Lilah's List Read Free Page B

party.”
    The man just shook his head.
    â€œWe’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.
    â€œWhat’s that line for?”
    â€œDat’s for everyone who wants to be let in after midnight.”
    â€œBut it’s only eight-thirty.”
    His gaze remained cold.
    â€œBy 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.”
    â€œNow 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—”
    â€œPlease 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.
    â€œMr. Martin, my apologies,” the bouncer said, opening the rope for them to pass through.

Chapter 3
    A s 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.
    â€œI 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?”
    â€œOf 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.”
    â€œOh 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.