Page 34 of Demon Loved
Maybe Bill Garrett was a mind reader. That seemed to be the most likely explanation for why he knew she needed a drink.
It wasn’t that the performance had gone badly — just the opposite, if the crazy applause that had greeted the end of her final song was any indication — but doing a set composed solely of her own music had felt a bit like stripping naked in front of all those people.
She could only hope that a glass of wine would settle her nerves.
It had taken longer to get away from the festival site than she’d thought, since she had to say goodbye to her parents and all the other McAllisters who had gathered there to see her perform, accepting their congratulations and their hugs with the best grace she could muster. Luckily, she wouldn’t need to be back to pick up her equipment until after six, well past the time most of the crowd would have left, since the festival ended at five today.
After about fifteen minutes, though, she managed to tear herself away and head down the hill toward Vino Zona. It crossed her mind that her apartment was only a few shops down from the wine tasting room, and that meant it might not be too difficult to coax Bill over there once they were done with their drinks.
Or maybe it would. Although he’d touched her a few times today, it had only been to give a reassuring pat here and there, the sort of thing her brother Shane might have done in a similar situation. She still wasn’t getting too many vibes that Bill was interested in anything more than some companionship while he was visiting Jerome.
Best not to project too much about what might or might not happen. The important thing was that he’d invited her to meet him for a drink — and in the tasting room located farthest away from the festival site, which meant he probably understood that she wanted to put some distance between herself and the crowds that had watched her play just a little while earlier.
He was sitting in one of the chairs near the front entrance when she came in, but he immediately stood up once he spotted her. Vino Zona was decorated with an eclectic and fun collection of modern and antique furniture arranged into several groupings that could accommodate either a couple or a larger gathering, like the pair of two married couples who occupied the big pink sofa and the chairs that faced it farther back in the space.
They sent her a mildly curious glance when she came in but immediately returned to their conversation, which seemed to be a signal that they hadn’t seen her performance and had no idea who she was.
Good. Safe anonymity sounded just about perfect right then.
“I had the place to myself up until a few minutes ago,” Bill said in a murmur after they’d greeted one another and both sat down. “But then that group showed up.”
His tone was mildly disapproving, and Bree wanted to chuckle. However, she only replied, “It’s fine. Honestly, sometimes it’s better if there are more people, because that way, Nina doesn’t feel the need to hover.”
He nodded, which told Brianna that the tasting room’s owner had already introduced herself while he was waiting for her to arrive. “I suppose that makes sense. What would you like to drink?”
“The Birds and Barrels petit sirah,” she said immediately, and he cocked an eyebrow.
“Very specific.”
She smiled. “The winery makes it just for Vino Zona, so this is the only place where you can get it. And I want something with a little more oomph than a white.”
That was for sure. All her nerve endings still felt jangly and raw, twanging like a bunch of broken guitar strings, and she knew she needed something that would help smooth away the rough edges.
To be honest, maybe they should have skipped the wine and headed down the hill for some Long Island iced teas at Kaktus Kate’s.
But they were at Vino Zona now, and Bree was pretty sure she’d feel much better after she had a few sips of petit sirah inside her. Bill excused himself and went over to let Nina know what they wanted to drink. As he came back to join her near the front window, she couldn’t help noticing the way one of the women in the other group watched him with appreciative eyes. She was probably at least ten years older than he and obviously married, but that didn’t seem to have prevented her from getting an eyeful.
He appeared oblivious, however, and told Bree as he seated himself again, “Nina said she’ll bring our wine right over.”
“Thank you.”
A pause as he seemed to study her, and then he said, “How are you doing?”
Good question. Brianna wasn’t quite sure yet. Now that she was away from the stage and someplace relatively quiet — well, sort of quiet, since the foursome seated a few feet away sounded as though they must have hit at least one other tasting room on their way down here — she found herself a little steadier, but she knew it would still take a while to analyze her performance and its response.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I suppose I wasn’t expecting that kind of reception.”
“You were incredible,” he replied.
Blood rushed to her cheeks, but she managed to reply steadily enough, “Well, I don’t know about that. I suppose I’m just glad that I didn’t forget any of the words to the songs or bust a string or something.”
Some men might have smiled. Bill, on the other hand, only looked thoughtful. “Do you really think you would have forgotten your own lyrics?”
Most likely not. Still….
“Well, I only finished that final song last night,” she said. “So it’s not as if it’s had months to get engraved on my brain.”
His brows lifted, but he had to hold back his response, since Nina arrived then with their glasses of petit sirah. She must have been able to tell that there was no need to go into her usual spiel about the winery and how this particular wine was made specifically for the tasting room — probably since Bree had heard it multiple times before — because she only handed over their wine and said briefly, “Just let me know if you need anything else.”
