Page 25 of The Vampire and the Barista

“Eww,” Karl said, shaking his head.

“And on that note, we’re both going,” Hunter said, grabbing Taha’s arm and pulling him up and out of the room. “Bye, folks.”

Owen looked at Karl. “Sorry, but I love my mate.”

“Just maybe don’t love him at the breakfast table,” AJ said, shaking his head.

Owen grinned. “Sorry, not sorry.”

Jamie looked at Karl and Kitty. “This is what a normal family looks like.”

Dave snorted. “Yep, vampires are totally normal.”

“We are, it’s you humans that are weird,” Seth commented, grinning at Dave, who laughed. He turned to look at Jamie. “I have a friend who is a mechanic, pick your car up last night. He’ll have a look at what needs doing and fix it up for you.”

Jamie nodded. “Thanks, I’ll need to get a costing first.”

“We’ll see,” Seth replied.

Jamie went to protest.

“It’s a coven, mate thing,” Ivan told him.

“So much to learn,” Jamie said, leaning into Ivan’s side.

“You will. No one expects you to know everything now,” Ivan assured him.

“Okay, thanks.”

“Jack, Spencer, can you guys show Karl and Kitty around? I’m sure the four of you can find mischief to get into,” Louise said.

“We can do that. We still need to blow something up; we’ve not done that yet,” Spencer replied.

“Blow something up?” Karl and Kitty asked, looking excited, while Jamie said it with confusion and some apprehension.

“I told them they could blow something up as long as it wasn’t the house and they had adult supervision,” Louise replied. “I’m Louise, by the way, David, Giovanni and Spencer’s mother.”

Spencer beamed at her.

“Hi Louise, and as long as they’re supervised,” Jamie said, sounding relieved. “Have fun.”

“Come on, let’s take our stuff to the sink and go find Gio, he’s outside already,” Jack said, jumping up.

“You should have sword fighting lessons as well, Jack and I are learning. You two should know how to defend yourselves,” Spencer said, standing up and collecting his cup and plate.

“Yeah, we really do. Our dad nearly killed me yesterday, and our mum broke Kitty’s arm. Learning to defend ourselves would stop that from happening again,” Karl said, picking up his cup and plate.

“Maybe we could learn to make bombs, that would be amazeballs,” Kitty put in, standing up and taking her bits to the sink.

Everyone watched in silence as the four of them left the kitchen, chatting happily about bomb building.

Jamie looked around the table at the amused looks. “Should I be worried?”

Louise shook her head. “No, dear, our guards are well-trained and will ensure the children are kept safe.”

Jamie nodded. “Okay, then I’ll not worry.”

Dave laughed. “You’ll worry, but all the guards, plus these guys, know how to protect and do damage, and not just by ripping someone’s throat out or draining someone. They’ll be the best trainers the children could have.”