opened the door to the outside. Sure enough, there was a gaggle of cameramen lying in wait for me.
"Glory! Is it true you and Israel Caine are back together again?"
"Glory! Where's Caine? How is he? What hospital did you take him to?"
"Glory! Look this way! Tell us about Caine!"
I held up my hand. "When Ray was hurt, I couldn't just stand by, not knowing how he was, whether he was seriously hurt. Naturally, I rushed to his side." I put on a stricken face and it was funny how silent these creeps got, the only sound the clicks of their cameras.
"Imagine how horrified I was to see the blood under his head as he lay on that hard concrete, so still, looking almost" - I took a shuddering breath - "dead." I dabbed at my eyes, careful of those temporary lashes and trying not to drop my sack or my purse. "But head wounds do bleed profusely, even when they're not serious." I sighed. "Thank God Ray's injury wasn't." I smiled. "He's fine now. Just resting after a concert and, admittedly, a rough fall." I waved and stepped toward the door of the shop.
"Glory! Are you two back together? Did this tragedy spark a new romance?"
I stopped in my tracks. "I will always love Israel Caine. Who doesn't? His music speaks to me. And" - I looked down at my feet and that damned heavy bag of booze I'd finally had to set down - "he's so very charming." I looked up again. "But we'll just have to see how things work out. Ray and I agreed to go our separate ways a while back. It was for the best then and it's probably still for the best. I'm just a simple shopkeeper. The life of a rock star is pretty intense. I'm afraid his lifestyle isn't for me."
"But, Glory, he did move to Austin. Don't you think that meant something? That he wanted to put things back together with you?" This from a local reporter who'd been pretty good about promoting Ray's music and was definitely a fan. I didn't mind answering him.
I smiled. "Ray's a complicated man. And Austin has a great music scene and good studios. He likes Austin. And we'll always be good friends. Now I've got to go to work. You want to help me? Spell the name of the shop right. Vintage Vamp's Emporium on Austin's Sixth Street. Bring me more business." With that I shoved my way through the crowd and made it into the store.
Wow. And the place was full. Nothing like being a rock star's main squeeze to pull in business. I stashed my booze and my purse in the back room and went to work. It was great therapy. I could almost forget for a while all the stuff going on in my life. Yeah, right. That is until CiCi, the Countess Cecilia von Repsdorf, dropped by to pay me a visit. Talk about perfect timing. CiCi was Simon Destiny's ex-lover and the mother of his son. She could give me the lowdown on how things were between the EV leader and Freddy, his son.
"Cheri, you are radiant. I guess the rumors are true then? You are with this sexy rock star?" CiCi looked me over.
I had to admit I'd picked a dress in Jerry's favorite blue, a color that brought out my eyes, and in a style that hugged my waist. Of course the deep V-neck got attention where it needed to be and not on my hips. I was still dodging those full-length mirrors but had known I wouldn't be able to dodge those cameras.
I looked around and realized we were in a lull. "Come in the back with me and I'll tell you all about it." Since my best bud Florence was still out of town, CiCi was a good shoulder to cry on. I led the way to the back room.
"Gossip, I live and breathe for it. Tell me all." CiCi sat on the only chair, happily accepting one of my bottles of booze while I stuck to the straight stuff.
"Jerry's back and he's responsible for my glow."
CiCi leaned forward and clinked bottles with me. "Excellent. You know I've always wanted you two together. Keep talking. What about the Israel Caine rumors stirring up again?"
"Ray's an alcoholic and he's on the sauce again, vampire-style. I was his mentor and now I hope to help him dry out. He's upstairs right now thinking about it." I took