Page 16 of Demon Loved
This response earned her another raised eyebrow. Luckily, though, the waiter — a guy named Andre who Bree knew was getting his enology degree at the community college in Cottonwood — came by to take their orders. Bellamy ordered coffee and a breakfast burrito, while Brianna asked for tea and waffles.
Once that was handled, though, Bellamy leaned against the back of the booth and sent her friend a very direct look. “You want to tell me what’s really going on?”
The words escaped Bree’s lips without her even stopping to think about what she wanted to say. “What would you have done if Marc was a civilian?”
“A-ha,” Bellamy said, now smiling a little. “So…you’ve met someone?”
“Kind of,” Bree replied. She was now wondering whether this had been such a good idea after all, but since she’d broached the subject, there wasn’t much she could do except plow forward. “We had dinner last night. He’s good-looking and charming and seems like a really great guy.”
“But he’s a civilian,” her friend supplied for her.
Bree nodded. “And he’s from L.A. It’s hopeless, right?”
“Nothing is hopeless,” Bellamy said, her tone firm. “I mean, since he’s a civilian, he can go where he wants, right?”
Well, that much was true. Especially when you factored in that he wasn’t tied down to a job and appeared to be similarly unencumbered by a serious relationship. Sure, he could have left a girlfriend or wife behind in Los Angeles, and Bree wouldn’t have known the difference, but….
Or maybe not. The one or two times she’d tried to make her ever-shifting gifts allow her to see into someone’s mind, she hadn’t been at all successful, but sometimes magic had helped her discover whether a person was telling the truth. It wasn’t a surefire thing, and yet she thought maybe if she asked an innocent question about any significant others, she might be able to determine if Bill was lying when he responded to an off-hand question about any relationships he might have in L.A.
Andre came by with their coffee and tea and let them know their food would be out in another moment. However, the interruption wasn’t quite enough to prevent Bree from providing the answer her friend clearly expected.
“I guess he has that kind of freedom,” she said. “From what he said at dinner, it sounds as if he doesn’t have to work, so I think he isn’t all that tied down.” She paused there to pick up a bag of English Breakfast and dunk it in the hot water their waiter had provided. “It’s kind of stupid for me to even be thinking about this sort of stuff when Bill and I have only just met.”
“Bill and Bree,” Bellamy said, then grinned. “You sound like a musical act or something.” Then her expression sobered a little, and she added, “I think it’s different for wi…for people like us,” she amended quickly, since a couple of older women, probably tourists, occupied the booth across the way from them, close enough to overhear what she and Brianna were saying. “We tend to know up front whether there’s any sort of spark or possibility for something more than a casual date. You’ve already gone out with this Bill guy once, so I don’t see anything wrong with letting your thoughts wander in that direction. You had a nice time, obviously, or none of this would even be an issue.”
Yes, she’d had a nice time…a very nice time. Sure, it had felt a little anticlimactic to leave and head down the hill without a goodnight kiss to end the evening, but at the same time, she thought she liked that Bill had held back. It was sweet, and a lot more old-fashioned than she’d been expecting.
Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t want to know what it would feel like when he pressed his lips against hers.
If that ever even happened.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. Her tea was probably still too hot to drink, but she picked it up and blew on it anyway.
“I know I’m right,” Bellamy replied firmly.
Andre came over with their food, so they paused while he set their plates in front of them and asked if they needed anything else. Once they’d reassured him that everything was great, he headed back toward the kitchen.
“Anyway,” Bellamy went on, apparently content to let her food cool a bit as she continued their conversation, “have you made any other plans with him?”
At least Bree had something positive to present on that front. “We’re going to the folk festival on Saturday.”
Triumph flickered on Bellamy’s features. “Well, then. I doubt he would have agreed to go to an all-day event like that if he wasn’t into you. That kind of thing requires commitment.”
The same thought had passed through Brianna’s mind as she was taking a shower that morning. At the time, though, she’d wondered if she was reading too much into the whole situation. For all she knew, Bill had been glad of the chance to find something to do to pass the time, and spending the day with her might have been incidental to that particular goal.
She hadn’t gotten that vibe from him, however…unless she was completely misreading the guy.
And she also had a feeling that if she tried to present that particular argument, Bellamy would shoot it down with all the laser accuracy of a surface-to-air missile.
Maybe she should just check her insecurities at the door and wait to see what happened.
Worst case? They’d have some fun together, and then he’d head back to L.A., and that would be the end of it.
Best case?
For some reason, Bree was almost more worried about that outcome….
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