Learning Curves - By Elyse Mady Page 0,56
head of the table, where she sat beside Jeremy and her parents, the implacable set of her mouth telegraphing her displeasure at his immunity to her charms. Throughout the meal, she peered at him repeatedly with a puzzled consideration, as if she knew she had seen him before but couldn’t quite place him.
By the time Paul Saunders delivered his toast, he’d had enough. Throwing his napkin down on his chair, he stood. “I’ll be back in a moment,” he said into Leanne’s ear.
She looked up at him, concern in her eyes.
“Everything okay?”
He kissed her then, hot and possessive and reckless. Her lips parted in surprise at his unexpected gesture, and he was conscious of the avid onlookers up and down the table watching their display. Brandon didn’t give a damn what they thought.
“I’m all right. I’m just going to excuse myself for a second,” he murmured, looking down at her and admiring her bright color. “You good if I go?”
She smiled, the corners of her wide, tempting mouth turning up wryly. She understood his unspoken question perfectly.
“No problem,” she said, her voice pitched to reach the ears of their audience. Her shoulders straightened and she sat with confidence, a world away from the miserable creature he’d seen only a few hours before. Picking up her fork, she gestured him away. “But I make no promises as to the safety of your chocolate cake.”
He paused and she shooed him away again with her free hand.
“I’ll be here. Go.”
Still conscious of the eyes watching him, he forced himself to walk slowly as he crossed the room and exited into the wide hallway beyond.
He needed a moment to collect himself.
Because if he didn’t get away from that stifling room, he was going to do something to embarrass himself.
Or worse, embarrass Leanne.
And that wasn’t what boyfriends—real, pretend, temporary or otherwise—did at a country club dinner. He just wasn’t sure which of those he was anymore.
“So,” the bride’s voice crooned into his ear, “what I want to know is how much she paid you for tonight.”
Brandon whirled around.
Gillian leaned in the doorway of the lounge he’d retreated to. The menacing expression on her face sent a bolt of fear racing along his spine. “It had to be a lot to get someone like you to pretend to sleep with someone like her.”
“Excuse me?” He tried to slip past her but she blocked his escape. She pressed against him, far too close for his liking, but unless he was willing to manhandle her, he was momentarily trapped in the small room.
Gillian advanced as he retreated, her hips swaying with each step of her sexy heels. A walk clearly perfected with years of practice, designed to make a man think about sex. But for all her allure, all Brandon was reminded of was the mesmerizing sway of a deadly but beautiful cobra.
“You heard me,” she said, her mouth curving in a victorious smile. “I know who you are.”
“You should. We were introduced before dinner.”
She laughed again and wagged an admonishing finger. “Cute but that’s not what I meant. Let me rephrase it for you, shall I? I meant I know what you do, Brandon.”
His body chilled at the threat in her voice but he carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression. He tried to move past her once more. “Aren’t your guests expecting you?”
“I’m powdering my nose. No one will miss me for a few minutes.” Her smile widened, the menace clear despite its dazzling whiteness. “Took me most of the evening to put the pieces together but I finally figured out where I recognized you from. You know,” she added flirtatiously, “you have a very distinctive way of moving. Onstage. Offstage. I just didn’t recognize you with all those clothes on.”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is. And now that I know you’re really a stripper and not Leanne’s boyfriend like she’s trying to claim, I want to know how much she’s paying you.”
“She’s not paying me anything.”
“You expect me to believe that? So what, then? You saw her last weekend at my hen party and were so overcome with lust you jumped her then and there?” She laughed. “And of course, since then, you’ve been inseparable, enjoying the wildest sex of your life?”
“That’s about the size of it.” Gillian would never believe that she’d stumbled upon the real sequence of events. The best he could do was string her along and wait for her to reveal her true purpose.
Gillian guffawed and shook her head. “Good-looking, a