Chapter Five

Vivi moved, trying to get comfortable. She moved Ezra's foot off her thigh. He'd wanted to sleep in the big bed with her instead of the rollaway. She wasn't sure why because he was becoming more confident each day.

Tonight was the third night they'd lived here. She stretched again, then her stomach rumbled. Little Tot was taking more room, so she was eating smaller meals to avoid heartburn. Last night, she'd eaten a granola bar from their stash in the room. But tonight, she could smell something delicious from the kitchen.

She didn't debate much because she was hungry. Maybe getting up and moving around would alleviate her back ache. She scooted out as quietly as possible to not disturb Ezra.

She paused at the door, reminding herself she was safe here. Whoever was in the kitchen cooking that wonderful smell was a friend. She breathed deep and walked out the door. The sitting area was dimly lit and quiet. She guessed as late as it was, almost everyone was asleep. The kitchen light was on, along with the lamp in the sitting area.

Peeking around the edge of the kitchen, she froze at the sight. Whiskey and Hennessy were both in low hanging sweatpants. Hennessy's chest was covered in tattoos, but Whiskey was the one who caused an ache in a place she'd never felt before. His sculpted abs were free from any tattoos, but his chest had tattoos all over with what looked like the face of an animal and designs going down his muscled arms.

They each held drinks, waiting by the oven. Whiskey noticed her first but before he could speak Hennessy was walking toward her.

"Little Mama, are you hungry?"

Whiskey gave Hennessy a light shove so he could be in front of her just as her stomach growled again. "Vivi, does pizza sound good, or do you want me to make you something else?"

He held his hand out, his eyes questioning if she wanted to take his hand. She was living in another world these last couple of days and she didn't ever want to go back to the way things were before.

Her son was blossoming before her eyes with Whiskey and his family drawing him out of his shell. Whiskey was so careful with Ezra and her. She laid her hand in Whiskey's, enjoying the feel of his hand so different from her late husband's. Each time she held Whiskey's hand, it calmed her. His fingers twined in hers, giving her a sense of safety she'd missed her whole life.

Whiskey might not wear a suit or fit what her late husband's family thought were men, but in the short time she'd been here, she'd been treated better than she'd ever been. Whiskey led her to the table, pulling out a chair to help her into.

"Do you want a snack?"

"How much longer for the pizza? It smells incredible. I could smell it from my room."

"About ten more minutes. We just slid it in," Hennessy opened the oven door while he was answering her.

"Stop opening the oven. You're letting the heat out. It will take longer."

"All I hear is blah, blah, blah, Whiskey needs to control everything. I think I know how to make pizza."

Their banter had her smiling, trying to contain her giggle. There was a lightness in the atmosphere here. These brothers and cousins truly loved each other. Each man she'd met had gone out of his way to make her feel special.

They might look rough with their tattoos, beards, and motorcycles, but each one had pledged to keep her and her son safe.

Whiskey slid a plate in front of her with a pile of sliced apples and two containers.

"I didn't know if you'd rather dip them in peanut butter or yogurt."

The embarrassment in his voice had her head thinking things she shouldn't about what if. What if Whiskey could become more for her? He was the first man she was attracted to. The first man to treat her as if she was precious and her needs mattered.

She'd loved watching him and Hennessy race her son on the game system. When Ezra had wrecked, they'd stopped to help him practice. Whiskey had Ezra sit on his lap and they did the controls together until Ezra got the hang of it. The praise they'd heaped on Ezra when he'd got it had been a moment for her son. He'd begun walking taller. Not slouching, trying to hide himself like he'd done at their previous house.

She nibbled on the apple slices because she didn't want to hurt Whiskey's feelings, but she was craving the pizza.

Hennessy pulled the pan out of the oven. Vivi wiped her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling.

"Do you like crust or inside pieces, Vivi?"

Hennessy's words had her puzzled. How did you get non-crust pieces with pizza?

"I want both, and I'm sure Vivi does too. Hennessy cuts the pizza in squares because he's a big baby about how fastidious he is with pizza."

Hennessy slid a plate of the most amazing smelling pizza she'd ever had. Of course, pizza hadn't been on the menu at their previous place. It had been years since Vivi had eaten it.

"Just because I don't like the cheese stretching between my mouth and the piece of pizza, then eventually dropping into my beard, doesn't make me a baby. You, Crewe, and Schaefer are disgusting the way you let food drop into your beard and don't clean it out until the end of the meal. Nobody wants to see that."

Vivi listened to the men argue as she took a bite of the steaming hot pizza. Herbs, tomato sauce, mushrooms and meat had her groaning at how good it tasted. She chewed and then couldn't keep quiet.

"I don't care how the pizza's cut. This is the best thing I've eaten in forever."

Whiskey smiled and then high-fived Hennessy. "Oh yeah, I'm so telling Crewe that when I see him. He'll decide to prove us wrong. We'll have pizza available for a week."

Vivi tried to figure out the brothers. The dynamic wasn't something she'd seen. "So you enjoy teasing each other?"

Hennessy wiped his mouth before replying. "Beautiful, we not only enjoy it, we look for ways to do it. I can't remember when my brothers or my cousins weren't teasing us about something."

Whiskey picked another piece of pizza up off the tray and laid it on her plate. "Have some more. With all the boys in the family, we were always competing about something, but at the same time, we're family. It's not mean-spirited. It's just how we show our affection."

Vivi took a bite of the piece of pizza, marveling at Whiskey, noticing she had finished what was on her plate. He was winning her trust with each action. She didn't understand what she was feeling toward him, but she liked it.