Lessons in Love
Victoria Sinclair
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Copyright
Copyright ©2013 Victoria Sinclair
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be circulated in writing of any publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This book has been produced for the Amazon Kindle and is distributed by Amazon Direct Publishing.
Chapter One
Emily strove to compose herself, taking a deep breath in an attempt to still her racing heart. She pushed the door open, wincing as it squealed loudly. The lecturer at the front of the room stopped mid-sentence and turned to face her. Heat rose in her cheeks as she realised that all eyes in the room were directed her way.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ she muttered, scanning the room for a seat. The lecture theatre comprised of a series of long benches staggered down towards the front of the room, and the only seat which would provide her easy access at such a late stage was in the front row at the left edge. Her footsteps echoed as she walked down the stairs, and she wished the lecturer would resume speaking. Gratefully she slid in behind the bench and looked to the man whose eyes were still fixed on hers. Clearly he wasn’t going to let her out of this easily. ‘I had car problems,’ she said by way of explanation, knowing as she said it what a cliché it sounded. He raised a single eyebrow, stared at her a moment longer, and then turned to the rest of the class.
‘Now that the interruption’s over, we’ll resume the lecture, shall we?’ he asked rhetorically. Emily felt a flush spread across her cheeks and immediately turned her attention to her bag, where she fumbled for her notebook and pen. Ready to go, she turned her attention back to the lecture, fuming inwardly at the man in front of the class. She hadn’t made that much noise entering, certainly not enough to completely interrupt the lecture, and there had been no need for him to make her look like a complete idiot.
According to the whiteboard at the front of the room, the lecturer’s name was Nicholas Cavanaugh. An imposing sounding name for a very imposing man, she thought as she took her first good look at him. Tall, dark and handsome summed him up nicely, but there didn’t seem to be anything else nice about him.
Emily was almost too frazzled to focus on his words, but somehow managed to take notes, glad she had competent shorthand skills or she would have missed ninety percent of the lecture. But even so, it was hard to keep her attention focussed on what he was saying, so perturbed was she by the events which had led to such an inauspicious start to her university career.
The story about her car breaking down had not been a fiction to explain her late entrance, but the absolute truth. While her fifteen year old Volvo had managed to get her to work and home again, it had refused to start when she needed it the most. The ignition had been inexplicably dead, and there had been absolutely nothing she could do to get it started. After a brief moment of panic, she’d known the only answer was to take the bus, well aware that it would take much longer than it would have done by car.
What a mess! After six years of working, planning and saving, she was finally realising her dream of obtaining a university degree. She’d planned to do everything right from the start and fervently hoped this incident didn’t auger poorly for the rest of her course.
Finally, Nicholas Cavanaugh stopped speaking, allowing the students time to ask questions. Emily had to admit he was very attractive indeed, with his tall, imposing build, dark hair and eyes so blue she could see the colour from where she was sitting. It was a pity his personality didn’t match his looks. She frowned slightly, realising vaguely that his name rang a bell. She tried to think where she’d heard it before, but drew a blank. She studied him a moment longer, knowing that she’d never met him before, because he was a man no woman would forget; however much she might want to.
‘That’s it for today, but I want everyone to read chapter one of the text tonight. Don’t think that because it’s the start of the semester you needn’t bother. It would be in everyone’s best interests.’ His voice jolted her from her thoughts and she started slightly. His eyes seemed to be trained on her, and her heart gave a quick leap, but when he turned and looked over the rest of the class, she wondered if she’d imagined it.
Bracing herself, Emily stood, squared her shoulders, picked up her bag and approached him as he neatly placed a pile of papers in his briefcase.
‘Excuse me, Mr Cavanaugh,’ she began, hating herself for the timidity she heard in her voice. Standing beside him, she felt smaller and more insignificant than ever. He was at least six foot two inches tall and broad shouldered, but seemed even larger beside her petite five foot four inch frame.
‘Yes?’ he prompted, looking down at her imperiously, as if he wondered how on earth she had the temerity to approach such august a personage.
‘I’d like to apologise for my entrance this morning.’ The way his icy blue eyes were boring into her was more than a little disturbing, but she couldn’t help noticing the perfectly patrician nose he bore, nor the strong, square jawline, or the way his dark hair brushed down over his forehead, giving him a decidedly rakish look. He ran his fingers through that hair, and Emily felt her heart give a little tug.
‘Yes,’ he interjected. ‘Car problems?’ His eyebrows were raised in scepticism.
‘I’m afraid so. I had to catch the bus.’
‘I see.’ The coldness in his voice ran like ice down her spine, but she continued, determined to get him to see that she was not at fault for her late entrance.
‘The bus takes much longer than car. If my car had worked, I would have arrived with plenty of time to spare.’
