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Seb looked back at me with a tiny smile. “You’ve got your mom’s hair, I see, but I’m guessing you’ll look exactly like your dad in a few decades.”

I gurgled with laughter. “So will you! You just have to grow a giant beard first.”

I actually thought Seb would look pretty good with a beard. And long hair. All rugged and stuff.

He chuckled and took a step back, making a hint of weird panic tighten my chest. “Well, I’ll let you get back. Enjoy your breakfast.”

“Um, yeah. Thanks. Um… see you at work.”

He gave me a secret grin before turning. “See you later.”

I shot Ludo an awkward smile, seeing as he was watching us, before walking back over to the booth on slightly unsteady legs. No one spoke as I sat and picked up my juice to gulp half of it down, then Dad inhaled an excited breath to speak, before Nolan not-so-subtly kicked him under the table. He shut his mouth again.

Mom cleared her throat and lightly asked, “Who was that, sweetpea?”

“Um, Seb,” I answered awkwardly, still annoyingly flushed. “I work with him.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” Mom idly swirled her tea as Dad shot glances between the two of us, practically vibrating in his seat. She added, “He’s very handsome. Beautiful eyes.”

“Werewolf?” Nolan asked in a mutter. I nodded jerkily, face burning hotter.

“He seems very nice,” Mom said airily.

I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t even speak to him, Mom. Just saw him across the room.”

“I could feel his positive energy from here,” she answered smoothly. “Very calming. Soothing. Strong and dependable.”

“Definitely good vibes,” Dad burst out, still looking like he wanted to go over there and, I don’t know, give Seb a giant hug or something. Uuugghhh. He’d do it, as well. He had no shame.

“Plus he probably hangs major dong,” Nolan added.

“Oh my god, Nolan, what the fuck?” I blurted, my entire body on fire.

“Not saying you’d know that, bro,” he replied innocently. “I’m just saying. Look at the size of him.”

“Nolan,” Mom chastised, shaking her head. “Things like that don’t matter. He has a good soul, but there’s an air of melancholy there… I’d love to give him a reading.”

My chest tightened a little as I stared at her. “Melancholy? Really?”

Seb was sad? Why? The thought of that made me want to get back up and go over there to somehow try and make him feel better. I didn’t like it. At all.

Mom nodded, giving me a soft smile. “It could be anything, sweetpea. Sometimes people just feel sad some days. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“He seemed happy to see you,” Dad piped up, just as Caleb arrived with our breakfasts. “His energy brightened the moment he spotted you.”

“Can we please stop talking about this now?” I muttered, slouching in my seat and giving Caleb a polite smile when he placed my pancakes in front of me.

Once Caleb was gone, Dad leaned over his plate of breakfast scramble and winked at me. “Was he who you made bread with the other night?”

“Ew, what the fuck, Dad, you can’t ask him that.” Nolan grimaced, then looked around at us uncertainly. “Wait, that was a euphemism, right?”

“No,” I muttered. “We literally made bread, you weirdo.”

“It can be a very intimate experience, though,” Dad commented, digging into his breakfast. “The kneading. The waiting. Seeing it rise in the oven. Knowing you’ve created something together. And then enjoying the fruits of your labour. It’s wonderful. So bonding.”

Mom was nodding in agreement as I squirmed in my seat.

“This is getting weird.” I shot her a pleading look. “Can we please talk about something else?”