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“I only drink one a day,” she groused. “And I only drink it for the flavour.”
“I’ll get you some decaf.” That from Rafe from behind his newspaper.
Jane scowled at the broadsheet in front of her. “What part of ‘I drink it for the flavour’ did you not understand?”
He turned the page, still avoiding looking at her. “What part of ‘caffeine is bad for the baby’ didyounot understand?”
“Arse,” she muttered behind her mug of tea.
The newspaper lowered and Rafe reached for his own mug. “Mmmm… coffee.”
Oooh,them’s fightin’ words.“You know when I told you to shave, I didn’t mean your entire head.”
His brow went up and his mouth tugged down at the corners. “I didn’t do it for your benefit, I assure you.”
Her lips thinned in a self-satisfied smile. “Thank goodness for small favours. I’d hate to thinkI’mresponsible for whatever midlife crisis you’re going through.”
Abby hid a swift smirk behind her hand. Ollie pushed back his chair and left the kitchen, shaking his head every step of the way. Jane could have sworn she heard him mutter “Get a room” under his breath.
A minute later, she was being attacked by two unruly teenage girls. “We made you a present,” they said together as they hugged her half to death.
“Can’t… breathe….”
“Whoops.”
“Sorry.”
Diana and Josie Bennett were Charlie Bennett’s twin daughters. He’d fathered them at the behest of his best friend, Amy, when she and her partner Jess hadn’t been able to afford IVF treatments. Jess being bisexual and Charlie being up for pretty much anything, it hadn’t taken long for the miracle of life to take hold.
Currently those miracles were thirteen years old and filled with an inexhaustible supply of youthful exuberance. Standing at six feet tall, they reminded Jane of Great Dane puppies, all long limbs and no off button. But they were also two of the sweetest, most well-adjusted girls she’d ever known.
“What did you make for me?” Jane asked as the girls sat down on either side of her.
A rough approximation of a voodoo doll was thrust into her hands. It was obviously Sam. It had brown wool stitched to its head for hair and someone—Ulysses, probably—had painted a rather striking likeness of his face onto the calico. Several sewing pins were already sticking out of it, mostly in the groin region.
Jane smirked. “Thank you, girls. This is very… thoughtful.”
“We thought you might like to burn it with your dress,” Josie said.
“Or cut it into little bits, spilling its entrails onto the altar of your pain andthenset it on fire.” Everyone turned to stare at Diana. Rafe even lowered his newspaper and cocked a brow at his niece. She shrugged, unperturbed by the sudden attention. “What?”
“Don’t ever change, beautiful,” Uly said, chuckling as he leaned down to kiss the top of his granddaughter’s head.
“So, where is everyone this morning?”
Considering the entire Bennett clan was in residence, the kitchen was shockingly empty for the time of day.
“Wolf and Sally are going over the release schedule for his next book,” Abby said. “Henry’s tinkering in the forge, Toby’s in the garden, Amy and Jess went home last night, and Charlie is…?”
“Still sleeping,” the twins said together.
“Paul and Sophie went for a run, and the last I saw of Avery and Crispin, they were in Dad’s studio. No idea what they’re doing in there.”
“Probably making a mess,” Uly grumbled.
Rafe scoffed at his father. “It’s already a mess.”
The old man looked offended. “I know where everything is.”
