived near me.

“Yep.”

“Ah, that’s nice. Has she lived there long?”

“Not sure,” I replied indifferently, prompting her to huff out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh, come on Derek! Are you going to make me beg? Spill it!”

“Spill what?” I asked innocently, barely containing my laughter.

“I can almost see that shit-eating grin of yours right now. You know what I’m talking about!” This time, I didn’t hold back, laughing long and hard. When I finally quieted again, Isabella pouted. “I’m glad you find this funny. You used to tell me everything. Imagine my surprise when I found out you spoke to Christopher about her over a week ago, and I’d been left completely in the dark.”

“Rat bastard couldn’t keep his mouth shut for very long,” I teased.

“Actually, it wasn’t him, not really anyway. Julianna was working the dining room that night and she happened to mention you stopped in. When I asked Christopher why you were here…well, you know him. It didn’t take much for him to tell me everything.”

Yes, I knew Christopher—but I knew my sister even better. She was as stubborn as a mule. When she wanted something, there was no holding her back. I’d bet it took her less than thirty seconds to get Christopher to fold. He was always soft when it came to her.

“Honestly, Bells. There’s not much to tell.”

“Oh, now that’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Do I sound busy to you?”

“Okay, okay,” I sighed. “I’ll tell you everything I told Chris and you can be the judge.”

I thought about the night I met Val in the courtyard of the hotel and how we talked about so much, yet hardly anything at all. The conversation had been easy and natural. So just as I did with Christopher, I went through the tale of how I met a beautiful runaway bride. However, I went into way more detail this time around because Isabella had twenty-seven questions for every one sentence. After forty-five minutes on the phone, my coffee cup was nearly empty, and she had been brought up to speed. I ended with what happened today in the self-defense class.

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