Page 64 of The Thief

She beamed back at him, happy that he’d used the nickname she adored.

“Did you save some breakfast for me?” he asked, eyeing up her plate.

“You can share Mummy’s,” Ava replied, making it clear he wasn’t getting anything off her plate.

I walked over to the cupboard and took another plate out.

“It’s fine. I made more than enough,” I stated, and started making a plate up for him.

Tyler waggled his eyebrows at Ava as he sat beside her, opposite my seat, settling in, ready for his breakfast. “Looks like I came at just the right time.”

“You do have impeccable timing,” I said, grinning as I put the plate in front of him.

I sat down opposite, feeling all sorts of satisfaction from seeing them both eat the food I’d cooked.

“I like sausages the best,” Ava announced, picking one up with her fingers to eat.

“Erm, knife and fork please, Ava,” I scolded her. She huffed, rolling her eyes, but doing as I’d told her, albeit reluctantly.

“My favourite’s the bacon.” Tyler smirked, picking a rasher up with his fingers. “And this is cooked to perfection. Nice and crispy, just how I like it.”

Ava’s eyes bugged as she gave Tyler the side-eye and nudged him with her elbow. “Knife and fork, Tyler. Or Mummy won’t invite you to breakfast again.”

“It’s fine.” I laughed, and Ava glared at me.

“Why can Tyler eat with his fingers, but I have to use a knife and fork?”

“Because he’s an adult. You’re a child. My child. And you need to do as you’re told.”

Tyler leant to the side and whispered, “I never learnt about manners when I was little. Not like you. You need to do as your mummy says, or you’ll end up becoming a caveman like me.” And he picked up a sausage and growled as he ripped it in half with his teeth like an animal.

I rolled my eyes, then shook my head. “I can’t take you two anywhere. Cave people.”

“I wanna be a cave lady,” Ava declared, bouncing in her seat, holding her fork full of sausage.

“You’re halfway there already.” I smirked back at her.

Breakfast continued in much the same way. Ava giggling with Tyler and trying little ways to push the boundaries as subtly as she could. But Tyler always pulled her back, reminding her to be respectful to me and do the right thing. They really were the sweetest together.

When she’d finished, Ava asked, “Can I leave the table please, Mummy?”

I nodded, but Tyler piped up, “Are you leaving that hash brown? You can’t leave that on your plate. It’s against the law.”

“What law?” She frowned hard at him.

“The law of...” He hesitated. “England.” He was really stretching now. Even Ava wasn’t buying it.

“That’s made up,” she told him, but Tyler just shrugged.

“In that case, you won’t mind if I have it then,” he replied, stealing it from her plate and biting into it.

Ava giggled. “You’re like my grandma’s dog, Ruby. She always steals food from my plate.”

“I’ve been called worse,” he replied, as Ava danced off to the living room to turn the TV on.

“No TV,” I called out to her, and she groaned. “Not until you’ve brushed your teeth, had a wash, and got dressed.”

I heard her huff as she stomped down the hall, but Tyler called out, “Ava, before you go upstairs, can you come back in here? I have a little something for you that you might want to take to your room.”