Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 302 -

*Olivia*

Tallon was in the front seat of the black SUV when we came out. The window was down, and his arm hung out the door as he waved to us casually. "Hey." He grinned. "Care to take a ride?"

I chuckled, rolling my eyes as Giovani completely ignored him and opened the backseat door. I stepped inside, buckling up. Once everyone was inside, buckled, and ready to go, Gabriele started the car. The bubbling excitement in the pit of my stomach nearly tripled in size as I grinned widely. "Excited?" Giovani chuckled.

"Of course, I can't wait to see her and finally have her home," I told him happily. There was nothing else I wanted more in the world than my best friend back.

Having been through this several times now, the ride went by fairly quickly as each of us got lost in our own heads.

Once we arrived, Gabriele pulled up to the patient center, deciding to wait in the car for us as he parked. There were quite a lot of people here already, and the sun was burning overhead. The summer heat in Italy was brutal. It was going to be a very hot day. I bounced in place as I waited for Tallon and Giovani, though they both looked amused by my excitement.

"Calm down. She's still gonna be there in a few minutes," Giovani reminded me with a smile.

"Yeah. There's no rush, Livi." Tallon grinned as he leaned his arm on top of my head like I was an armrest.

I rolled my eyes, pushing him off. "So? We have a whole day planned," I said, proudly. I was keeping my promise to her. It was a Dahlia spa day, and nothing was going to get in our way.

We headed inside, Tallon and Giovani following me as I practically speed-walked into the building. The same receptionist from yesterday was at the desk, reading her magazine and ignoring all the waiting room guests.

I jumped as I heard a scream from one of the children, their siblings chasing them across the slick floors. I smiled at the sight as Giovani stepped up to the receptionist.

"We're here to see-"

Before he could even finish, the receptionist just waved her hand toward the doors.

"Go on," she said, flipping a page as she didn't even look up.

Giovani glared at her irritatedly but turned away without starting a fight. If it had been Alessandro, I had no doubt he would've taken it as an insult.

While Tallon and Giovani just turned away, I smiled at the receptionist.

"Thank you," I said, politely as I passed by.

She paused her finger on the next page and looked up in surprise.

"Uh, you're welcome?" I heard her reply in confusion as we passed by. No doubt she didn't hear a lot of gratitude, though she could really learn how to be more attentive and do her job better.

Still, she remembered who we were and who we were here to see. I doubted after witnessing the almost-fight last night that she would ever forget us, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

The halls were busy with passing nurses and doctors, and I heard quite a few loud mechanical ringing sounds as we passed through to Dahlia's room. Giovani led us straight into her room, not even bothering to knock on the door as he opened it.

Dahlia would tear him a new one if he tried to do that at home, no doubt.

We piled in, and I spotted my best friend finally in her regular clothes. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, her legs swinging back and forth as she held her casted arm in her lap.

She wasn't alone because we had finally found the missing Alessandro.

He looked incredibly serious as he spoke with a doctor in a lab coat-Dahlia's doctor, I remembered from when we last met her.

"Make sure she doesn't bump or hit the suture area especially, or she could re-open the wound. The placement of the stitches also means she needs to keep it dry for at least twenty-four hours, but preferably forty-eight," the doctor said, quite firmly. "And if you have stairs in your house, make sure she doesn't go up or down them for at least a week."

"That won't be an issue," Giovani said, confidently.

Alessandro and the doctor both turned to us, only one of them smiling.

"You must be her cousin, Giovani?" the doctor asked, raising her hand.

Giovani took it gratefully before stepping away.

"We moved her room to the first floor, so she won't have to use the stairs at all," Giovani told her. "Wait, what?" Dahlia turned to look at Giovani, her mouth agape. "You moved my stuff? What the hell?"

"It's only temporary, Sis." Tallon grinned. "Besides, we didn't go through your panty collection; the maids did." "Shut up, Tallon!" Dahlia growled, her cheeks growing red in embarrassment. "I do not have a panty collection!" Yes, she did.

I thinned my lips to keep from laughing as I glanced to the side, not making eye contact with her at all. It was more accurate to say she had a panty and bra collection since she had matching sets. It was quite extensive and impressive.

"I can see how loved you are, Dahlia." The doctor laughed, winking at Dahlia, who only blushed further. She looked like a red fire hydrant at this point as she sulked.

I giggled, taking pity on her as I took a seat next to her on the bed. I wrapped one of my arms around her shoulder, giving her a side hug.

"We all love her very much," I beamed happily.

"Sap," Dahlia scoffed, but I could see the smile on her lips as she leaned into me.

"Alright, that should be the last of the instructions. Here are the discharge papers. They outline everything you need to know about her stitches and wounds." The doctor held out a thick pile of printed papers, and both Alessandro and Giovani grabbed it at the same time.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife as the two stared at one another, neither backing down.

The doctor glanced between them, a wary look on her face before Giovani finally sighed and let go, allowing Alessandro to take the papers.

