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in Albuquerque
and get a few more candid shots of the band on stage.”
    This
interactive book Toni was working on—the entire reason she was following the
band around on the American leg of their world tour—was going to be so cool
when it was finished. Reagan couldn’t wait to see how Toni worked all her plans
for the book together into a cohesive whole.
    “Does
Logan know you aren’t joining us in Europe?”
    Toni
shrugged. “I assumed it was obvious to him.”
    “Never
assume anything is obvious to a man,” Myrna said. “The key to a lasting
relationship is communication. So, basically, you tell him what to do.”
    Having
just communicated with her own man, Jessica returned to the table all smiles
and tranquility. “All the guys are hanging out in his room watching golf.”
    “Golf?”
Reagan asked.
    Jessica
shrugged. “I guess they’re bored. Though babysitting Malcolm seems to be
keeping them all on their toes.” She smiled at Myrna, who was probably missing
her baby boy even more than the rest of them were missing their men. Malcolm
was a cutie.
    “Maybe
we should head back to the hotel after lunch,” Rebekah said, tracing the edge
of the table with one finger.
    “Aww,
does someone miss her darling Eric?” Reagan teased.
    “If
he doesn’t get his afternoon blow job, he’s cranky until bedtime.”
    Toni,
glass at her lips, sprayed Coke all over the table. She dove for her napkin and
began wiping up the mess.
    “I’m
not joking,” Rebekah said, her eyes wide with sincerity.
    “We
know you’re not,” Reagan said. “We’ve lived with the guy, but Toni’s never been
on Sinners’ bus. She doesn’t know what the guys are like behind closed doors.”
    “I’d
like to, though,” Toni said.
    “Sorry,
honey, but Eric’s already taken,” Rebekah said, visibly bristling.
    Toni’s
face turned the color of the red napkin she was using to dab up stray drops of
Diet Coke. “Uh, I didn’t mean . . . I would never . . . I
just—”
    Reagan
patted Toni’s hand, hoping to calm her. To Rebekah, she said, “I think she
meant she would like to write an interactive biography about them. Like the one
she’s doing for Exodus End.”
    Toni
nodded. “That’s what I meant.”
    Rebekah
relaxed into her chair. “Well,” she said, “that might be sort of fun.”
    The
food arrived moments later, and they were all too busy stuffing their faces to
talk much. Even though she was ready to return to her men, Reagan was glad
she’d suggested this girls’ day out in New Orleans. She missed all her friends
back in Los Angeles, and even though she’d always been a tomboy, she still enjoyed
hanging around with other women. She liked every one of Sinners’ ladies and was
already quite fond of Toni as well. She hadn’t expected to like Toni—mostly
because she considered Toni a journalist and didn’t like people to stick their
noses into her business—but Reagan already considered her a friend. And she
knew how much Toni needed female friends her own age. But it wasn’t pity that
had made her ask Toni on this excursion—though she had considered burning the
woman’s entire wardrobe so she’d have no choice but to buy new clothes. It was
genuine trust and affection. Toni was the only journalist that Reagan trusted
with the knowledge of her relationship with two men. Reagan knew the reclusive
sweetheart would never do anything to hurt someone she cared about.
    “Are
you coming to the after-party tonight?” Reagan asked Toni, who paused with her
soup spoon halfway to her mouth.
    “Me?”
    “Yeah,
you.”
    “I
already got enough footage of the after-parties,” she said.
    “Good.
Then I can get you slobbering drunk without feeling guilty. Aggie, do you think
you can have a corset ready for her to wear by then?”
    Aggie
shrugged. “Probably.” She popped another bite of bloody steak into her mouth.
    Toni’s
eyes widened, and she shook her head at Reagan. “I couldn’t possibly wear a
corset