She looked at Maddie more fully then, trying to read her expression, but Maddie seemed genuinely pleased for her. The recognition of this response made Ryann’s stomach flop a little with nerves, and she sipped at her beer some more to cover her confusion. Moments ago, Maddie had seemed upset at seeing her again. Now she was acting like nothing had changed. She was her usual charming self. It was hard to keep up with Maddie’s mood, and if her mind had been clearer, this behavior might have even upset her. As it was, she was simply very confused.

Luckily, Stuart saved her from trying to continue a conversation by knocking on the table in front of them. He waited until he had everyone’s attention and held up his beer.

“A toast! To Ryann’s success and her triumphant return.”

“Hear, hear!” everyone said, clinking glasses.

They ordered dinner, the little two-person table right next to theirs opening up for the guys by the time the food arrived. Maddie was mostly quiet, directing most of the conversation to Erin and Darcy. Ryann decided she must have picked up on her awkwardness, as Maddie barely glanced her way beyond a couple of polite inquiries about the food and drink. Maddie seemed, at least to Ryann, on her best behavior.

At one point, Erin was describing the other beers that had been submitted for the Valentine’s Day beer competition at the festival. She and the other local brewers were all friends, and all had already tried each other’s beers. Erin, however, seemed confident that hers would win this year. She eventually left for the bar to get everyone a sample of the other breweries’ entries, all of which were on tap here. Darcy watched her leave and then leaned forward a little when Erin was out of earshot.

“She’s really nervous about the competition,” Darcy explained.

“What happens if she wins?” Ryann asked.

Darcy smiled. “Nothing really—no money’s involved, anyway. The winning beer, brewery, and brewer will be featured in the local newspaper, which can help sales, I suppose, but she’s never had a problem selling out before. And a couple of bars like Henry’s here and some others in town will have some specials with it, but there’s no real reward beyond bragging rights.”

“She’s never won,” Maddie added.

“She’s been second and third every year, but never first,” Darcy added.

“Ah,” Ryann said, understanding quite well. That was almost harder than losing, in some ways. Second best was a hard spot to be in—close but not good enough.

“When does this festival start again?” she asked.

“Friday afternoon, and it lasts through the holiday Tuesday,” Darcy said.