Page 3 of Alive and Kicking
I look over his body, having not really paid much attention before now, and see that he’s just wearing shorts and a tight exercise shirt. While he does look hot, I have to admit it might not be the best outfit for a sit-down dinner with your maybe girlfriend and her father.
How the hell am I going to explain my relationships to him?
Zane
We’re back at The Tavern, seated in a round corner booth. Cain takes one end while Viv’s dad finds himself at the other. I’m sad when I end up between her dad and Sloane, while Nox and Cain get to sit on either side of her. But the first thing Viv does when we’re situated is demand that we order pretzel bites and beer cheese, making her dad’s eyes widen. Viv ignores him and turns to Nox on her other side, blinking up at him with those wide hazel eyes. “I forgot to ask, but can you teach me how to make beer cheese? It’s so good, and I want to be able to have it whenever I want.”
Nox smiles at her, reaching out to tuck her black wavy strands behind her ear. “Of course. It’s not that hard. If you learn how to make that, I could teach you how to make other sauces like Alfredo and Hollandaise, too.”
Her mouth makes a small ‘o’ as she thinks about that. “That sounds good,” she sighs, grinning at him before turning back to her menu.
We’re quiet while we all take time to look over our menus. When the waitress stops by to take our drink orders, we all order some sort of soda while the mafia lord next to me ordersa whisky on ice. We also ask for two orders of pretzels and beer cheese for Viv.
When the waitress walks away after a long look at Sloane, which earns her a narrowed eyed glare from Viv, we all turn to Donatello Rossi expectantly. He doesn’t disappoint, clearing his throat to speak. “I guess introductions are in order. Since you’re all fucking my daughter, I should at least know your names.”
Nox sputters and Viv just rolls her eyes. “They’re not all fucking me. Besides, who I let into my bed is none of your business. I’m an adult.”
His eyes narrow at her. “You’re still my daughter.”
She huffs, “Not that you deserve to know anything about my life anymore, but you already know Cain Price.”
He hums, “Yes the piccolo poliziotto?1.”
Cain bristles next to Viv, but I don’t really understand why since I have no idea what he said. Viv doesn’t justify that with a response though, just moves along. “This is Lennox Finch, Sloane McKenna, and Zane Monroe.”
His eyes find mine and he smiles, though it’s more of a bearing of his teeth than a pleasant expression. “The self-proclaimed fiancé. You can all call me Don.”
I smile back at him, making sure he can see way too many of my teeth too. “I will marry Viv.”
Viv clears her throat. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“No,” I snap.
“Of course,” everyone else chimes in at the same time.
Viv smiles at me over the table. “How about we finish the list before talking about marriage?”
A soft smile spreads across my lips at that. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“She’s like a fucking psycho whisperer,” Sloane mutters next to me, and is rewarded with my elbow jabbing into his side.
The waitress stops the conversation as she passes out our drinks and places the two plates of pretzels on the table. Her gaze lands on Sloane again and he frowns at her. He glances over at Viv who’s also giving the waitress a dirty look. “Babe, do you know what you want to eat?” he asks her, and she turns to him with a small smile.
She’s not stupid, she knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s probably also saving the waitress from the few broken bones she’d have if she had decided to try laying her hands on him. Viv’s eyes find mine and she grins, clearly expecting me to order for her like last time. I return the expression. “We’d both like the Reuben with fries,” I tell the waitress, before taking a sip of my drink. Everyone else takes turns ordering food while the waitress avoids looking at Sloane completely, even while taking his order.
The moment the waitress walks away with our menus under her arm, Viv dives into the beer cheese. “Should I be scared to go for a bite?” Nox asks, tentatively reaching toward the plate closest to them.
Viv looks up at him with two pretzels in her hands and takes a savage bite out of one. We all laugh at her antics, even Don. Cain risks his fingers first, grabbing a pretzel and dipping it into the cheese. “Ballsy move when you’re the only one she’s actually stabbed,” Sloane laughs, grabbing one for himself after Nox does.
Don almost chokes on the drink of whisky he just took and stares at his daughter. “Viviana. You stabbed him? The former FBI agent you truly admire?”
Viv shrugs one shoulder, swallowing the food in her mouth. “I warned him and he didn’t listen.”
I’m not sure what I really expected, but I shouldn’t have been surprised by the teary look in his eyes as he set his glass down. “I’m so proud of you,” he tells her.
Shouldn’t he be telling her not to stab former FBI agents?
Cain glares at him like he has a personal vendetta against the mobster. That makes me pause. He probably does have some kind of vendetta against him. Though I’m sure that Cain would have said something already if he has beef with Viv’s dad. It’s probably all just based on his reputation. With his past in the FBI, Cain knows a lot about criminal organizations. And while we’re all criminals, including him, he has a hard time accepting anyone else doing something illegal. I’m pretty sure that’s why it took him so long to accept Viv in the first place.
