The Accidental Vampire(15)

stood and reached to take the woman's hand, saying, " Enchanté."

Victor rolled his eyes. DJ usually only resorted to such displays of charm when

attempting to pick up women. Generally, they were much younger and melted like soft

butter under his efforts. Mabel wasn't so easily impressed. Rather than smile, her

mouth tightened and she quickly tugged her hand free.

She then turned her gimlet gaze on Victor. It seemed pretty obvious he didn't meet

muster. The woman's mouth turned down with displeasure as she took in his attire

and the state of his hair.

"You need a haircut," she announced, and then turned to include DJ in her displeasure.

"Both of you do, and a shave."

The comment made Victor run a hand lightly over his chin. He grimaced at the rasp of

whiskers. He'd barely woken up when DJ had arrived to collect him that evening. All

he'd managed to do before the apartment buzzer had announced his arrival was to

drain two bags of blood. With the younger man pacing his living room and poking

curiously at everything, Victor had merely jumped in and out of the shower and

thrown on his clothes. He'd forgotten to shave or even brush his hair. It had dried the

way it laid when he came out of the shower and no doubt looked unkempt.

Having made her displeasure clear, Mabel Allen then turned her attention to the other

three men. They faired much better under her critical eye, though a cynical expression

crossed her face as she took in Edward's tux. Still, she didn't comment or criticize any

of them, but simply nodded as if to say, " You'll do." It seemed she preferred their

clean‐cut presentation to his more relaxed, need‐a‐comb look.

"Sit down, Mabel," Brunswick suggested. "We can ask the questions you made up."

Victor was just getting irritated at the idea of more grilling when the woman shook her

head. "Owen's cake is done. Elvi wants to present it now. She's been awake for a while

and is hungry."

"Oh. I guess we'd best get it going, then." Brunswick frowned and glanced to a table

where a couple and two teenage boys sat. His gaze then moved to the back of the

restaurant where another family was just leaving the booth nearest the beaded arch.

"Maybe we should move the Knights to the booth nearer the kitchen. Those cakes Elvi

makes are huge and we don't want her stumbling and dropping it trying to get through

this crowd."

"Good idea," Mabel said and the pair moved off.

"The cake is done and she's hungry?" DJ murmured, his eyes trailing the older woman.

"This Elvi can't be that old if she still eats cake. If she's young enough it would explain

her mistakes."

"Her sire should have taught her such things," Victor responded, watching Brunswick

and Mabel speak to one of the teenagers. They then turned to say something to the

parents. The quartet rose and started toward the back of the restaurant.

Mabel and Brunswick were at the back of the small group, following the teenager

they'd first greeted. The young man wasn't displaying the same eagerness as the

others, walking at a much slower pace that soon left them behind the main party. And,

Victor noted, while he was smiling, there was a worried edge to his expression. It

seemed obvious the boy was nervous and growing more so with every step.

"Will it hurt?" he asked just as they drew level with the table where Victor and the

others sat.

The question caught his attention and he narrowed his eyes as Mabel clucked and

chided, "Don't be silly, Owen. Of course it won't hurt. Do you think men would be

lining up for this if it hurt?"

That response merely made Victor frown with confusion as he tried to sort out what

they were talking about. The boy's next question, however, raised alarm bells in his

mind.

"I won't turn into one, will I?"

This time there was no clucking and chiding. Mabel and Brunswick exchanged a glance,

but the woman merely said, "Now, what would make you ask a question like that? No

one else has, have they?"

"That's not a no," the boy pointed out anxiously.

Brunswick and Mabel exchanged another glance, then the woman said firmly, "Don't

be silly, Owen. Do you want to do this or not? Because we can just present the cake

and skip the rest of it."

There was a brief pause as he glanced toward the booth where the other teenager and

his parents were seating themselves, then said quickly, "No, no. I'll do it. Dan would

never let me live it down if I backed out."

DJ leaned close and hissed, "They aren't talking about what I think they're talking

about, are they?"

Victor's answer was to catch Brunswick's arm as he passed and pull him to a stop.

"What's the boy worried about? What is he afraid will hurt?"