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He saw he scored a few points with that answer, right up until Aiden joined them and chimed in. “I’m anxious to hear more about some of those other businesses, Lukus. It sounds like you’re a busy man. I’m surprised you have time for a relationship with an innocent young woman like our Tiffany.”
The men’s stare-down became obvious to the crowd. Surprisingly, Tiff’s oldest brother Colin stepped between them.
“There’s plenty of time for that later. I’m starving, and I’ve been looking forward to Mom’s lunch all morning.” Taking Lukus’s arm, Colin shuffled them towards the screen door to the house. “You like corned beef and cabbage?”
“Absolutely.”
“See, Aiden? You need to lighten up. Anyone who likes corned beef and cabbage can’t be too bad,” Colin said.
The family poured into the house behind them, children running and laughing, adults talking over each other. Lukus knew he’d made it through the first test.
They passed through a spacious, open living room with multiple seating areas. It resembled the lobby of a quaint hotel, which in many ways it was, although the only people present seemed to be Tiffany’s family.
Next, they passed through an expansive dining room that sported a half dozen smaller tables and one long banquet table down the middle that seated a dozen. Knowing they were about to eat, Lukus was surprised when they passed though the dining room to go into the kitchen.
It was easily the largest private kitchen he’d ever been in, dwarfing his open loft kitchen. His eyes met Tiffany’s from across the room. He smiled broadly and he saw her relax.
Lukus was dragged along with the men to sit at the mammoth table that seated at least twenty. It had benches in place of chairs, allowing more people to squeeze in when necessary. Tiffany’s mom looked in seventh heaven as she moved through her kitchen preparing food, surrounded by her family. Tiff and her sisters all helped, while the men and kids settled in for lunch.
About five minutes later, a young couple came bounding down the back stairs, giggling until they realized the entire family had stopped to stare at them. It was clear to all the adults in the room that the couple had just finished having sex. Both their hair and clothes were disheveled. The young woman’s face was flushed with that look of recent sexual excitement. Lukus stifled his smile.
The room quieted to an awkward silence until the newest male to the room saw Lukus. “Hey, you must be Tiffany’s new main squeeze. It’s great to meet you. We were all beginning to worry she was never going to settle down.”
“Actually, Matteo, I’m more worried about you, young man. Where have you been?” Then Isabella apparently thought better of her question. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. Come, sit down to eat.”
Matteo flashed a charming smile at his mom. “Sure thing, Ma.”
Young Jack jumped in with his two cents. “My mom says you’re gonna go to hell for sleeping with loose women, Uncle Matty. Is that true?” Out of the mouths of babes.
Angelina rushed to her young son. “That’s enough out of you, young man. This is not the time or the place for this discussion.”
“But mom, you said—”
Angelina cut him off. “I know what I said. I’ll talk to your uncle in private, thank you. Now eat your lunch.”
“Fine.” His petulant answer sounded just like Tiffany when she was at her sassiest. Their eyes met across the room and Lukus stifled his grin while Matteo tried to smooth things over with his girlfriend, Paige, who looked less excited by the minute.
The room broke into good-natured conversations, and all was going well. Yet Aiden sat stoically, staring at Lukus as everyone shared small talk. Tiffany had been spot on with her simmering chaos description.
At the first lull in the conversation, Aiden couldn’t resist jumping in. “So, Tiff, I have a surprise for you.”
Tiff glanced nervously at Lukus before addressing her brother. “That’s great. I just hope it’s a nice surprise, Aiden. If not, maybe we should talk in private.” The room, sensing the tension in the air, had fallen silent again.
The glint in Aiden’s eyes worried Lukus only because he didn’t want him to upset Tiff. He honestly couldn’t give a shit if her brother liked him or not. The only reason his approval was remotely important was because without it, Tiffany would be sad.
“I moved last week.”
Tiff looked confused. “You moved? To a new precinct?”
“No, a new city. A new state, even.”
She looked surprised. “Wow. I thought you loved working in Detroit with all of your buddies. I’m surprised you’d move to a new city where you have to start all over again.”
“Yeah, well, the Chicago PD made Josh and me an offer we couldn’t refuse. I was topping out behind a lot of guys with seniority in Detroit, and we got a sweet deal working with vice in Chicago.” Aiden’s eyes locked with Lukus’s. “Just think, sis, I’m going to be able to keep a very close eye on you now that I’ll be in Chicago. In fact, I’ve been able to get up to speed pretty quickly already in just the one week I’ve been there.”
Tiffany’s voice was shaking. “I can’t believe you moved to Chicago and didn’t tell me. We could have gone out. I could have helped you get settled. Where are you living?”
Aiden’s eyes never left Lukus’s. “Yeah, well you must be really busy. I’ve stopped by to surprise you, but you were never home. You’re a hard one to track down.”
