Page 56 of Housebroke

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy,” she said.

“Mom, this is Hazel Bristow. Hazel, my mother, Lisa Kennedy.”

Lisa shook Hazel’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well, Mrs. Kennedy.”

“None of that. Call me Lisa. Welcome to our home. I have coffee, iced tea, and all kinds of booze. Let’s go get acquainted.”

Hazel followed Lisa into a beautiful kitchen with a decent-sized island and some pretty great appliances. But there was nothing fussy about it. There was fruit on the island, some glasses, and a newspaper. It looked homey and comfortable, and Hazel felt instantly at ease.

“What will you have to drink?” Lisa asked. “I’m having wine.”

“Wine sounds good to me.”

“I’m grabbing a beer,” Linc said, obviously making himself right at home by heading to the fridge to grab a bottle of beer.

“Love your kitchen, Lisa,” Hazel said.

“Oh, thank you. The boys and my husband did this. It’s my favorite place in the house. I love to cook.”

“Do you? Me, too. I actually cook for Linc. It’s sort of my job.”

Lisa handed Hazel a glass of sauvignon blanc that she’d poured for both of them. “Really. Do you have a restaurant?”

“Uh, not exactly.” She wasn’t sure how to explain their current situation.

“She’s staying at the house I’m renovating,” Linc said, so matter-of-factly. “So I hired her to cook for me because she’s amazing at it. She’s also fostering several dogs.”

Lisa gave her a genuine smile. “Really? I love dogs. That must be so fun.”

“It is. I care about the dogs so much and want them to find good homes.”

“I’m sure it’s hard to let them go. You must get so close to them.”

Hazel inhaled, then sighed. “It can be very hard. But I try to do what’s best for them.”

The front door opened and Hazel heard several footsteps. Suddenly, three tall, handsome men presented themselves in the kitchen.

“I heard there’s an asshole here so I came to see for myself.” The person who said it saw her and cringed. “Oops. Didn’t know we had other company.”

“Hazel, may I introduce you to my oldest son, Warren, and his husband, Joe. And standing behind them both looking sheepish for his crass outburst is the youngest, Eugene.”

Hazel laughed, then stood so she could shake their hands. “Hi. I’m Hazel.”

“She’s with me,” Linc said.

Both the brothers arched a brow, seemingly in unison. All three men were incredibly good-looking, including Warren’s husband, Joe, though he didn’t share the Kennedy dark hair and intense eyes. Joe had dark skin and dark eyes and the most amazing long lashes she’d ever seen. And was he a bodybuilder or what, because damn, he sported some muscles.

This was going to be fun.

“What does ‘she’s with me’ mean, bro?” Eugene asked.

Warren pulled up a chair at the table, and Joe followed suit. “Yeah. I mean, apologies in advance for the third degree, Hazel, but Linc, are you two a thing? Or is it more serious?”

“None of your damned business is what it means.” Linc sat at the table, twisted the top off his bottle of beer, and took a long swallow.

---