Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 296 -

*Olivia*

Morning came as it always does. The light of the sun filtered through the open curtains and onto my sleeping face disturbing my slumber. I scrunched up my face from the sudden brightness and yawned as I rolled over onto my side. I was so close to falling asleep again, until I heard a soft rumbling. My eyes snapped open, and I stared blankly at the wall, unable to recognize the sound I'd just heard.

But it happened again and this time, I felt a rumble in my stomach.

I blushed as I sat up in bed, barely glancing around the room. I made my way to the closet and pulled out the nearest clothes I could replace. Since I took a shower last night, I decided to forgo one this morning, and I pulled on a top and some leggings.

I wiggled my feet once I pulled my slippers on, watching the furriness bounce under the fabric. As soon as I opened my door, I was hit with a delicious mouth-watering scent-breakfast.

My stomach growled, and I patted it softly, a bit embarrassed at how loud it was. I didn't really eat much yesterday, so that explained its sudden rebellion.

I stretched out my arms, feeling relief as my bones cracked with stiffness. I took the steps two at a time, following the smell of food before I entered the kitchen.

Everyone was there. Tallon noticed me standing there first and grinned at me.

"Hey, sleepy-head! Gio made breakfast!" he cheered, lifting up his plate of food to show me.

My mouth watered as I spotted the fluffy, jiggly pancakes, muffins, and links of sausage.

It looked just as delicious as it smelled.

"Here." Alessandro smiled at me as he patted the seat next to him, wide open for the taking, and I smiled gratefully at him as I grabbed the seat.

As I settled in, a plate full of food was placed in front of me. The scent of freshly ground coffee beans topped off the delicious atmosphere as the whole spread of food was laid out before me.

Jams and butter for the toast and muffins, syrup in three different types for the pancakes, and even a steaming cup of hot coffee were placed in front of me. The kitchen island was full of food and drinks for everybody.

I glanced up at the hand of the man who'd set it all down with a huge smile on my face.

Giovani winked at me before he took his seat next to Tallon with a hot mug of coffee in front of him. He'd liked it black, I noticed.

"Good morning." He nodded to me, then poured a little cream into his coffee.

"Morning." I smiled back, turning to the food.

I saw Alessandro glancing between us with a suspicious look in his eyes, but I was focused on getting this delicious food in my stomach.

"How'd you sleep, Olivia?" Alessandro asked innocently. "After our talk last night, I mean."

I grabbed the bottle of syrup, a hint of annoyance going through me. I didn't know what he was trying to do, but I could sense his question wasn't as innocent as it appeared to be.

"Fine," I said curtly as I doused my pancakes in syrup until they were practically drowning. I happily cut into them before taking a bite, and I melted at the taste. Sweet and warm and fluffy, it was everything a pancake should be. I even detected hints of cinnamon in them.

"It's delicious," I told Giovani after I'd swallowed. "Thank you."

"No problem. We've all had a stressful week, so I figured, why not splurge a bit?" He shrugged casually, even with Alessandro staring him down.

"Splurge, you say?" Tallon grinned, leaning his head on his hand. "If so, how about treating us to that one gelato spot you used to take us to? What was it again?"

"Gelateria La Carraia?" Giovani asked in surprise. "I didn't know you guys still remembered it."

"Of course we do! That stuff is to die for," Tallon told him energetically. "Plus, Olivia's never had it, so it's the perfect time to eat it!"

I swallowed my bite of pancake, then frowned.

"Gelato? But I thought we were going to visit Dahlia today?" I swerved my gaze from Tallon to Giovani.

"We are," Giovani responded immediately.

"I want to go too," I told him firmly.

After so many nights of being left alone and having to wait with no answer, I could finally chase after my best friend. I was not going to leave her alone again. Not even Giovani could stop me this time. "Fine." He nodded, not even putting up a fight.

I frowned at him, a bit wary that he didn't try to stop me, but I guess this was different. It was a hospital, and Dahlia was safe now. Most importantly, there wouldn't be any guns.

Well, I hoped not-I didn't know if I would ever have the courage to hold a gun again, and I wasn't in a hurry to.

"But that doesn't mean we can't do both. I'm sure Dahlia would appreciate some, too," Tallon insisted.

"Dahlia isn't allowed outside food or beverages yet," Alessandro said, glaring at him. "Besides, the gelato isn't that good anyway."

