Page 65 of Slumming It

I gave another hard swallow as I braced myself for what would surely be one of the crappiest nights of my life.

But there was no turning back now.

Chapter 24

Emily

As we walked like a real couple toward the front entrance, the crowd parted like magic, and everyone turned to stare.

In truth, they'd been staring already from the moment we'd pulled up in the decadent red Ferrari. But now, up close and personal, the stares felt more intense, and I resisted a sudden maddening urge to lean into Reese Murdock to hide my face from view.

This would have been surprisingly easy, considering that his arm was draped casually over my shoulders as if we did this every Saturday night.

But were people buying it?

Somewhere in the crowd, a woman said in a hushed, awestruck voice, "Oh, my God. That's Reese Murdock. I heard he was in town, but I never believed it."

A different woman replied, "Oh,Ibelieved it. I heard he's staying here, too." She lowered her voice to say with overblown significance, "In the Presidential Suite."

Not hardly.He was staying in the Shithole Express.

Ididn't think of our place that way, but I knew that he did. Plus, there was no suite involved. Unlike the Diamond Resort, our little hotel had no suites at all, unless you counted rooms five and six, which had a single connecting door.

As we sauntered through the crowd – or ratherhesauntered while I tried to follow suit – I considered my original theory that Reese Murdock was staying someplace modest to keep a low profile. If that was his goal, he was blowing it bigtime now. All around us, I saw cellphones being raised to catch us on video.

Terrific.Soon, they would have footage of me getting kicked to the curb – or at least getting hassled when trying to get inside.

Tonight, the door was being manned by a big, burly guy in a dark business suit. He was obviously a bouncer even if hewaswearing a suit and tie.

I held my breath as the guy gave Reese Murdock a smile so wide, it must've hurt his face. "Mister Murdock." His eyes were bright with excitement. "Welcome back."

My steps nearly faltered.Welcome back?

So he'd been here before?Whether this was true or not, the "welcome" part was beyond obvious. The bouncer looked like Reese Murdock's biggest fan until his gaze shifted to me. The bouncer stiffened as his smile morphed into a slight, but concerning, grimace.

He wasn't looking at my clothes. He was looking at my face even as I tried to play it cool.

Judging from the guy's expression, there was a huge poster of me somewhere in the main office emblazoned with the words, "Banned for Life."

Knowing Morgan, I could totally see it.

Finally, the bouncer spoke. "And you are…?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but Reese Murdock beat me to it. "My date." A note of warning crept into his voice. "Is there a problem?"

The guy hesitated for barely an instant before saying, "No, sir. No problem here." And then, he stepped aside and motioned both of us into the club. As we passed, I saw Reese Murdock slip him a bill.

Was it one of those hundreds from earlier?

It must've been. In that big wad of his, it's not like I'd seen anything lower.No wonder the bouncer was smiling.

I might've smiled too, except I knew how the story would end. Knowing the Fairfaxes, the guy wouldn’t be happy for long. Once they discovered me in their fancy nightclub, they'd probably throwbothof us out on our asses – meaning me and the bouncer– while Reese Murdock sipped champagne in the VIP section, assuming the club had such a thing.

When I glanced back, the bouncer was still smiling, and my heart clenched at the sight.The poor guy.

Soon, he would be crying into his beer. And I would be on my cellphone, calling God-knows-who for a ride.But wait…I'd left my purse and cellphone in the Ferrari.

Damn it.