"Here are some souvenirs from that night. Help yourself." She handed each reporter a set of plastic fangs. "Glory is a genius when it comes to advertising. See? Here's the flyer to go with the fake fangs. 'Sink your teeth into some great vintage fashions at Vintage Vamp's Emporium on Austin's historic Sixth Street.' "
"Thanks, Brianna." I gave her a grateful smile. I politely refused several shouted requests to put in a set of fangs for some picture taking.
"How do you feel about Caine's close association with Sienna Star? Are you going with him to the Grammys?" This from a female reporter whose badge tagged her from a woman's magazine I admired. I also admired her Prada suit and black suede pumps. I gave her a big smile, really glad to be off vampires.
"I like Sienna. She and Ray make beautiful music together. But that's all. We're friends. She was just telling me about her vacation with Ian Pembrook." I took a breath. Jeez, Ray and I should have discussed the Grammy thing. Barry saw my hesitation. "Great question, Gretchen. Ray told me he hopes to lure Glory to the Grammys, but she'll have to figure out her work schedule. The lady's got her own career. Look around. I don't imagine this shop runs itself, does it, Glory?"
"No, though I have some great help." I smiled at Brianna. Was Barry trying to discourage me from going with Ray to the Grammys? I was about to read his mind on the subject when the bell on the door rang and two customers pushed inside, both of them Goths. More camera clicks. Which sent the Goths right out the door again.
"Obviously we're bad for business. Let's leave the ladies so they can get back to work now." Barry deflected a few more questions while he herded the reporters out the door. "Thanks for coming. Call me tomorrow if you need any more information." He hurried back to my side as soon as the last reporter was put into the waiting limousine idling at the curb. "Sorry about that, Glory. I literally hijacked the group. They were here to do preliminaries for the South by Southwest Music Festival that's here in March. I caught them coming out of a venue down the street and strong-armed them into making a stop in your store." Barry grinned and winked at Brianna. "You two were great."
"Thanks, but some of those questions"I sank onto a stool, then looked down. Yep, I could just see my packet of VV still tucked into my bra. But it wouldn't have shown in the pictures. A good amount of cleavage would have, but that seemed to be my trademark. I wished I'd had on black leather pants instead of red, nothing like accenting my butt. Damn. Barry should have given me notice. I could have at least squeezed my thighs into some Spanx.
"Next time warn me if you bring in photographers, Barry. I want to pick out a better outfit. It's bad enough that I have to deal with paparazzi every time I go out with Ray."
"You looked fantastic, Glory. You handled the whole thing like a pro. Thanks. Oh, and Ray sends his love. He says to expect him around two, when he and Sienna are done for the night." Barry grinned. "Good thing you're used to his weird hours. I'm about to crash myself. 'Night."
He started to head out the door, then stopped and came back to hand Bri a card. "Great to meet you, Brianna. I'll be in town a few days. If you have time to show me the sights, call me. Maybe we could do lunch or dinner. My cell number's on there.
'Night, ladies."
"He's cute." Brianna sighed as Barry left. "Mortal, of course. So it would never work." I looked quickly around the shop, but, except for Valdez snoozing by the door, we were alone. Brianna is a werecat, sister to Lacy, my day manager.
"A relationship with a mortal can work, but it can be complicated, at least for a vampire. Not sure about the cat culture though."
I said this quietly.
"Trust me, my momcat is all about cats with cats. Not that Lacy has ever cared what Mom thought." Bri yawned. "You mind if I take a quick break? Hunt up some supper? I'll be back in thirty minutes. Promise." I looked at my watch. "Sure. No problem. I'll want to leave here with Ray at two." I was going to call Flo and see if she and Richard could meet with us upstairs. So we could fill them in on the Aggie situation. Then I could tell all three that Casanova was a wanted man. Oh, God, I didn't see any way to make this come out right. I was either going to hell or about to lose my best friend.
Bri took off and I faked my way through customer service while I fought the urge to feed and downed about three bottles of synthetic blood trying to take the edge off my thirst.
"Oh, my God, you were right. She is here." Two women rushed into the shop, Brianna right behind them.
"Glory, you have two members of your fan club here to meet you." Bri grinned and held up a basket. "And they brought you something. You'll never guess what."
Chapter Nine
"I'm Tina and this is my mother Ellen Anderson. Mom's President of the Blueberry Fan Club!" Tina snatched the basket from Bri, straightened the blue satin bow, then handed it to Ellen. Tina was a younger version of her mother, both of them pretty with the kind of voluptuous figures that had been popular in certain centuries. In this century and the previous one there was an unreasonable prejudice against generous curves. I should know, I've been fighting against it the whole time.
