Page 105 of Alessio

Alessio nodded and gave Corrado’s twin a smirk. “But I’m also grateful you’re not as close to Corrado as those two are with each other. I couldn’t handle your ass in front of me every single day.”

Chris chewed on the piece of gum in his mouth before muttering, “You know what? Same.”

Yep.

He respected Chris a great deal, like the rest of Corrado’s family, but he also wasn’t lying. He wouldn’t appreciate and like Chris as much as he did if he was around twenty-four-seven.

Facts were facts.

“And what are you two doing out here, hmm?”

Chris and Alessio spun around to see Gian crossing the driveway, coming their way with a knowing smile. The man tossed his hands in his pockets, looking unconcerned that they had snuck out of the house, and away from the noise.

Mostly, Alessio just needed to breathe. Corrado should enjoy dinner with his family—they had tonight planned for a week, now. Ginevra was having a good time, too. It didn’t matter that Alessio wanted to take them home, and move onto far better things.

His needs could wait.

So, he needed distance.

A breather.

“Admiring your sons’ bikes,” Alessio said, spinning back around to look over the Ducatis again. “I hear your wife doesn’t appreciate their beauty.”

“No, she doesn’t appreciate that they stunt on them, and regularly break two-hundred kilometers an hour on the highway. Because she knows, when they hit the pavement, there will be nothing left.”

“And yet, here they still are.”

Gian chuckled darkly. “Only because Cara has not gotten mad enough to tell me to get rid of them, yet.”

“They’re not kids anymore, Papa,” Chris said. “They’re adults, with their own money, and they can do what they want with it.”

“Except you all will always be my kids, regardless of your ages. And you keep thinking you can do what you want, Christopher, we’ll see how that works out for you.”

Chris sighed.

Gian smiled as he came to stand in between the two. He gave Chris a nod and then tipped his head back toward the house. “Give us a minute, would you?”

“Sure. Later, Les.”

Alessio tipped his chin in Chris’s direction, his silent goodbye. It was only once the front door of the mansion slammed shut that Gian turned his focus on Alessio next to him.

“I’m glad to see things are better for you three, but I didn’t think you—or him—wanted me to mention it in there,” Gian said.

“We’re getting there. Still complicated, but—”

“There’s three people,” Gian interjected, chuckling, “the complications can’t be helped.”

“It’s good complications, though.”

“I bet.” Gian rocked on his heels, surveying the bikes in front of him, and then staring up at the dark sky overhead. “On another note, I had a phone call with Dare earlier.”

Alessio made a noise under his breath, bitter and annoyed. “Right, well, I should go find Corrado and Ginny.”

“Or you can accept that when people care about someone else, sometimes they make bad decisions or say things without thinking them through because their feelings sometimes get in the way. All things considered, Alessio, I think you should be able to understand that better than anyone else. Stop ignoring his calls—he’s the only father you’ve ever had, blood or not. Attempt to keep what you have, regardless of what your pride thinks about it.”

Jesus.

Alessio let out a harsh sigh. “I have a job I need to do—sometime over the next week, I need to be on a plane for it. I planned on seeing him before I left, or when I came back, considering I have to make a stop at The League before I head out.”