"Are you kidding me?" Tallon's jaw dropped. "It's amazing! What was the kind you used to get? The one with pastry pieces in it?" "Tiramisu," Giovani answered with a smirk. "It's made with an actual tiramisu cake."

"That one!" Tallon grinned, then turned to me excitedly. "You've got to try it. It's awesome."

I laughed. "I'm more concerned with eating these pancakes right now, Tallon. They're also awesome."

Tallon pouted, and I spotted Giovani's grin from the corner of my eye.

"We'll see later, Tallon," Giovani chuckled, sipping his coffee. "But we need to eat before we go. You all are still growing, after all."

"I'm not," I snorted, biting into my strawberry marmalade-covered muffin. "I stopped growing when I was sixteen. I'm just always going to be short."

"But you're our shortie," Tallon batted his eyelashes at me, teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, mister almost six feet tall," I snapped, pathetically.

In truth, I didn't care about my height. It made things inconvenient to reach stuff on high shelves, but what did that matter? I had the three of them to grab things off the shelves for me.

"I think it's cute," Giovani smiled, sending a flutter of butterflies straight to my heart.

If I didn't have feelings for him, I'd assume I was having heart palpitations with the way my heart raced.

I blushed, not saying anything to that. I heard him chuckle as I took a silent bite of my muffin. Alessandro sent me a suspicious glance, still watching the two of us intently.

It was uncomfortable to feel like I was being watched all the time, and I shifted in my seat as the four of us finished breakfast in silence.

Tallon was the first to break it as he rattled on and on about the local sports teams. I remembered he was into sports when he was young-always too active to stay still.

Giovani kept up with him, surprisingly, a smile on his lips as he finished off his coffee. It took Alessandro's attention off me too as they discussed a local football team. I'd never been into sports, so most of what they said flew right over my head.

At least it gave me a chance to devour the rest of my breakfast in peace.

I drank my coffee, relaxed with a full belly by the time they were finished discussing the sports teams.

"We should probably get going soon," Giovani said as he stood up from the table. "Tallon, Alessandro, get dressed."

"Yes, sir."

Tallon mock-saluted him as he got to his feet, but Alessandro was less than pleased. He crossed his arms, unhappily, glaring at his older cousin. "We're not children," Alessandro snapped. "And we don't take orders from you."

"Yes, we do!" Tallon called out as he headed out of the kitchen and Giovani smirked, triumphantly.

I laughed into my drink at Tallon's antics. Nothing had changed since we were kids. Alessandro was still prickly, and Tallon was still a jokester.

Alessandro stubbornly stayed in his seat, glaring at Giovani as if daring him to move first. I was lucky Giovani didn't play these kinds of games. He simply raised an eyebrow questioningly and then shook his head as he followed Tallon out. Alessandro stood up in a hurry, his chair squeaking across the floor as he watched intently as Giovani walked away without a single care.

He ground his teeth together and I sighed, disappointed with his actions.

"You know, you could be a little nicer to him." I frowned. "He is letting you stay here rent-free, you know. Plus, you're cousins. Can't you get along?"

"Don't meddle, Olivia," Alessandro snapped. "You don't know him. He's different than you think he is."

I flinched as he stormed out so fast his bar stool hit the kitchen floor with a clatter. He just ignored it as he went after Giovani.

I sighed, putting my plate in the sink and picking up the bar stool after him. I wasn't his mother or nanny, but I still felt like I had to pick up after him.

Maybe Dahlia was right, and I could be a push-over sometimes. I climbed the stairs to head back to my room, and when I turned the hallway, I spotted Alessandro at the end of it, stepping into a room that very much wasn't his own. The door shut behind him, leaving me alone. I blinked, confused and unsure of what I had just seen.

Did Alessandro just enter Giovani's room?

What was he getting at here? Was he trying to bother Giovani? And what did he mean that he was different than I thought?

I was torn between thinking Alessandro was being dramatic and wondering whether there were still family secrets I had yet to discover. It wouldn't have surprised me in the least.

As much as I liked him, Giovani was still very much a mystery to me. It felt like with every step I took to know him, there were two more questions it brought up.

Alessandro could be on to something. Maybe I didn't know Giovani as well as I thought I did. But that didn't mean I was going to stop trying.

Whatever their problem was, it had nothing to do with me, and I was tired of trying to get in between them. If Alessandro wanted to act like a jerk, I wasn't going to stop him.

I huffed as I headed back to my room, shutting the door loudly behind me.

They were both big boys. They could handle themselves.