Chapter 26

JUSTIN

Justin tickled Avery, making her squeal as they got off his bike and walked to her apartment after brunch in early May.

He teased her about blushing again, kissing her neck, making them stumble over each other.

Their relationship was going so well, and Justin decided that as soon as Lexi was out of school, he was going to tell her about Avery.

He didn’t want to wait any longer to have both of his girls by his side and in his house.

He was trying to plan a vacation for the three of them and couldn’t decide between Hawaii or Bermuda. He wanted someplace fun where the three of them could bond and become a family.

He had so many plans in his head and couldn’t wait to share them with Avery. He wanted this life, desperately.

Justin was whispering in Avery’s ear about what they were going to do later when he came back after an afternoon with Alexis when they heard a deep voice.

“Well, well, well, piccolo fiore. I see you have been occupying your time in someone else’s arms!”

Avery stopped, and Justin bumped into her as she looked around wildly, recognizing the voice.

Justin was pissed that some man was talking to them, especially Avery, and felt some anger start to build.

He saw a tall man standing by the stairs, leaning against the railing, looking like some sort of model.

He was going to tell the stranger to back the fuck off when suddenly Avery squealed loudly, “Luca!” and ran to the man, jumping in his arms.

Justin was absolutely stunned and more than a little jealous watching the woman he loved in the arms of another man. It was a totally foreign feeling for him, and he was not a fan in the slightest.

“What are you doing here?” Avery asked, still clinging to the man.

“I got back from the vineyard last week and Tina said you were enjoying this job and gave me your address. Matty didn’t tell me about this until like two weeks ago,” Luca explained.

“Do you not ever actually read your emails? I know you responded, but you didn’t say much of anything. You ass!” Avery replied, scolding him.

Justin watched the interaction and could easily tell that they were close and had history, but he had no idea who the man was.

He was racking his brain trying to remember Avery mentioning anything about a man named Luca and couldn’t come up with anything.

That made Justin even more jealous, especially since the man seemed vaguely familiar.

Was he someone famous? He was certainly good looking enough and he had an air of elegance that Justin knew he didn’t have. He was rough and, well, a biker.

Was this what Avery actually wanted? Was this what she deserved? Were his sister and his table of officers all correct that she wasn’t one of them?

His mind was reeling. He didn’t want to lose her and had to do something to stop the happy reunion and stake his claim.

Justin had had enough and cleared his throat before the man could respond, “Sorry to interrupt. You gonna introduce us, baby?”

Avery instantly looked guilty. “Sorry! Luca, this is Justin, my boyfriend. Justin, this is Luca Bianchi,” Avery explained, like she expected him to know him.

Justin strode over and Luca gently set her down. The men shook hands, sizing each other up with Avery between them.

“And how do you know Avery?” Justin asked suspiciously.

Luca raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Not a good boyfriend if you don’t know who I am, amico.”

“Justin, I told you about Luca. He is like my brother! His dad, my Uncle Gio, was Daddy’s best friend. Luca and Matty are like my brothers,” Avery reminded him.

Justin remembered her talking about stories from when she was young and felt a little less threatened, but there was something still nagging in the back of his mind.

“Nice that you came to visit Avery,” Justin said, “You been out of town?”

“Business took me to Italy,” Luca said vaguely.

“Uncle Gio’s family has the most beautiful vineyard outside of Tuscany. I told you about the summers I spent there,” Avery reminisced.

Justin nodded, remembering her stories. It had always seemed odd to him that she spent so much time in Italy on a policeman’s salary.

He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out to see he was needed at the coffee shop, which was due to open in two weeks.

“Hey, baby, I gotta run to the coffee shop. I’ll call you later, okay?” Justin said.

Avery left Luca’s side. “Okay. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

Justin leaned in and kissed her softly, squeezing her ass gently. He walked back to his bike that was around the corner and pulled out his phone, hit a button, and waited until he heard a voice answer.

“Yeah, Prez, what can I do for ya?”

“Stevo, I need you to find everything you can on Luca Bianchi,” Justin demanded. “Now.”

“But what about the—” Stevo started.

“NOW! Everything else gets pushed to the side. I want everything and I want it yesterday!” Justin growled and hung up.

He walked back to the corner and saw Avery and Luca walking arm in arm up the stairs, laughing.

“I want to know what the fuck is going on!” he muttered to himself.