One Wild Wedding Night_ Runaway - Leslie Kelly [15]
He wasn’t. Not at all. In fact, he’d found her relative inexperience absolutely heady. Because it had left her very…very curious. And willing to try absolutely anything. “It was still so good I’m not sure how long my legs will hold me up today,” he told her, wanting that concern out of her head.
That got a smile out of her. Before she could say anything, he continued. “I’m a very good judge of character. And they’re going to love you.” Knowing he needed to go deal with his family. “Now, take your time, I’m going to pull on some clothes and go out there to lay the groundwork.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but Slone didn’t listen. Instead, he went back into the bedroom, pulled on clothes, then went into his living room, where the three women in his life sat whispering. He had absolutely no doubt about what.
Not the least bit embarrassed, since, after all, they hadn’t even bothered to knock, he greeted his mother, smiled at his pregnant older sister and glared at his smirking younger one. Since they were all “civilized” no one so much as blinked when he mentioned that a friend would be joining them. But just to ensure nobody got the wrong idea, he added, “She’s a lovely young woman. A hardworking nursing student.” He didn’t really have a way to explain the gown, so he left it at that.
“Psst.”
Hearing something, he glanced toward the hallway leading to his bedroom, seeing Leah there, twisting her hands. She looked about as ready to walk in and join them as Marie Antoinette must have felt when she’d walked up the steps to the guillotine.
Smiling, he murmured, “Excuse me,” and strode to her side. “Come on, they’re dying to meet you.”
“No.”
He took her arm. “It’ll be fine. It’s just lunch, Leah, not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal to me,” she snapped, trying to pull her arm away. “I don’t belong here.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not a snob and neither is anyone in my family. There’s no shame in being a struggling student.”
“No, Slone…”
He slid an arm around her waist, wondering if he was going to have to pick up the amusingly stubborn young woman. Which was when she wriggled out of his embrace. “Will you listen to me?” Her voice grew louder, now she wasn’t just embarrassed, she was getting annoyed. At him, for not paying attention.
Slone immediately shut up and didn’t try to touch her again. But she was already on a tangent and barely noticed. Her voice continued to rise as she said, “It was one night, okay? That’s it. You will not be introducing me to your rich, high-class family because I’m just not the girl you bring around the folks. Especially not the Magnificent Mile type folks.”
“You’re wrong, Leah. You’re adorable and honest and—”
“And a stripper!” she snapped.
Slone froze, just watching her. Looking miserably toward the trio in the living room—who had to have heard—then back at him, she added, “I strip at a club called Leather and Lace. So you see, I’m not exactly one of the ladies-who-lunch crowd.”
Stepping back, his body rigid, he stared at her, hard. “The nursing school business…”
“That’s true. I am going to school. But I pay for it by taking off my clothes in front of strange men.”
And on that note, with her words echoing in the penthouse, Leah tugged her ragged coat over her shoulders and hurried to the front door, slamming it as she left.
* * *
Leah usually had a smile on her face when she danced. But as she got off the train and walked toward the club on Sunday evening, she was not smiling. In fact, anyone who looked at her closely would see her red-rimmed eyes and realize the truth: she’d been crying much of the day. Crying over a guy she’d known less than twenty-four hours.
She didn’t cry because she was heartbroken—hell, it wasn’t like they’d had a real Pretty Woman romance and fallen in love or anything. But she’d liked him. Oh, had she liked him. And she’d sensed she could fall for him very easily, even if he’d been just a blue-collar guy she’d