Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 226 -

James.

A few days later, I was ready to drop the question. The hints I'd been giving to Becca didn't confirm anything, but she seemed very positive. I'd been getting extra smiles, which was saying something, as lately she was warm and down to earth more than before.

I knew the incident with Allison was still on her mind. Security and their slip up nearly cost her not only her own life but Dahlia's. A shiver went down my spine at the idea of replaceing them lying bleeding on the floor, dead because of Allison. I was very grateful Becca did what she did.

Still, it took its toll on her. She sometimes cried to herself in the bathroom, and I was happy to comfort her. Thankfully, most of the time, her mind was on the new baby on the way. The doctor kept reporting the developing baby was healthy, which was a relief for both of us.

Security let me know that Giovani was waiting to be let in, and I told them to do so. Today was the day, after all, and he would be of great help. He met me in the living room, wearing a soft, overjoyed smile. "Thank you for involving me, by the way," he said.

I nodded, beaming at him. "You've been of so much help lately in other things. I didn't think you would be with me for this, but people have many sides to them," I said, causing him to chuckle and nod.

"You got the stuff?" he asked, a bit dramatically at that. I rolled my eyes, my smile widening, as I walked over to the nursery room's door and pointed to a bag. Inside were a bunch of pink horses and fake roses. The toy flowers were child friendly.

Giovani nodded, saying, "I have the real flowers and the lights in the car. You'll distract Becca while I prepare with Madeline, then? Under no circumstance should you let her come to the nursery. I will send you a message when we are set. We can switch places so you can set it up."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. Madeline had jumped at the idea of being involved in this, calling the whole ordeal so romantic and cute. The warm, fuzzy feelings settled in my chest as we broke off to set everything up.

I met Becca in the kitchen preparing tea. She would have no way to easily get to the nursery from here, so if I could manage to keep her in this spot, it would work out. Upon my entry into the kitchen, she gave me a wide smile. "Hello, James," she said. "How are you doing today?" She walked over and gave me a hug, something I returned, resting my chin on her shoulder. She added, "The last checkup went very well. The baby is still very healthy, no issues." "Good," I breathed, then realized I wasn't answering either question clearly. Well, my answer was meant to be for both. "I'm so happy to hear all is well, Becca. Myself, I'm well. I had been working on some Don-related items, but am happy to be home for the night."

"How has that been going?" she asked curiously. She was still a bit on edge at the thought, but I assured her I planned on transitioning away from this line of the family 'business' and that Alessandro wouldn't suffer this fate. I'd reaffirm that

now.

"It's been going. Giovani is a huge help. I have my eyes on him for being deemed the Don. I think he is the best candidate, and the rest of the family wouldn't protest much," I said. Hopefully, that would help out. "Otherwise, business is business. Nothing violent."

"Really?" she asked, a little bit of laughter in her tone. "Nothing violent in the mob? That's definitely something new." She reached up and cupped my cheek, leaning forward for a kiss. I chuckled and returned her kiss, deepening it. Her sweet perfume washed over me, and I found myself relaxing. I wrapped my arms around her as we exchanged a long, passionate kiss. She explored my mouth with her tongue a little, something I very much encouraged. I felt arousal set in but knew that now was definitely not the time. Perhaps after the proposal. She'd be excited enough, I had no doubt there. Eventually, I broke the kiss so that I could take a few breaths. I said, "Yes, really. How have things been on your end?"

Becca reached up and rubbed the back of her arm, letting out a sigh. "Dealing with what I did to Allison has been tough," she confessed. "But I remind myself of what she'd do to Dahlia, and I convince myself that I did the right thing." "You did," I said, placing my hands on her shoulders and leaning my forehead against hers. "I can't emphasize enough how unhinged she was. It's a shame things went as they did, but you were brave. Thank you for saving our daughter." "No need to thank me," Becca said with a sad smile. She brightened, however, as the sound of the kettle whistling caught our attention. She pulled away and began to fix herself some tea, though looked over her shoulder at me. "Want some?" "Yes please," I said, realizing some tea time would be the perfect distraction for her. "Oh, Giovani is visiting right now," I said casually. "He is helping me out with some items in the compound."

