“It should be.”
I grinned. “Thanks.”
“That whole little set at the end of your last show is just blowing up the internet.”
The urge to share was at the tip of my tongue, but a lifetime of getting burned had me swallow it down. “I thought the last show deserved a little something special.”
“I can’t imagine putting that kind of thing together. I juggle a few deliveries here, as well as helping Tate plan this holiday bonanza he has in mind, and I’m ready for my bed. Sometimes I even manage an episode ofBonesbefore I pass out.”
“Secret?”
She nodded.
“I’ve watchedBonesabout three times all the way through on tour. Along withSupernaturalandCriminal Minds. Sometimes it takes me hours to sleep after a show.”
“You’re not at some glam party?”
I snorted. “Definitely not. Most of the time, I don’t actually talk to anyone after the show. I have to preserve my voice.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, the glamorous life of a pop star. An Epsom bath for my sore hips as I watch a comfort show on my iPad and try not to doom scroll on my phone.”
“Wow.”
I shrugged and popped a potato chip in my mouth. “This tastes way better than the rice cakes my trainer lets me eat when I need something crunchy.”
“I just assumed you were living a glamorous life every day.”
“Definitely not. Oh, I do get to do some amazing stuff. I don’t want to sound like I’m being disingenuous. One night at the Grammy’s is followed by thirty-seven nights of travel, rehearsal, and shows. And trying to find a new way to entertain people so they don’t get tired of me.”
Surprised I said so much, I forked up a bit of macaroni salad to shut my damn mouth.
“Just another working girl like the rest of us.” She held up her sandwich to me.
I laughed and put my fork down to do the same. “Cheers to the never-ending list of things to do as women.”
I took a bite, but there was a smile behind it for the first time in a damn long time.
The usual heat of a stare burned into the back of my head. I was used to people watching me, usually with a camera. I glanced over my shoulder and found Tate. I gave him a little toast with my sandwich. He was sipping a beer, a group of men creating a half circle around him.
I couldn’t read him.
Which was new for me. I was so on guard all the time, I learned to read people quickly.
But then my gaze crashed into Valerie, and I bit back a sigh.
That stare, I was used to the most.
Anger and distaste. Intellectually, I knew it was probably just envy. I was encroaching on the work dynamic and if I wasn’t completely crazy, she had her sights set on Tate.
But the woman inside me who craved friends shrunk a little.
Then I focused on Molly. “So, tell me all about this winter wonderland Tate’s creating.”
“Oh, girl. You sure you want to know?”
I laughed. “Lay it on me.”
