Club Princess - Nicole James Page 0,20
grief that much. Don’t give it the rest. You deserve the life you want, the life your mother would have wanted you to have.”
“She wanted me to go to college. I failed at even that. Got put on academic probation the very first semester. I just couldn’t concentrate on school. I was just so…lost, I guess. So, you see I’ve already failed her. Her only dream was for me to get a degree.” She takes in a deep breath and turns to meet my eyes. “That’s why I have to save my brother.”
“I don’t follow.”
“If I’m going to save myself, I have to save what’s left of my family. To do that, I have to save Trez. Will you help me?”
“Fuck. You don’t ask for much, do you, Lola?” She smiles and its like I’m standing in the glowing rays of the sun. I roll my eyes. “Don’t pull that shit on me. I’m not some dumb prospect fallin’ over my feet for you.”
“Please.”
“Look, I take you back to the clubhouse, and for now I won’t tell Rock. That’s all I can promise. Savin’ your brother, that’s a whole other ball game. He got himself into this mess. Seems to me, he’s got to be the one to get himself out.”
She lifts her chin, but finally nods her agreement.
“And another thing, if you or I get dragged into this mess, he’ll have more to worry about than Lockwood catching up to him; I’m gonna kill him myself.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Lola—
Thunder cracks and the rain becomes a steady downpour. We finish off the bottle of wine, and Memphis calls to see if the proprietor can bring us another and charge it to the room. He flirts shamelessly with the older widowed woman who’d chattered up a storm as she’d checked us in earlier. She was completely taken in by Memphis’s good looks and tattooed bad boy appeal. The killer smiles he gave her—I’m sure helped.
He hangs up and turns to me. “Said she’d see what she could come up with.”
Twenty minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. Memphis opens it and she’s standing there, an umbrella in one hand and a basket covered with a dishtowel in the other.
He grins big. “You’re a doll, Miss Ruth.”
“My pleasure, Mr. Ballard.”
“You be sure to add this to our bill now.”
“Oh no, it’s no trouble. It’s not much, just some leftovers.”
Memphis pulls a fifty-dollar bill from his pocket and holds it out to her. “Now, I insist. You went to all this trouble.”
“Oh, that’s too much.” She waves it off.
“You don’t take it, love, I’ll slip it in your bra.”
Ruth giggles. “Oh, aren’t you the devil.”
Memphis grins and holds it up; his chin pulls to the side when she waves it off. He eyes her bra and cocks a brow.
She snatches it from his hand. “Oh, fine. Breakfast is at eight. Don’t be late.”
He winks and shuts the door.
“My God, you’re such a flirt,” I say. “Rhett Butler has nothing on you.
“You catch more flies with honey, doll.” He sets the basket down and flips the cloth back.
“What did she bring?” I step over and peer over his arm, eager to see what’s inside, feeling like a kid at Christmas. There’s a bottle of wine, some croissants sliced and filled with chicken salad, some grapes, cheese, and a sleeve of crackers. I spot a little tin. “What’s in that?”
He pops it open. It’s filled with little square chocolates, the kind that comes in fancy boxes on holidays. I snatch one and take a bite, then moan as the creamy rich mint flavor melts in my mouth.
“Good?” Memphis asks.
“Sinfully good. I could eat them all.”
“Help yourself. I’m not much for sweets.”
“Oh, come on, try one.” I hold a piece out to his mouth, and he opens. Our eyes lock as he tastes it. Then my gaze drops to his lips. Before I can react, he lowers his mouth and kisses me, and oh my God can he kiss. I’ve never been kissed like this.
Lightning flashes brightly through the window, and a boom of thunder shakes the house. We both jump, breaking the embrace.
Memphis looks out the rain-streaked glass of the French doors. “That sounded close.”
A moment later, the power goes out. Without the mini fridge running or the hum of any of the other electronics, the room is suddenly very quiet.
“That bolt might have downed a tree and took out a power line.” He digs a lighter out of his hip pocket and lights a candle