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Elle stared resolutely ahead. Mal loved to goad her by referencing her full name, the name she deliberately didn’t go by anymore. Richelle and Ricki were supposedly reminders of her wild past, but Mal didn’t hesitate to twist the knife.
“I’m in,” she said cheerfully, giving no sign she’d even heard Mal other than her white-knuckled grip on her water bottle.
“Miss Molly?” West questioned, evidently deciding to leave Sir Grumps-A-Lot for last. Wise move.
She gave a dainty shrug. “Sure. I was only going to paint my nails anyway.”
“Righteous.” West gave her a fist bump and she offered him a rare smile as she returned the gesture.
West blew out a breath and looked up at the ceiling as if he was resigned to his fate. “Malachi?”
“Nah. I’d rather meet a flesh-and-blood chick than pick up a blow-up doll. But thanks.” He clambered down from his spot on the end of one of the tables and headed out the door without a backward glance.
“He’s so sweet,” Lo said, shaking her head. “But his loss. I won’t bring him back any of the good porn.” She frowned up at West. “There will be good porn there, right? I’m getting burned out on the free sites.”
“How did you find her?” Ryan couldn’t help asking with more than a little wistfulness. “Sure you aren’t looking for a change, Lo? I play keyboards too, sweetheart.”
“You dabble. I like a man who is dedicated to his craft.” Lo patted West’s puffed-out chest, making Ryan laugh.
Then he noticed Denver break free from the pack and disappear through the same door Mal had just used.
Christ, it had just been a joke. She had no right to be upset about him teasing Lo.
If she even was. How the hell was he supposed to know? The woman was impossible.
He started to follow her, then hung back. Yeah, not his problem anymore. They were close, and they always would be even if she tried to put up walls. But when it came to the areas of sex and sex jokes and anything thorny like that, he’d just keep a safe distance.
Better for both of them that way, even if it sucked balls.
Much like this whole situation.
He followed the others through the maze of hallways until they reached the back door that emptied into an alley. Relief surged through him as Denver joined them at the outside door, though he wasn’t thrilled she’d been waiting in a dark alley alone. But that was his girl. She could take care of herself, and she’d be damned if anyone thought they could tell her otherwise.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try later, when he had an opening. Right now, she was laughing with her friends, and he loved the sound too much to bring up their issues.
They herded into the couple of waiting oversized SUVs that were there to take them back to their hotel, but Jules alerted the driver that they were making an unscheduled stop. Once the driver heard the name of the place, he smirked and put the SUV in gear.
Ryan, crammed in the back beside West and Lo, dug out his phone and thumbed through some of the band’s Facebook posts about the show. His bandmates had already started the night’s social media onslaught.
“So, Den hopped in the other caravan? What’s that all about?”
Ryan didn’t look up from his cell. “She’s thick with Elle. Probably wanted girl time.”
“She’s thick with me too,” Lo protested from West’s other side. “I think. Unless that means something sexual I don’t realize, and if so, interesting.”
Ryan shook his head. “Dude, you are so not teaching her everything you should.”
“Oh, he’s taught me plenty. Why, just last night, we—”
Ryan held up a hand. “Save it for the chicks. I don’t need any more pictures in my head, thanks.”
“We are going to a sex shop, you know,” Jules reminded him from the bench in front of them, snuggling against Randy’s side. As part of the tech crew, Randy was usually stuck working late after shows, but Ryan didn’t blame him for not wanting to miss this.
He would’ve felt the same if he wasn’t currently in hell.
“Sex shop doesn’t mean I want to hear about them having sex. I prefer the abstract there, if you don’t mind.”
“Really? Not me. I want all the details I can get.” While West laughed, Lo grabbed the back of the seat and leaned forward, sticking her head between Randy and Jules right as they leaned in for a kiss. “Hi. Since we’re all alone and private right now, I have some questions if you don’t mind? For the book,” she added when Randy just gawked at her.