"Wow!" I smiled. "How nice to meet you."
The women wore coats because the temperature outside hovered in the forties. Tina's was a conservative black, her mother's a red wool. Props to Mom for the color, which looked good with her dark hair. But Tina's black was more slimming. I had a ton of it in my own closet.
Ellen stepped forward and lifted a blue dish towel from the contents of the basket. "I hope we're not bothering you, but I couldn't resist. I made these myself. From scratch. Muffins. Blueberry, of course."
"Mom's a great cook." Tina flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder.
"This is so nice." I laughed. "I guess I'll never live down the first picture the tabloids printed of me with Ray."
"In a blue sweater. Sure. We have it on your MySpace page. I'm in charge of it. The caption said, 'Check out those Blueberries.'
" Tina rolled her eyes. "I told Mom you probably hated that."
"Do you? Hate it, Glory? We could call ourselves something else. I thought 'Glory Hallelujah' would be a cute name for the group." Ellen thrust the basket into my hands.
"No, sounds too biblical." Especially for a vampire. I sure didn't say that. "I'm okay with the Blueberries. I always say if you've got it, flaunt it." I lifted the dishcloth and inhaled. "These muffins smell absolutely delicious." No lie. My eyes watered and I could practically taste them. Surely just one bite wouldn't kill me.
"Eat one! Mom's dying to know what you think." Tina moved closer and dragged her mother with her.
"Let me see, Glory." Brianna stepped around them, stumbled and slammed into me.
"Woof!" Valdez took a leap at the same time.
The basket and all the muffins flew into the air. I managed to juggle two of them, but Valdez proved faster, his jaw snapping as he gobbled them in midair.
"Noooo!" Ellen and Tina fell to their knees and began desperately trying to snatch muffins from Valdez's jaws of death. My dog was way ahead of them, devouring them as fast as his tongue could sweep them into his mouth.
"Oh, my God! I can't believe I was so clumsy! I'm really sorry!" Bri accidentally stepped on a muffin and kicked another one into Valdez's open mouth.
"Forget it, Mom. They all hit the floor and now the dog's slobbered on them." Tina helped her mother, who was muttering about the three second rule, to her feet.
"I'm sure they were delicious. Look! My dog loved them." As if on cue, Valdez gave a satisfied belch. "Well, pardon him. Anyway, you were so nice to think of me." I put my arms around them and walked them to the door. Brianna pulled out a broom and began sweeping up crumbs.
"Not sure they're good for dogs. Keep an eye on him. I wouldn't want him to get sick." Ellen frowned. "For your sake."
"Oh, lighten up, Mom. You can make more. But we can't leave yet, Glory." Tina pulled a notebook out of her Coach tote. "We have questions! For your MySpace fan page. Right now it's pretty dull."
Ellen unbuttoned her coat and dropped it on a chair. Whoa! Scoop-neck sweater and push-up bra. Ellen had taken my "if you've got it, flaunt it" philosophy to heart.
"Tina's right, Glory. We've tried to google you. No luck. So if you have a few minutes" She looked around the deserted shop.
"I hope you've checked the site out. You have over a thousand friends and tons of hits every day. I'll blog about meeting you, of course. And about your dog." Valdez got another dirty look.
"Let's keep me a woman of mystery. And don't be too hard on Valdez. He does provide protection around here." I grabbed the notebook. No way was I answering any of those on their list. Where was I born? They'd love to hear how I popped out in my ma's bed in London before electricity and epidurals were invented. What was my sign? Keep out. The questions went on and on.
"But the Blueberries just want to help. The tabloids are saying the most awful things about you, you know." Ellen snatched the notebook back and pulled out a pen. "Surely you don't mind telling us about your family."
"No family, except my good friends who are like family to me." I threw an arm around Bri, who looked startled, but hung in there, smiling like she was my new best bud. "And Ray's taught me to never read the tabloids. Says they're all lies."
"Of course. Trash. I use them to line my cat's litter box. Cats are such easy pets." Ellen smiled at Valdez when he growled.
"What about old boyfriends? Surely Israel Caine's not your first serious guy."
"No, I was going with a local businessman, but we were taking a break when I met Ray." I felt Valdez staring a hole in me, but kept going. "He's a private person, so I'm not going to share his name. It would make Ray jealous, of course. Can't have that, can we?"