Lilah's List

“You agree we should go for dinner?”

“No, that’s the code word.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Apparently all bouncers know this code word. It means let us in immediately, we’re very important people.”

“And just where did you get this information?”

She pointed out the window. “Look, we’re almost there.”

“No changing the subject. Where did you hear this?”

Angie sighed. “The Internet.”

Lilah’s spine snapped straight. “Driver!”

Angie grabbed her arm and covered Lilah’s mouth. “Shh. This is going to work. You’ll see.”

Lilah climbed out of the cab, her legs trembling ever so slightly. “This is going to be so humiliating.”

Angie gripped her elbow and started marching her forward. “You know the drill. Say everything with confidence and authority, and you’ll have those bouncers eating out of your hand.”

They approached a tall, dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and a black leather trench coat. “Hi, we’re here for the party,” Angie said brightly.

The man frowned at her. “We don’t open to the public until after midnight tonight. We have a private party going on,” he answered with a thick Jamaican accent.

“That’s right,” Angie continued. “We’re here for the party.”

The man just shook his head.

“We’re meeting our high school friend Reggie here. Reggie Martin.”

The man pointed over Angie’s shoulder to the long line stretching down the block.

“What’s that line for?”

“Dat’s for everyone who wants to be let in after midnight.”

“But it’s only eight-thirty.”

His gaze remained cold.

“By the way,” Angie said finally. “We’re filet mignon.”

The bouncer glared at her. “Really, ’cuz you look more like chopped liver.” He turned to Lilah. “And this one barely looks over eighteen. Don’t try flashing dem fake IDs ’round here. I can spot ’em a mile away.”

“Now wait a minute,” Lilah said, finally finding her voice. “There’s no need to be rude. I realize you probably hear a lot of creative stories from people trying to scam their way into the club. And I’m certain it’s no fun to have people approach you like they own the world and expect to be treated like it. But you don’t look like the kind of gentleman whose mother raised him to disrespect women.”

Lilah resisted the urge to giggle at the look of wide-eyed chagrin on his face. “I…uh…I—”

“Please tell me you’re not giving my friends a hard time,” a deep masculine voice called out behind them.

Lilah froze in place. She knew that voice. It couldn’t be—

She turned and found herself looking up into a pair of deep-brown eyes. He towered over her at six-foot-four and was dressed in a black winter coat over an impeccably tailored, dark suit. His crisp, white shirt was open at the collar.

All of Lilah’s words stuck in her throat.

“Mr. Martin, my apologies,” the bouncer said, opening the rope for them to pass through.

Chapter 3

As he guided the two women past the entryway, Tyler Martin was pleased to have done his good deed for the day.

He hated velvet ropes, bouncers, celebrity parties and all the air kisses and fake smiles that went along with them. Helping these girls get past that thick-necked jerk redeemed some of the self-respect he’d lost profiting from this life.

But, on second glance, Tyler realized that he recognized these women. He’d be hard pressed to remember the name of the tall one with brightly colored hair, but he’d know Lilah Banks anywhere.

It was hard to forget the shy sixteen-year-old who had sat at the kitchen table with him more times than he could count.

“I know you two, don’t I?” He touched Lilah’s arm. “You’re Lilah Banks, right?”

Lilah started. “You know my name? You remember me?”

“Of course, you spent so much time at our house, our housekeeper thought you lived there.”

Lilah laughed nervously and her friend stepped forward. “I’m Angie Snow, Lilah’s best friend.”

“Oh yes,” Tyler said, shaking her hand. “I recognized your face.”

He’d been two years ahead of the girls in school, so he was already in his first semester at the University of Maryland when Lilah started tutoring his brother.

His heart had gone out to her because it had been so obvious that she’d had a huge crush on Reggie. More often than not, she’d been stuck with him because his younger brother had his head in the clouds and rarely showed up for tutoring on time.

When Reggie had shown up, he wasted her time bitching about how hard things were around the house. Hard? The kid had everything handed to him on a silver platter. It was Tyler who picked up the slack. Shopping for food, running errands and driving the tutor home while Reggie played video games in his bedroom.

But, if Reggie was self-centered, he had no one to blame but himself. Their mother was a doctor and their father a lawyer. So, although they always had every new gadget and video game, their parents were rarely home. Vivian Martin didn’t like having strangers raise her kids, so when Tyler was old enough, Reggie became his responsibility.

Thank God he loved the kid. Which wasn’t difficult since Reggie had a witty sense of humor and was genuinely fun to be around. He had an inherent charm that made it easy to forgive his mistakes. They were extremely close, which worked out well since their worlds were so tightly intertwined.

Reggie had a natural gift for music, and Tyler had a natural gift for business. While Reggie wrote songs in the recording studio, it was Tyler’s job to handle the business details, including making sure the accountant, publicist and the rest of the industry didn’t take advantage of his baby brother.

Which brought him to his present situation. He avoided the limelight whenever possible, but he’d come to accept that in this business, important meetings often took place in the VIP lounge of some popular night spot. He now represented several people in the entertainment industry, and tonight Reggie wanted him to meet a potential new client.

Now that he’d gotten them past the doorman, Tyler half expected the girls to float off. Instead they huddled close, with no obvious agenda.

The room—lit with pink, green and orange neon lights showcasing wide decadent beds with drapes and pillows—was buzzing but not packed. He scanned the area for Reggie, but since he didn’t see a crowd of fawning females, he knew Reggie wasn’t in the room.