Read Online The Downfall of a Good Girl by Kimberly Lang - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kimberly Lang
Ads: Link
That sounded pitiful, even to her. “I gotta go. I think I hear the car out front.”
“Just think about it. You don’t have to be a real saint. There’s no Miss Perfect title to be won. You don’t have togo full-out Sinner, either, but consider being just a little bit bad. It won’t kill you. You might even enjoy it.”
Like she needed something else on her plate to think about. “And when, exactly, will I fit that into my schedule?”
Lorelei put a hand to her heart and her face melted into disappointed worry. “Oh, Vivi, you’re worse than I thought. This has nothing to do with a schedule. You only have one life.” Then she smiled and squeezed Vivi’s arm. “
Carpe diem
, girl.
Laissez les bon temps rouler
. Enjoy yourself and quit worrying so much about appearances and what other people think.”
She was about to go out in public again in a set of freakin’ wings. Appearances, indeed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“I guess that’s a start.” Lorelei patted her arm. “Have fun tonight. Raise lots of money.”
Vivi did think about it on the ride to the dock. Lorelei had a point; even she herself realized that she’d succeeded in her quest and there wasn’t anything else to prove. Or anyone to really prove it to.
And for once she was very tempted. She, however, was an expert at resisting temptation. Giving in seemed weak. Anyway, if she did give in who would she be? That was the scary part.
Maybe she could take baby steps in that direction. See how it went before she committed fully.
As the car came to a stop and the driver came around to open her door Vivi shook off Lorelei’s words. She had to be the current Vivi tonight and get through Saints and Sinners first.
An hour later the
Mississippi Belle
was packed to the seams as it set off, and Vivi spent far too much energy trying not to bump people with her wings. It was one thing to wear that getup at the ball, but with everyone else here in normal cocktail attire, she felt a little overdressed and awkward.
There were toasts and light snacks before the bands got into the action and people started dancing. Other than the first toast, where she had to stand next to Connor, the mingling kept them far enough apart that her embarrassment over the other day could be kept to a minimum. Connor was enough of a topic of conversation, though, to make her occasionally uncomfortable, but the heat in the room could be blamed for any tell-tale color in her cheeks.
Suddenly a buzz rippled through the crowd, and Vivi turned from her conversation with the mayor to face the stage with everyone else. “What’s going on?” she whispered to the lady in front of her.
“Connor Mansfield is going to sing,” the woman gushed.
She was sixty if she was a day, and Vivi felt her eyebrows go up when the woman giggled like a teenager.
Every woman alive, indeed
.
Connor mounted the stage to a roar of applause. He’d removed his wings, and the black leather outfit looked far less ridiculous under the spotlights. He looked every inch the rock god, and when he sat at the piano bench Vivi got a good look at his shoulders—all oiled skin stretching over muscle as he flexed his arms and loosened up.
Mercy
. It was a mouthwatering sight.
The collective feminine sigh told her she wasn’t alone in her reaction.
“I hadn’t really planned on doing this tonight. Just don’t tell my agent, okay? She’ll expect a cut of the money,” Connor joked as he ran his fingers across the keys like he was warming up. “Y’all might know this one,” he said with a little smile as he started to play.
The room erupted in applause. Of course the crowd knew the song; “Whiskey and Honey” was one of his biggest hits, and it played almost constantly on the radio.
Connor leaned into the microphone and that sexy baritone filled the room.
He sat down at the bar
,
And said, “Gimme what you got
,
That’ll numb this pain and lie to me tonight.”
Vivi willed herself to smile
“Just think about it. You don’t have to be a real saint. There’s no Miss Perfect title to be won. You don’t have togo full-out Sinner, either, but consider being just a little bit bad. It won’t kill you. You might even enjoy it.”
Like she needed something else on her plate to think about. “And when, exactly, will I fit that into my schedule?”
Lorelei put a hand to her heart and her face melted into disappointed worry. “Oh, Vivi, you’re worse than I thought. This has nothing to do with a schedule. You only have one life.” Then she smiled and squeezed Vivi’s arm. “
Carpe diem
, girl.
Laissez les bon temps rouler
. Enjoy yourself and quit worrying so much about appearances and what other people think.”
She was about to go out in public again in a set of freakin’ wings. Appearances, indeed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“I guess that’s a start.” Lorelei patted her arm. “Have fun tonight. Raise lots of money.”
Vivi did think about it on the ride to the dock. Lorelei had a point; even she herself realized that she’d succeeded in her quest and there wasn’t anything else to prove. Or anyone to really prove it to.
And for once she was very tempted. She, however, was an expert at resisting temptation. Giving in seemed weak. Anyway, if she did give in who would she be? That was the scary part.
Maybe she could take baby steps in that direction. See how it went before she committed fully.
As the car came to a stop and the driver came around to open her door Vivi shook off Lorelei’s words. She had to be the current Vivi tonight and get through Saints and Sinners first.
An hour later the
Mississippi Belle
was packed to the seams as it set off, and Vivi spent far too much energy trying not to bump people with her wings. It was one thing to wear that getup at the ball, but with everyone else here in normal cocktail attire, she felt a little overdressed and awkward.
There were toasts and light snacks before the bands got into the action and people started dancing. Other than the first toast, where she had to stand next to Connor, the mingling kept them far enough apart that her embarrassment over the other day could be kept to a minimum. Connor was enough of a topic of conversation, though, to make her occasionally uncomfortable, but the heat in the room could be blamed for any tell-tale color in her cheeks.
Suddenly a buzz rippled through the crowd, and Vivi turned from her conversation with the mayor to face the stage with everyone else. “What’s going on?” she whispered to the lady in front of her.
“Connor Mansfield is going to sing,” the woman gushed.
She was sixty if she was a day, and Vivi felt her eyebrows go up when the woman giggled like a teenager.
Every woman alive, indeed
.
Connor mounted the stage to a roar of applause. He’d removed his wings, and the black leather outfit looked far less ridiculous under the spotlights. He looked every inch the rock god, and when he sat at the piano bench Vivi got a good look at his shoulders—all oiled skin stretching over muscle as he flexed his arms and loosened up.
Mercy
. It was a mouthwatering sight.
The collective feminine sigh told her she wasn’t alone in her reaction.
“I hadn’t really planned on doing this tonight. Just don’t tell my agent, okay? She’ll expect a cut of the money,” Connor joked as he ran his fingers across the keys like he was warming up. “Y’all might know this one,” he said with a little smile as he started to play.
The room erupted in applause. Of course the crowd knew the song; “Whiskey and Honey” was one of his biggest hits, and it played almost constantly on the radio.
Connor leaned into the microphone and that sexy baritone filled the room.
He sat down at the bar
,
And said, “Gimme what you got
,
That’ll numb this pain and lie to me tonight.”
Vivi willed herself to smile
Similar Books
