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After a group hug, the kids tentatively turned towards Lukus, eyeing him suspiciously. “Who’s this, Auntie Tiff?”
She moved to hold Lukus’s hand before introducing him. “This is my boyfriend, Lukus. Lukus, these are some of my sister’s kids. Say hi to Jack, Jill, and Kate.”
The girls looked awestruck, but nine-year-old Jack put out protective vibes. He checked out Lukus before shouting to the group of men on the porch about twenty feet away. “His name is Lukus, Papa.”
Lukus stuck his hand out for a grown-up handshake. “Nice to meet you, Jack. I hope you don’t mind sharing your aunt with me today.”
Jack seemed surprised, but as he slipped his small hand into Lukus’s, a broad grin filled his cute face. “I like him, Papa.”
His grandma chastised him. “Well, you’d better like him. He’s important to your aunt so we’reallgoing to like him.”
Lukus suspected she was saying it loudly as a warning to the adults lined up along the porch railing. They seemed to be forming an informal barrier, subconsciously telling him he was going to need to run their gauntlet if he planned on dating their sister.
As Lukus approached the steps to the wide porch, one man walked out of the long line of onlookers, taking a defensive stance at the top of the steps. He was too young to be Tiff’s dad so Lukus presumed he was about to meet Aiden. It was no accident that Aiden had on his leather shoulder holster, proudly displaying his locked pistol as if to say, “Mess with my sister and you’ll be sorry.”
Taking a chance, Lukus walked ahead of the women to scale the steps two at a time, stopping directly in front of Aiden. He was happy to find himself a few inches taller, but Aiden was no slouch. He’d practiced his intimidating cop stance. The men stared each other down before Lukus went on offense again.
Sticking his hand out as a welcoming olive branch, Lukus made the first move. “You must be Aiden. Tiffany’s told me how close you are. It’s nice to meet you.”
Aiden’s eyes flashed a brief surprise, but he quickly recovered. He may have reached out to shake Lukus’s hand as an outward sign of acceptance, but he leaned in to talk softly, too quietly for anyone else to hear. “We need to talk.”
The penetrating anger in Aiden’s eyes told Lukus the cop had already done his homework on his sister’s boyfriend. There would be no time to win him over before he found out the full story. “I look forward to it. I’d like to meet the rest of the family first, if you don’t mind.”
Aiden’s eyes blue eyes narrowed, and for a brief moment Lukus worried he’d choose to pick a fight. The hard squeeze of his hand matched his hard glare. The fact that he wasn’t making a scene told Lukus that he hadn’t shared his knowledge with the rest of the family.
Tiffany moved between the two men, hugging her brother. “Be nice, Aiden. I’ve missed you.”
Aiden finally turned his attention to his sister. Lukus tapped down a pang of jealously as he watched how close Tiffany was to her brother. She slipped into his arms easily as her closest sibling hugged her tightly. Her brother turned his attention from Lukus to Tiffany, and the look on Aiden’s face changed from anger to love. Lukus tried not to take it personally as he twirled Tiff around, as if to check her from head to toe to make sure she was okay.
Aiden eventually stepped aside, allowing Lukus to meet the rest of the family, but he felt the dagger of Aiden’s stare. Isabella rushed them forward to meet the crew surrounding them.
Lukus reached for Tiffany’s hand as they walked toward everyone else. In a whirlwind, he was introduced to her oldest sister Angelina and her husband Bob, parents to twins Jack and Jill, and two older teenagers staring at their cell phones nearby.
Next came Colleen and Tom, both teachers and parents to a fawning Kate and two older boys who were also ignoring the adults as best they could. Next, Lukus met the brother who was a district attorney in Detroit. His name was Colin, and he was a recent widower, left to single parent a fourteen-year-old daughter, Alex, who was hugging her aunt. Lukus was relieved at the warm welcome he received from everyone else.
Finally, the only person left on the porch was an older gentleman he’d known as Tiffany’s dad without an introduction. Tiff clearly had gotten her blonde hair and blue eyes from Mr. O’Sullivan.
He was swinging on a large porch swing, observing the festivities. When her dad failed to stand to greet them, Tiff pulled her hand away from Lukus to go greet her father, trying to smooth over the slight. “Hi, Daddy. How are you doing today?”
The men’s eyes met. Lukus got the message loud and clear. Her dad was defensive. Lukus would need to prove himself worthy of this man’s daughter.
Mr. O’Sullivan stood and greeted Tiff. His Irish accent was surprisingly thick for having lived in Michigan all his adult life. “Let me get a look at my wayward lass. Ye finally decided to come home, did you? And sporting a guest I see.”
Tiffany pulled out of their embrace and introduced the men officially. “Yes, Daddy. I wouldn’t miss Liam and Lisa’s bridal shower. I want to introduce you to someone very important to me. This is Lukus. Lukus, this is my dad, Patrick.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. You have an amazing daughter.”
His shake was strong as the men sized each other up. “I agree. I do have an amazing daughter. I’d like to know just how well you know my amazing daughter, young man.”
Lukus didn’t flinch. “I know her very well, sir.” The innuendo hung in the air. Lukus didn’t want a pissing contest, but he also knew he needed to make his claim very clear. These people were important to Tiff, which made them important to him, but in the end, he wasn’t going to let them scare him off.
“Very well, you say. I look forward to hearing more about that after the ladies leave for their luncheon.”
“Daddy, stop it.” Tiff was trying to make light of the strained conversation.
“So, your mama named you Lukus. What do you do for a living, Lukus?”
He’d prepared for this question. “I own several businesses, but my primary focus is on my security business, Titan Security. It’s one of the bigger firms in Chicago. I know you and your sons are all in law enforcement.”
