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“You have nothing to apologize for. That was on both of us.” Under the table, Elena put her hand on Skylar’s knee and squeezed. “It’ll get easier after the tour.”

I hope.

A sheepish young woman approached their table as Elena quickly removed her hand from Skylar’s knee. She’d learned to spot fans over the years and had no doubt that the woman was one of them. Elena smiled at her.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you, but I saw you two sitting out here and knew I’d kick myself if I didn’t tell you how much I love your music.”

“Aw, thank you. We always love meeting fans.”

“I have tickets to the LA show on Saturday, and I cannot wait.”

“It should be a good show,” Skylar chimed in.

“I saw you all on the last tour and cried when the band broke up.” The woman nervously laughed. “Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and that I love your music.”

“Thank you. What was your name?”

“Carolyn.”

“Nice to meet you, Carolyn. Would you like a picture?”

“Absolutely.”

As Carolyn fished her phone out of her bag, Elena and Skylar stood on either side of her. They all posed for the selfie, and Elena was reminded that the fans were why she did what she did. They gave her the motivation to go through hours of rehearsals and weeks on the road.

“Thank you two so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Skylar picked up her crossbody bag from the back of the chair and put it on her shoulder. “We’ll see you at the show on Saturday.”

“Yes, see you then.”

“Any chance you’ll be debuting new music Saturday?” Carolyn laughed.

It was a question Elena and Skylar had gotten a lot from fans since the tour was announced. But so far, they’d stuck to their old songs despite the fact Skylar and Elena had each written several new songs over the years.

“You never know,” Elena teased as she smiled at Skylar. “I’ll just have to convince this one to share her new music with the world.”

“Oh, that would be great!”

They chatted for a few more moments as Elena gathered her bag, and they walked back into the restaurant. They said goodbye to Carolyn before heading for the exit. While they were used to having fans approach them, they were not used to a small crowd gathering outside the restaurant waiting for them to leave.

“What in the world?” Skylar muttered as she stood inside the restaurant and looked out at the crowd. “Why are they here?”

“I assume us.”

“Why us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re the hottest band touring right now?”

Skylar laughed. “So, what do we do?”

“I guess we have to face them.”

Pushing open the door, Elena put on her classic smile and greeted the fans. She and Skylar signed autographs and smiled for pictures. It was hard to tell if any of the people were paparazzi since they blended in so well these days. But judging by the random questions being shouted out, either paparazzi or journalists were in the crowd.

“Is Maine Event going to release new music?”

“How does it feel to be back on tour?”