‘I’m sure you would. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve got work to do. Please ensure that you’re on time tomorrow morning.’ With that he smiled coldly at her and walked away, leaving her standing there feeling foolish. She ground her teeth together and walked out of the room. How dare he dismiss her in such a way? She’d done what she’d believed to be the right thing, approaching him as she had to apologise for her late entrance. What a waste of time that had been! Well, she’d be on time tomorrow, car or no car. She’d make sure of that. Nicholas Cavanaugh would find no fault with her then! And next time, she’d be better prepared. No more timid little Emily Peterson. She’d show him what she was made of, and it was with much tougher stuff than he’d ever imagine.
With that thought came the realisation that she’d promised Veronica and Steven she’d pick them up from school. She looked at her watch in exasperation. It was just gone half past three, and they’d be waiting for her. At twelve and thirteen years old her siblings were well able to look after themselves, but she felt bad that she couldn’t deliver on her promise to them.
Fortunately the school office was able to pass on a message telling them to catch the bus and Emily sighed in relief as she sat down to wait for her own transportation.
What was a mere fifteen minute journey by car extended to just over fifty minutes by bus, and Emily arrived home tired and flustered, grimacing at the thought of repeating the jour
ney the next day.
Emily sagged onto the comfortable but faded sofa, momentarily wondering where her brother and sister were, before realising that if they’d caught the late bus home they weren’t due in for another ten minutes or so. Wanting nothing more than to remain stationary, she mustered the energy to stand up. She needed to call the mechanic and get her car’s problems fixed as soon as possible.
That out of the way, she made herself a nice, relaxing cup of coffee, and had just sat down to drink it when Veronica and Steven walked through the front door.
‘Gee, thanks a lot for standing us up, Em,’ joked Steven.
‘Sorry guys, couldn’t be helped.’ She gave them a rueful smile. ‘Have a good day at school?’
‘Just usual,’ Veronica replied with a shrug. ‘You don’t look like you had much fun though. I thought you were looking forward to uni.’ Emily laughed and shook her head.
‘That was before I crossed paths with Nicholas Cavanaugh. It’s only my first day and I’ve already caught his eye. And I don’t mean that in a good way.’
‘Is he your teacher?’
‘Lecturer, actually. But I suppose it amounts to the same thing.’
‘So, you’ve got a jerk of a lecturer. Now maybe you’ll have more sympathy when we complain about our teachers,’ Steven said. Emily smiled at her brother and sister.
‘I’ll try. Now, get on with your homework. I’ve got a huge chapter to read this evening, and I want it done before I start anything else.’
Veronica and Steven gone, Emily retrieved the rather daunting looking text and sat down at the table with it. The reading was hard going, and more than once Emily wondered whether she was out of her league. But every time her mind betrayed her with such negative thoughts, she took a quick hold of herself. There was no way she was going to quit this course. She would prove to that beastly man that she was a capable, mature, successful woman. He would soon regret his initial opinion of her.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t get over her initial impression of him. Despite the anger that still rankled at her, she couldn’t get past the knowledge that she was attracted to him. Even now, a vivid mental image of Nicholas Cavanaugh consumed her mind, and only great force of will removed it. Why did he have to be so darn good looking? She’d remained immune to any of the high school crushes other girls had on their young male teachers, yet here she was now, a mature woman of twenty-four, whose heart skipped a beat at the mere thought of her arrogant, annoying university lecturer, who, as a person, she didn’t think much of at all.
An hour and a half later she placed the textbook on the table and sighed, rubbing her eyes. If only the authors of such texts could write simply and concisely in a way that was easily understandable! Perhaps it would have been easier six years ago when she’d been fresh out of high school, but attending university at the time hadn’t been an option. She’d had her younger brother and sister to care for, and the money for food and bills couldn’t materialise out of thin air.
When Emily had been just eighteen years old, and her brother and sister seven and six years old respectively, their mother had passed away. Only months before she had been fine, but a sudden illness turned out to be leukaemia, and her health had deteriorated rapidly. She’d managed to hold out just long enough for Emily to finish high school, but only two weeks after her final exams Emily was left alone with her brother and sister. Their father had walked out on the family just months after Veronica had been born, and they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since. Emily had debated contacting him, but in the end had stubbornly refused. He hadn’t wanted them then, and she didn’t need him now. She was determined to look after her brother and sister by herself. And she had. Six years later they were turning out just as she had hoped, and although she hadn’t been able to pursue the career choice she would have preferred, Emily was happy. It had always been her intention to start university one day, and if she had to start six years after she had initially planned, that was neither here nor there. She was where she wanted to be now, which was all that mattered.
The next morning, Emily chose her outfit with greater care than usual. Finally deciding on a dark blue skirt with a white cotton blouse. The day was too warm for a jacket, so she slipped a simple sky-blue cotton knit sweater over the top. Overall the effect was quite pleasing, she decided. Her thick, slightly wavy chestnut hair was pulled up in a simple, yet stylish twist, and it gleamed in the sunlight which streamed through the window.
