I shrugged, not even sure if therewasa significant reason. “I’ve never been a morning person. It’s hard for me to wake up, so discovering coffee was a godsend. At first it was awful—I tried something way too bold—but eventually I found the right balance of sweetness. After a while, I just started enjoying it. Also, it doesn’t hurt that coffee goes great with chocolate chip waffles.”
“You add chocolate chips to your waffles?”
I made an honest effort not to frown at him. “You don’t?”
“I’m more of a pancake person.”
I barely refrained from gagging. “I hate to say it, but this might be a deal breaker.”
His lips twitched. “Waffles are that important to you?”
“Yes,” I said, deadpan. “With chocolate chips.”
Noah’s brows pulled together—he was probably waiting for me to say I was joking. Too bad for him, I wasn’t.
“Moving on. Who’s the first composer you ever played?” I asked, not wanting to let his uncultured preference for pancakes sour the date. “Not counting pieces likeChopsticksorMary Had a Little Lamb.”
“The first classical composer?” Noah asked. I nodded before taking a bite of my spring roll. He sat back and leaned on his hands as he thought about it. “Stravinsky. One of my instructors adored Stravinsky, and for a while it was all I ever played. You?”
“Beethoven.” I tried pursing my lips to hide a grin threatening to break. God, it was such a predictable answer. “My parents didn’t know much about piano, but they knew he was popular. So, they had me learn so many of his songs, I heard them in my sleep. A real crowd-pleaser.”
“What’s the first piece you played that you actually liked?”
This time I didn’t fight the grin. I searched for the song on my phone and started it up before answering. Soft notes trickled into the room. “Dawnby Dario Marianelli. It’s so delicate and enchanting, and you feel like you’re holding your breath at the start so you can hear it. It’s cheesy, but it made me feel like I was taking in air for the first time.”
“It’s a beautiful piece, especially when accompanied by strings,” Noah said, and we took a moment to listen to the soft melody before I took my turn.
“What other classes are you taking?” I asked.
“Music Theory and History of Opera are my only classes.”
I blinked, and my spring roll hovered halfway to my mouth. “Wait,what?How? That’s only six credits.”
“Actually, it’s zero since I’m auditing.” His lips curled up into an amused smile. “I’m not enrolled at Westcroft. I take classes in my free time when I have an interest in one.”
My lips parted in surprise. “Hold on. Is that why you’ve been skipping classes or leaving early?”
Noah’s smile grew, and he gave me a knowing look. “You’ve noticed?”
I gave him my best glare, trying to ignore the way my cheeks burned.
He chuckled.
Mybest, mostfierceglare, and the guy chuckled.
“My job is a little unorthodox,” Noah explained. “The hours aren’t fixed, and I’m almost always on call.”
I thought back to the call he hadn’t answered last night. I hadn’t wanted to seem nosy then, but if there was ever a time to ask questions…
“What do you do?” I asked, aware that I had hijacked all the questioning, but this was too interesting for me to be patient with.
“I’m in consulting. Mostly financial,” Noah said, and the blazers and ties suddenly made a lot more sense. “It’s for a private firm. We focus on commercial consulting, but sometimes we’ll assist with private matters.”
That threw me for another loop. I’d half expected him to say he was part of an orchestra somewhere, or even part of a wedding band, butfinancial consulting?“Wow.”
“I attend classes on the side in things that pique my interest. Piano has always been a favorite of mine.”
“That’s really cool,” I said, more than a little jealous.
