Page 60 of Slumming It

And this is when he dropped it – a single word that hit like a bombshell in the shadows. "Solitaire's."

Oh, crap.

I felt the blood drain from my face. And now I didn't know what to say.

When I made no reply, he spared me half a glance before adding, "It's this club at the Diamond Resort. You ever hear of it?"

Whether he meant Solitaire's or the resort itself, the answer was the same. I gave a single, horrified nod.Boy, had I ever.

And in my case, this wasn't a good thing.

Chapter 22

Reese

In the passenger's seat, Emily sat very still, looking sucker-punched, as if I'd just announced that I was delivering her naked and alone to the biker bar.

My brow furrowed as I took in her reaction. She reeked of fear and dread and fuck-knows-what-else.

Odd.

Silently, I waited for the fireworks – or hell, maybe some waterworks if she decided to turn on the tears.

The waiting brought nothing – no tantrums, no tears, and no indication why this particular place posed such a problem. Yeah, I got that we were underdressed, but that was the point –andthe reason I'd dragged Emily along for the ride.

Driving onward, I let the silence linger until she broke it by saying in a quiet voice, "Honestly…I don't think Solitaire's is a good idea."

I didn't care what she thought. The plan would move forward regardless. But I was curious enough to ask the obvious question. "Why not?"

"For one thing, their dress code isreallystrict – maybe not at the resort, but definitely at the nightclub."

She was wrong. The nightclub had no dress code, not in writing.

I knew this for a fact, just like I knew that the resort itself was more pretentious than it deserved given its remote location in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere. And, as far as Solitaire's – the thing that passed for a high-end nightclub – the place wouldn’t last two weeks without the support of rich tourists staying at the overrated resort.

To Emily, I replied, "Fuck the dress code."

With a half-hearted laugh, she replied, "That's easy for you to say. They'll letyouin regardless."

No shit."You think?"

"Definitely. I mean, you could show up in a paper sack, and they'd still fall all over themselves to makeyoufeel welcome."

True.But it hadn't always been this way, and fuck if I'd apologize for enjoying what I'd earned. "And that's a problem?"

"Well, not foryou," she said. "But there's no way they're gonna letmein."

"Sure they will."And I meant it.There was no way in hell I would let Emily be turned away – not because I cared about her feelings, but because she was my guest, and hassling her would be an insult that I would never tolerate, not these days.

But Emily looked unconvinced. "You don't know that for sure."

"Sure I do."

"Why?" she scoffed. "Because I’m with you? I can see why you’d think that, but one time I went there with the mayor, and I ended up sitting alone in his car for two whole hours because they wouldn't let me in – even though they rolled out the red carpet forhim."

What the fuck?"So he ditched you and went in alone?"What a pussy.

"It wasn't a date or anything," she clarified. "It was part of this community outreach event. I'd done some volunteer work for the city, planting flowers mostly, and they had this fancy get-together at Solitaire's to celebrate. I figured it would be fine because I was part of a larger group, but the hostess wouldn’t let me inside even though I arrived in the same car as the mayor."