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“Sounds exciting.” I winked at her.

“Try embarrassing. Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here. Did you see the concert?” Lexie and I both nodded. “Aren’t they great? Everyone overseas loves them, and Titan keeps putting more dates on the tour. I’m just…” She looked back in the direction she’d been looking when we surprised her.

“It’s your baby. You’re proud of them,” I finished for her.

“I really am. They’re about ready to come off stage. Please don’t say anything. I’ll introduce you to them once we’re back in the green room. And then...how long are you here for?”

“We fly back tomorrow, so you only have us for tonight,” I pouted. “Are you happy to see us?”

Pen rolled her eyes as she pulled me to her side. “Of course, I’m happy to see you. Never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d fly to see me.”

“Well, I missed you. Plus, I wanted to procrastinate on this book, and visiting you is the perfect excuse.”

“Ha, ha. I told the band I now know a famous author, so don’t make me a liar.”

“Thanks for the pressure.” As if there wasn’t enough after my first book did so well.

“Did your husband come?” Pen asked, looking around.

“No, I thought it was best if this guy you’re seeing or whatever you are,” Lexie amended after Pen gave her a sour look. “No guy wants to see his woman drooling over another man.”

“You two are full of jokes tonight, aren’t you?” The loud sound of the crowd erupting had us all go quiet. Pen smiled and then motioned for us to follow her. “Stay here, or you’ll likely get run over. They are full of energy when the show is over.”

One by one, we watched as the band walked by us. They each gave Pen a greeting before they proceeded down the hall. Walker moved by only muttering Pen’s name, giving nothing away.

Once he was a few feet past us, Pen turned to us. “Are you ready to meet Crimson Heat?”

“Oh, I’ve been ready for quite some time,” I told her as we started walking.

Stopping in front of a closed door, Pen turned to us. Her hands were clasped together as she spoke. “Please don’t embarrass me. I have to be on the road with these guys, and they’ll use any ammunition you give them against me.”

“I guess there goes our plan,” Lexie said as she went for the doorknob. She was about to open the door when Pen slammed her hand on the door to stop her.

“What do you mean plan?” She looked back and forth between the two of us.

“There is no plan. The only one we had was to surprise you. Now quit stalling before we have to do something to embarrass you in front of them.”

“Fine,” she hissed as she opened the door. We were accosted by the sound of four guys wrestling each other on the ground. They stopped and jumped up the moment we walked in.

“Hey, P, who’s your friends?” one of the guys said with a wide and infectious smile. He had blond hair in a crew cut and colorful tattoos up and down his arms.

“These are my friends they came to surprise me, Stella and Lexie. This is Cross,” she indicated the one who’d asked who we were. “This tall beast of a man is Kenton,” Pen pointed to a guy who looked like he was almost seven feet tall. His height could have made him scary, but he had the kindest brown puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. “This is Greer,” she hooked her thumb his way and moved to stand in front of Walker. From what little she’d told me about the band, Pen and Greer didn’t get along. He stood with his lips curled up in a half snarl and silvery-gray eyes taking us in.

“Last but not least, this is Walker.” He tipped his chin up at us but didn’t say a word. Even with his hair a sweaty mess and sticking to his head, he was still hot. Looking at them all now, he looked like the oldest of the bunch instead of the youngest.

“If any of you want to go to dinner with us, I suggest you get cleaned up because I don’t want to smell any of you while I’m trying to eat.” Cross opened his mouth, but Pen cut him off. “And neither do my friends.”

Walker started to walk away until Pen stopped him with a hand to his chest. They talked in whispers as Greer plopped down on a couch and made himself comfortable. The other two guys argued about if they should stay to pick up some girls here or later while they were out. After a few minutes, they parted ways, and Cross stepped up to Pen. “I think we’re going to skip dinner. That way, you can spend time with your friends.”

Pen closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she reopened her eyes, they narrowed on the man who stood before her. “Don’t do anything stupid just because I’m not there. Remember, if I get fired, the person who replaces me won’t be as lenient as I am.”

“I know, Momma P. This isn’t our first rodeo. We won’t do anything you wouldn’t do.” His face transformed into a devilish smile for only a moment before he schooled his features.

“Please don’t call me that,” Pen moaned.

“Tell Bob to let the people back so we can get this over with,” Walker muttered from the other side of the room.

Pen pulled a walkie-talkie I hadn’t noticed before from behind her back and spoke into it. “They’re ready. Let them through.” Turning to us, she said. “If it gets to be too much, you can always go out into the hall. Sometimes the women can be a bit much.” She leaned in to whisper. “You’d think with the way some of the women act, these guys were world-famous. When the squealing gets too much, I hide out in the hallway until they leave.”