Read Lilah's List for Free Online Page B

around midnight.
    That would leave him plenty of room to have dinner with his old, high-school tutor. Tyler expected there would be some protesting, but now the kid owed him one.
    Feeling much better now that he had something proactive to do besides mentally replay last night’s embarrassment, Tyler typed the words Casablanca Hotel into his Internet browser.
    Tyler had heard Angie name the hotel when he’d hailed a cab for them last night. After dialing the number, he asked to be connected to Lilah’s room.
    â€œHello?” a sexy, sleep-roughened voiced purred into the phone.
    â€œLilah? I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
    â€œT-Tyler?”
    â€œYes.” His stomach muscles clenched at the way she breathed his name.
    She cleared her throat, but she still sounded like a phone-sex operator. “No, we were up, but I admit, we haven’t been up long.”
    We? Before he could ask the question out loud, she continued.
    â€œAngie and I ended up ordering out in the middle of the night and didn’t get back to bed until after 5:00 a.m.”
    â€œOh, I didn’t mean to disturb your rest, I was just calling to see if the two of you were free for dinner.”
    â€œDinner? Um…”
    â€œWith Reggie,” he added before the silence could stretch on, then tried not to be offended by her quick recovery.
    â€œActually, yes, we are free.”
    â€œGreat. I’ll try to get some reservations at Sapa for seven. Should we pick you two up at the hotel?”
    â€œNo, I’m not sure what our agenda is for the day, but we’ll probably be out and about. It might be easier if we meet you there.”
    â€œThen it’s a date.”
    There was an awkward moment of silence, until they both tried to fill it at once.
    â€œLook, about last night—”
    â€œI want to apologize for my behavior—”
    They laughed.
    â€œI’m sorry—”
    â€œNo, I’m sorry—”
    They laughed again.
    â€œIt’s clear that both of us weren’t quite ourselves last night,” Tyler finally said. “Why don’t we just leave it at that?”
    â€œThat sounds like a good idea.”
    Tyler hung up the phone wondering why he actually felt worse than he had before he placed the call. But he didn’t want to dwell on it. Lilah was only in town for a couple of weeks, and after he got her together with Reggie, he wouldn’t have to see her again.
    Maybe then he’d be able to stop thinking about her.

    Reggie Martin hung up the phone, cursing his older brother under his breath. Why did he think he could order him around every minute of the day?
    Tyler actually expected him to have dinner with some girl he supposedly knew in high school. His brother had mentioned her name but Reggie had already tuned him out, replaying the mind-your-own-business mantra he played whenever Tyler started telling him what to do.
    Wasn’t it enough for Tyler that he handled every other aspect of Reggie’s life, including his finances—giving him an allowance like a twelve-year-old?
    Reggie tossed the cordless phone onto the sofa and picked up his note pad, trying to get back to the lyrics he’d been writing. Even though he stared at the words on the page, his mind refused to pick up where he’d left off.
    He was starting to feel like a caged tiger. Not just in the moment, but in his life. He’d finally reached a point where he could call himself successful. The first time his parents heard his single on the radio he thought he’d finally walked out of Tyler’s shadow.
    Sure, they expressed all the right sentiments, but along with those came all the usual comments.
    The music business is plagued with drugs and debauchery, but thank goodness you have Tyler to keep you out of trouble.
    What would you do without Tyler to help you invest those big paychecks?
    You can’t make a living singing your whole life, you need a long-term