A light covering of makeup completed the look and she smiled in satisfaction. Emily didn’t consider herself to be a traditionally beautiful woman, but her features were even and pleasant, and she’d always been told what a lovely smile she had. With a judicious use of cosmetics, she knew she looked attractive.
After eating a quick breakfast and gulping down a cup of too-hot coffee, checking to make sure her brother and sister were up and ready to leave for school, and calling her boss to inform him that she’d be late to work, she started for the bus stop.
Emily arrived for her lecture with plenty of time to spare, and fortunately was able to find a good seat in the middle of the lecture theatre. As the room filled, Emily became confident that she was seated comfortably away from Nicholas Cavanaugh’s gaze.
She was determined to ignore the disturbing effect he had on her hormones, but when he finally entered the room, her heart gave an uncomfortable leap. She looked down at her notebook as he began to speak, but couldn’t keep her eyes away from him for long, so magnetic was his presence.
‘Hopefully everyone’s here. There’s a lot to cover this semester, and I don’t have time to waste.’ He seemed to be looking directly at her as he spoke, and she turned away, an uncomfortable tightening in her chest. Surely he wasn’t thinking of her previous day’s misadventure? ‘I also hope that everyone did their reading last night, because I’ve got a little surprise in store for you. Every day I’d like to begin by getting a couple of students to do a small impromptu presentation for us on the previous night’s reading. Do I have any volunteers?’ Emily wasn’t surprised by the silence that greeted him. She sank down in her seat, praying that he hadn’t noticed her.
‘Since no one’s willing, I’ll choose shall I?’ The question was rhetorical. Clearly he was enjoying himself. ‘I can see the perfect candidate right now. You there, in the middle, with the blue top on?’ Emily looked up, mortified. Surely not? But his eyes were trained on her, and as she looked to either side she could see no one else matching that description, even vaguely. ‘Yes, you. I thought perhaps you’d like to atone for your late arrival yesterday.’ Emily ground her teeth in agitation and told her furiously racing heart to calm down.
‘Fine,’ she said reluctantly.
‘Did you read the chapter I set last night?’
‘Yes,’ she replied curtly. ‘I read it all.’
‘Ah, good. Then you’ll be able to give a brief review of the reading for the rest of the class, won’t you?’
‘I…I’ll do my best,’ she stammered, wondering why he’d put her on the spot like this.
‘Well, begin. We’re waiting.’
‘OK,’ she began shyly, but he interrupted her.
‘At the front of the room, please,’ he said dryly. ‘You can’t possibly expect to give an effective speech from your seat.’ Blushing furiously, Emily bit down hard on her lip, keeping a tight rein on her emotions. She stood up slowly and walked to the front of the room. He stood just metres from her, and her body was powerfully aware of the fact. Her unwanted attraction to him didn’t seem to be waning, no matter how much he humiliated her. Obviously she was a greater masochist than she’d ever given herself credit for.
‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘Miss?’
‘Peterson...Emily Peterson,’ she replied, hardly able to remember her own name, let alone anything about the chapter she’d read the previous night. She opened her mouth and stumbled through a vague explanation lasting not more than a painful couple of minutes which felt like an eterni
ty in hell. She returned to her seat, head bowed, feeling like an utter fool.
‘Thank you Miss Peterson. Well, I suppose that’s the best I can expect from a first attempt, but I expect better of the rest of you in the future.’ Emily ground her teeth, put on a false smile, and wished fervently that she could leave the lecture theatre and never return. But that was not an option. Nicholas Cavanaugh was not going to intimidate her into leaving. Anger took the place of mortification and she opened her mouth to speak.
‘Well that’s hardly fair!’ she interjected. ‘How can I possibly be expected to give a good presentation on something I read yesterday? You never told us we’d be expected to memorise it! Had I known you were going to thrust this impromptu speech upon me, I would at least have had the foresight to take notes.’ She was pleased to hear murmurs of agreement from the students around her.
Nicholas Cavanaugh stared at her penetratingly for a moment before speaking, his nostrils flaring in indignation. Emily held her head high and kept her gaze locked on his. Finally a tense smile appeared on his lips. ‘Perhaps that’s true for a classroom situation. But in the world of business you’ll be expected to give presentations at the drop of a hat, sometimes having to summarise information you’ve read only moments before. You must all learn to prepare yourselves for such an eventuality. If you can’t, then you may as well quit now.
‘I’m a professional businessman with a company in Melbourne. I know what the demands of the job are, and I expect that by the end of this semester all of you will too. Now, at least, you’ll all know to be prepared. If you must, take brief notes and revise them before class, but please get into the habit of absorbing what you read.’ His eyes bored into her as he spoke, making it feel as though every word was directed solely at her. The coolness of his tone felt like ice in her chest, and it took every ounce of courage she had not to slink away like the failure he thought her to be.
Lessons in Love Page 1
