Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 225 -

James.

"I am beyond thrilled at this news, Giovani," I said softly, giving him a happy smile. At the moment, we were meeting at a private bar, exchanging words while dining on some American-style food like burgers and fries.

"This baby should be born to married parents, though," I muttered in thought. I furrowed my brow, picking up a fry and putting it into my mouth, savoring the salty goodness. Becca was growing exponentially more happy and loving. I hoped I was turning less cold, as well.

Giovani took a bite of his burger, dabbing his lips with his napkin and giving me a soft smile. "You are quite the family man, James," he said in that soft voice he always used. To his enemies, there would be a hint of danger there. To me, there was just adoration.

My cousin continued with, "There is only one thing to do. Plan that proposal. Something special for the woman your heart drips for. Something romantic. I could help you with that. I have a few suggestions myself."

I stared at Giovani in surprise. This soft-spoken, cold-blooded killer had a warm side to him? After blinking and taking another bite of my food, I asked, "Really? I will gladly accept the help, but I will admit I had no idea you could be soft. In a good way, of course."

Giovani chuckled, his cheeks flushing just slightly. A faraway look twinkled in his eye, and he said, "Mhm. Soft in a good way. You are correct. Perhaps I have a lady I fancy and think about it from time to time. Helps to research, as well." He winked at me.

I laughed, and asked, "You read romance books?" He nodded, causing my smile to widen. "Well, you probably have many ideas for what I could do in this 'special proposal.' What's your best one?"

"Best one?" Giovani said, raising a brow and shaking his head at me. "We don't start with the best, we start with the most practical but boring ideas, then move onto the best ones so that you will be starstruck by just how wonderful an idea it is compared to the others."

I snorted, smirking even more now. I placed a hand on my forehead, amused by this whole ordeal. After everything that happened, and all the stress, it was good to smile again and be with family. Giovani was constantly surprising me in great ways.

"Well, you just revealed your plan. I thought you were supposed to be someone who tried not to do that sort of thing?" I joked with him, causing him to stick out his tongue lightly and just narrow his eyes in humor as well.

"I think in this case, James, I can make an exception for the sake of laughs." He winked. "My first suggestion in the realm of practical would be picking a favorite restaurant of hers and having them bring out a dessert on fire. Pizazz. It's practical and safe. A bit dry, though."

"A bit dry is an understatement," I replied, mocking a yawn. "Sounds boring. Next?"

"I did say I would start off with the boring stuff, James," Giovani said, his tone even more amused now. He tapped a finger on his chin in thought, taking another bite of his burger before saying, "Let me think of a different location. Your compound, that could work."

"An at-home proposal? That could be interesting. Though I'm not sure it'd have enough pizazz," I said, raising a brow. What did he have in mind this time? Had to be better than going to one's favorite restaurant. A classic, sure. The idea was sweet, but not enough in my eyes.

"You could fill your compound, or an area within the compound, with candles, or other lights if you're worried about the fire hazard. Then, you could propose there. Some women replace that fairly magical," Giovani said.

"I'm not the greatest designer or artist," I said, shaking my head. "The idea is sweet, but I couldn't pull it off. Maybe if I could have your help, but is decorating with lights in your wheelhouse, Mr. Romantic?" Giovani laughed and shook his head. "Cross that one out," Giovani said, taking a bite of his burger and furrowing his brow. "Hmm... Well, you don't technically have to know design to do this next very similar idea. Fill a room with candles and her favorite flowers, have an indoor picnic, propose. How is that?"

I hummed in thought, feeling as though we were getting a bit closer to what I had in mind. "That sounds reasonable, but still not enough. I do like the idea of this being done at the compound, because the kids can be involved. Has to be safe, though."

"Candles would therefore be out of the equation, unless you bring them in later when the kids are being watched by your nanny," Giovani said with a nod. "Or out of reach of the kids. Which is doable, I'm sure." He took a sip of his coffee, thinking things through. "At home, hmm..."

We were definitely getting somewhere and narrowing things down, which warmed my heart. At home would not only include our children, but be less stressful for Becca. I wanted her to be comfortable, and extravagance in public may lead her to think we're drawing attention.

