Learning Curves - By Elyse Mady Page 0,30

bringing my dad tomorrow.”

Brandon’s expression didn’t change but something in his eyes hinted at…relief? “Then I look forward to meeting him,” he said, bending his head as he did so. His lips brushed her cheek, just next to the corner of her mouth, and she froze. She desperately wanted to turn her head and allow their lips to meet. She remembered their first kiss in the green room, when she’d grabbed at his dressing gown and hauled him toward her. She’d only thought of her own need then. Now she had to keep the bigger picture in mind. She couldn’t get carried away, no matter how much she wanted to allow herself to succumb to the temptations on offer. So she submitted to his tantalizing gesture, relishing the feel of his mouth against her skin and his wine-scented breath on her cheek, but drawing back quickly, before he could get the wrong idea.

Brandon straightened and took his jacket from her petrified fingers. Pulling his scarf from the sleeve, he shrugged his coat on and wrapped his throat securely. He opened the door but paused on the threshold.

“I had a good time tonight,” he said. Leanne was still rooted to the spot but he didn’t comment on her rigid immobility.

“G-good. I’m glad.”

He cocked his head. “Are you? Really? So why do I find that hard to believe?”

There was nothing Leanne could say in the face of his keen observation. Silence was the best—the only—course open to her. It didn’t seem to offend him. “We’ll have to do it again sometime.” He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her cheek, light and fleeting. He didn’t try for anything else, retreating to a respectable distance before Leanne could even form the wish for more.

“Good night, Leanne. Thanks for inviting me.”

He turned and loped easily down the narrow stairs.

Chapter Six

“Dad!” Leanne waved across the theater’s crowded lobby.

“Hi, darling.” He stooped to embrace her. Last spring, he retired early from the engineering firm he’d worked at for twenty-one years, and by the relaxed look on his face, freedom from the daily grind agreed with him.

Rummaging in her purse, she pulled out the tickets and they joined the line making its way toward the auditorium. As they turned their coats in, the lights flashed their first warming. A young usher led them to their seats, which were well situated near the stage, with a clear line of sight.

Once they were settled, her father turned to her and asked in a whisper, “So, what’s new?”

Keeping her eyes fixed on the program, Leanne tried for nonchalance. “School’s busy but when isn’t it? I’ve got a ton of marking but I’m making good progress on my thesis.” She shrugged. “Armstrong’s pleased, I think.”

“I meant, what’s new with you?”

“With me?” Leanne tried to marshal her thoughts and continued to flick through the ads that littered the program as though she was very interested in the local bike shop’s offer of ten percent off for patrons of tonight’s performance. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’ve been too busy with school for much of anything else.”

Her father watched her thoughtfully. “Have you heard from Steven lately?”

At the mention of her former boyfriend, Leanne looked up. Her mother was die-hard about dating updates but Dad was usually more circumspect. “A while ago. He’s settled in Tempe and likes the faculty he’s working with. He’s not teaching many upper-year courses yet but he figures that’ll come in time.”

“I’m glad he’s doing well,” he said before continuing casually, “And you? Are you seeing anyone new? Since Steven, I mean?”

Yes. And I’m terrified it might turn into something serious.

“No. A few dates here and there but nothing serious. School takes too much of my time right now.”

“I see.”

The disappointment in her father’s eyes was transparent and Brandon’s name felt heavy on her tongue. She couldn’t deny that something seemed to be happening between them, as much as she would like it to be otherwise. Against her better judgment, they kept meeting, revealing a little more about themselves each time. But what they had could never be construed as a relationship, right? As much as she wanted her father to share the details of her life, her dad wanted to know about “nice guys” in his daughter’s life, not the guys who rang all her bells—sexual and warning.

There was no room in her life for a man right now. She’d learned her lesson with Steven. They’d been suited intellectually and well matched professionally, both intent on