"That's nice of him," Becca said. "You were looking to remodel your office a bit, right? How is your business aside from the Don thing going?" she asked. She poured me some hot water and grabbed a tea bag, setting it up just the way I liked it.

"It has been going well enough," I said. "I have investors interested in moving forward with the various plans I structured. They were impressed with the meetings, and we are planning on moving to the next step within the next few days." She nodded, and I kept her busy with discussing the pieces of business with her. She was interested enough, though some things went over her head. I couldn't blame her. A different subject would be more tantalizing, one that would benefit me as well.

Would she accept my proposal? I hoped she would... I saw no reason why she wouldn't. I got the doubt out of my mind and asked Becca, "If we were to travel for fun, a vacation, where would you want to go? No hassle, no focus on work, just relaxation."

Becca considered this for a moment, furrowing her brow and letting out a hum. Before she opened her mouth to say something, I interjected with, "Please don't say Guatemala, by the way. Again, it would be for a vacation, not a prospective charity."

She grinned at me sheepishly, then shook her head. "No need to worry, James," she said softly. "Vacation, relaxation. I understand." She chuckled. "Well. I think visiting France would be fun, and very romantic. Don't you? I know it's a bit cliche, but it's something that sounds lovely."

I nodded, giving her a smile. "Sometimes cliche is a good thing," I said. "Especially if it'd make you happy. We would not want to do anything too strenuous, anyway, given you're carrying our child." She nodded in agreement. At that moment, I got a message on my phone and went to check it, reading it over for a moment as a smile began to cross my face. Right then, Madeline walked into the room, smiling at Becca and greeting her.

"Oh, hi, Becca! I have a moment away from the kids and just wanted to chit-chat about a potential baby shower," she said. Becca's attention turned to Madeline, and I took this opportunity to dismiss myself to the bathroom. My real destination was the nursery.

I entered the room to replace a variety of lights hanging out of reach of the kids. Alessandro and Dahlia were playing together in a playpen at the moment, though Madeline would let them out while I proposed to Becca so they could wander up next to me.

Speaking of which, they looked up as I entered the nursery, giving cute little waves. "Dada!" Dahlia said, and Alessandro giggled, shaking a toy car in my direction. I promised him I'd play with him soon and gave a tiny, happy wave of my own. Along with the lights, there were three vases of roses out of reach of the kids, and up on the shelves. The room was a mixture of cute and romantic, quite contrasting, but very appropriate. My heart pounded with anticipation as I spotted a bag in the corner of the room.

The kids' toys were in that bag, selected specifically based on what Becca loved. With that, I began to spell out 'Will You Marry Me' with the toys, which consisted of little pink horses and toy roses. This nursery was huge, so I had plenty of room to work with.

Giovani stepped into the nursery to help me with the final touches. He said, "Well done, James. This looks perfect. Want me to hold Alessandro? Madeline said she'd hold Dahlia when she came in with Becca so you could kneel. We'll let the little tykes loose when she reads it."

We both knew that the kids would make a beeline for the toys. I nodded, knowing that a member of the security team had agreed to record the moment, as well, with a top-quality camera. Perks of having money and equipment. It went beyond safety, at times.

Speaking of which, they, too, walked into the room, giving me a nod and a smile, preparing the camera. It was all coming down to this. I took a deep breath, combing my fingers through my hair as butterflies settled in my stomach. I shouldn't be this nervous. Becca indicated she wanted to spend her life with me, but still, all of what happened recently may be hanging on her mind. I hoped not. I bit my lip and shook my head, telling myself to relax. This was going to go wonderfully. I could feel it.

Finally mustering up the courage, I got out my phone and sent a text to Madeline, telling her we were ready. She would bring Becca to the nursery to show her something cute the kids had been doing lately.

I stood there as Becca entered the nursery, trying not to look too nervous. A grin stretched across my face as I took to my knee, and Becca's eyes widened. During this, Madeline scurried toward the back of the nursery, picking up Dahlia. "Becca," I said softly. "Will you marry me?"

There was a pause as Alessandro and Dahlia were put on the floor of the nursery. As expected, both headed over to me. Alessandro wrapped his arms around me in a hug, and Dahlia crawled over to the toys, starting to play with them right away. Tears poured down Becca's cheeks as she uttered the word, "Yes."