Not that we were hiding out, by any means. Though a proposal that would slam headlines may cause her to be a bit uneasy. We didn't need to go gigantic to still be special. We were to be a family, and something like this as a family would be very special.

"How about," Giovani said, giving a smile. "You do it in the nursery. You could spell it out with toys. Have Alessandro and Dahlia there, but try to make it so they don't play with the toys until she sees what they spelled out."

I nodded and smiled. That sounded very unique and special. It related to how we were going to be a family, and I simply loved the idea. We had a new baby on the way, which made my heart sing once again as I thought about that. "Madeline could help me with that. She can help occupy both of them so they won't change the way the toys are laid out. I'd set up everything beforehand. Maybe lights out of reach of the kids for decoration purpose," I said, nodding. "That's a great idea, Giovani. I love it."

"If you have toys specific to Becca's favorite color, flower, or animal, you could use those," Giovani said. He peered at me curiously. "Do you think you will? She has quite a bit of money given everything that happened, so surely there's a huge selection of toys for the little ones."

I nodded, smiling at him. "We have plush animals of all sorts. Her favorite animal is a horse. Dahlia has plenty of regular horses and unicorns. Many of them are pink, something Becca enjoys as well. A subtle pink, granted, but there's toys with that."

"Lovely. Any floral toys? I suppose you could include real flowers. Maybe on the shelves where the kids can't reach?" he asked.

"Well, she loves roses, but those have thorns. I suppose I can look for thornless ones, but they won't have a scent," I said. I snapped my fingers. "I like the idea of putting them where the kids can't reach, though. Maybe just a few vases so they can be moved out of the room quickly."

"Sounds like a plan," Giovani said, giving a smile. He took another bite of his burger and winked at me. "Glad to be of service, James. Do you need help setting any of this up? I don't mind coming over and doing so. Particularly with the lights." "Madeline can help the kids play outside while it's set up. Becca would need to be distracted, but I can figure something out for that. Sure, your help with the lights would be very appreciated. Something not too complicated, so we can take them down afterward."

"I'm going to make the most complex light display of my life," Giovani said sarcastically, giving a chuckle. I rolled my eyes at him, and he smirked. "Worry not. I'll make sure it's reasonable. This will be perfectly romantic for your sweetheart. Maybe fill your bedroom with rose petals too."

"For after the proposal?" I asked, and he nodded. "I can also get her favorite food for that night. Though she is more than capable of ordering that every day, it still would be a surprise. I could home-cook it, anyway. Which is always better." I knew of an Italian dish that would do just the trick.

Giovani beamed at me and finished the last bite of his meal. He flagged down the waitress and said softly, "Thank you, the food was phenomenal." I nodded in agreement, then reached out to pay the bill.

Giovani stared me down and shook his head, snatching up the bill and slipping his card in. His smirk widened, and he said, "I got it." I shook my head at him. He was this way even before I was the Don. I could tell he wasn't being nice just because I was one, either.

He genuinely cared, and I could see in his eyes that he was beyond excited for me and Becca. Maybe he could help with the wedding planning, too. I was not the best at planning such a thing, but he seemed a bit more in the know. I hoped he got with a sweetheart he loved someday too.

Giovani stood up, walking over to place a hand on my shoulder. I stood up and embraced him, patting him on the back, then stepped back. He asked, "When were you planning on doing this proposal?"

"Within the next few days," I replied, giving a soft smile. "I want to hint to Becca that it's coming so she'll be prepared. Without quite telling her, of course. I've heard it's better for people to know. I doubt she will say no, but courtesy, you know?"

"She won't say 'no,"" Giovani laughed, giving me a bright smile. "She loves you, James. By how you talk about her, and all the things you do together, that much is abundantly clear. You have had some rocky roads lately and for a while, but those always straighten out."

"Somehow, we always replace the solution," I agreed with a smile. We bid one another farewell, and I told him we'd keep in touch. My job, right now, was to let Madeline know my plan and get some of the objects I'd need to spell things out for Весса.

My heart pounded with excitement. This was going to be lovely.