Page 8

This is way more complicated than I thought.

“Seriously, Adz, it’s all good. Come on, I’ll ask Tom to make us breakfast. What do you want? Toast, eggs?”

I follow her down a hallway and into the kitchen, where an older white guy is unloading a dishwasher.

“Hey, Tom,” Cat greets cheerfully, and he looks over and smiles.

“Good morning.” His gaze slides past her to me, and his smile becomes more professional. “I’m Tom Whaley, the housekeeper.”

“Adam Barale,” I introduce myself, trying not to be overwhelmed. Housekeepers are a real thing? I thought they only existed in history and on TV. “I’m Cat’s cousin.”

“Great to meet you.” He looks back at Cat and raises a brow. “Hungry?”

“If you don’t mind. Nisha’s calling Tristan, and then we’re going to take Adam over to meet him.” She puts heavy meaning in the last few words, and recognition lights Tom’s face.

“You need a proper breakfast, then. Do you prefer bacon or ham, Adam?” He puts down the glasses he was polishing and heads for the fridge.

I blink. “Uh… cereal’s fine. Or toast.” Most mornings I make do with instant coffee. I already helped myself to one of Cat’s fancy Nespresso pods, so if it wasn’t for everyone insisting I eat, I’d be set.

“Absolutely not,” Tom insists. “Make yourself comfortable, and I’ll have breakfast ready in a few minutes. Any allergies or dislikes I should know about?”

Is this real? “Um, not really. No tripe or anything like that, please.” Not that I think tripe is a breakfast food, but nothing I’ve experienced today has gone the way I thought it would, so who knows?

“Eggs Benedict and fresh fruit okay?” He’s already got his arms full of stuff, including a precariously balanced carton of eggs.

“That would be amazing,” I say honestly. Fancy breakfast food that I don’t have to pay for? “Can I help with anything? I’m not much of a cook, but I can follow directions.” Sometimes, anyway.

“Don’t even think about it. Sit, please. Would you like something to drink? Coffee or tea?”

I glance over at Cat, uncomfortable with the idea of this guy waiting on me. She’s already heading toward the giant monstrosity of a coffee machine on the bench. “I’ll get it,” she announces. “Do some eggs for me too, please?”

“Of course!” Tom beams.

I sit quietly and organise my thoughts while Cat plays with the machine and Tom cracks eggs into a saucepan of water, and when my cousin finally puts a cappuccino in front of me, I have a mental list of questions to ask her.

“Is this Tristan guy going to suck my blood this morning?”

She and Tom both look at me. “They prefer to call it feeding, Adz,” Cat scolds. “Be respectful.”

I grit my teeth. “Sorry, I’m still learning the lingo. So, this morning…?”

She shrugs. “Maybe, but probably not. Tristan’s kind of fussy about stuff like that—he’ll want the contract signed and everything settled before he feeds from you.”

Contract. That makes it seem like a proper job. Which, from what Cat said, it is, but the idea of contracts being in place is like an official seal. “Do I need to get a solicitor?”

“What for?” She sips her coffee, watching me over the rim.

“To read the contract. I’m not a legal expert.” And I don’t love the idea of being locked into an eternity of servitude to a vampire who can pass me around to his friends. There’s gotta be a line, and that’s mine. Which means I need someone to check the fine print.

“That’s what the Association’s for. It’ll probably be a standard Association contract for this first one, anyway. If things work out, the next one will be negotiable for both of you.”

Cat has a lot of faith in the Association, but I make a mental note to read every word of the contract and call Tara if anything feels even a bit off. She doesn’t specialise in contract law, but I know she did a couple of semesters of it at uni.

Time to move on. “I wanna make it really clear that I’m grateful to Tom for what smells like it’s going to be a cracker of a brekky, but also, why is Tom making us breakfast?”

Cat sighs, and it’s Tom who answers. “That’s my job. I look after the house and Nisha, and that means I look after Cat too. Nisha can’t feed if Cat’s not eating properly.” He frowns. “How come you don’t know this?”

“My parents are freaks and this is my first time,” I say dismissively. “I’m not clear on some of the day-to-day points.”