I frowned at the tense atmosphere between them.

"Alright," the doctor said hesitantly, and then she turned to Dahlia with a smile. "Keep checking on those stitches. If you see any red streaks coming from the wound, the stitches come apart, or you have any sudden numbness, come see us immediately. Otherwise, we'll see you back in four weeks to get that cast off and the stitches out."

"Got it," Dahlia nodded.

"That should do it then." The doctor nodded then glanced around at everyone with a smile, "Have a nice day then."

Tallon moved out of the way so she could leave, and once she was gone, the room fell into silence once more.

"Are we going or not?" Dahlia rolled her eyes, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Cause I'd really like the gelato Tallon promised."

Giovani and Alessandro both glared at said teen, who only whistled innocently, avoiding eye contact.

I giggled, a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart like being wrapped up in a warm blanket by the campfire on Christmas Day.

"I'll take Dahlia back," Alessandro said firmly, staring at Giovani challengingly.

Giovani nodded slowly then crossed his arms as he said, "Take Tallon too, and I'll bring back Olivia. Some sibling bonding time over gelato will do you three some good."

Alessandro clenched his jaw, looking very much like he didn't want to do that, but Dahlia only grinned in response.

"Sounds good. We can get some gelato on the way," she said happily. Then turned to me, "Don't you want some too?"

"No," I shook my head with a smile, "I'm okay. You should spend some time with your brothers. They were incredibly worried about you. They need you right now." "Do not," Tallon protested immediately, crossing his arms.

Alessandro just grunted, facing the wall in defiance, but I laughed to myself. I knew they loved her more than they said.

"If you're sure." Dahlia shrugged then hugged me tightly with her casted arm. "I'll see you back at home."

"Be safe," I warned her, then I turned to Alessandro and Tallon with a stern look. "If anything happens to her, I'm holding you two personally responsible."

"Excuse me?" Tallon gasped. "The only thing that's going to happen is she'll get a stomach ache from too much gelato. And I can't be held responsible for that."

"Shut up!" Dahlia reached behind her to grab the hospital pillow and throw it at him.

He dodged it, letting it hit the wall behind his head, and stuck out his tongue. But he didn't expect the second pillow to hit him straight in the head.

"Ha!" Dahlia grinned.

"Alright, we've got to get going." Giovani stepped in, waving toward me with his hand. "Let's go."

"Okay," I smiled, wrapping Dahlia in one last hug before I followed him out of the room. We walked side by side back to the car, and honestly, I was secretly happy to spend a few more stolen minutes with him.

With all three siblings in the house watching us, there was no chance we'd be able to do anything without getting caught.

I restrained myself, though, until we settled ourselves into the SUV. Gabriele glanced at us as we buckled, and he rolled his eyes, the screen between the seats already going up.

I giggled at how he had come to know us so well already. I sighed as I leaned my head on Giovanni's shoulder, happy to have this small moment with him.

"Missing me already?" He chuckled, entwining our fingers like puzzle pieces.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It'll be harder to sneak around with Dahlia, Tallon, and Alessandro."

"Maybe," Giovani said softly. "But you're worth it."

I smiled into his shoulder, unable to help myself as I giggled, "That was corny."

"But it worked." He grinned, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I looked up, and our eyes locked. I felt like he was pouring his emotions into me, like we were slowly aligning, and there was no way to stop it. Not that I wanted to.

He leaned down to press his lips against mine, sweet and slow, and I sighed into his mouth, letting our tongues playfully intertwine. He was always the dominant one, and I didn't mind one bit as he coaxed me to match him.

For a moment, I wondered if this was what love felt like, but like everything else, I let the thought fade away. I didn't care what it was called. I just wanted to be with him.

That was all that mattered.

We arrived home all too soon, and I was reluctant to get out, but we did. Luckily, the siblings weren't here yet, and as Gabriele parked the car and did whatever he did during the day, I pulled Giovani onto the couch so I could steal a few more moments with him.

He let me sit on his lap. It was nothing sexual, I just relished in his warmth as he held me. It was enough for me as we exchanged light kisses, savoring our time together.

But all good things must come to an end, and soon, we heard the car pull up into the driveway. We both got up, heading to the door to greet the three as they entered carrying cups full of gelato.

The moment Dahlia stepped through, carrying a paper cup full of chocolate creamy goodness, I knew I was all hers for the rest of the night.

Dahlia was clearly high on sugar, and I suspected it wasn't her first gelato as she finished it off and grabbed my hand.

Alessandro and Tallon both shook their heads, giving me a pitying look as she dragged me toward the staircase.

"Come on, movie night!" she declared before I dug my heels in and forcefully stopped her.

"No," I said firmly. "You can't use the stairs."

There was a trace of chocolate on the edge of her lips as she gaped at me widely. "But-"

"She's right, Dahlia." Giovani backed me up immediately, and I sent him a grateful smile as he pointed to the hallway on the first floor. "Your room's down there now. Everything's set up, so don't worry." "Ugh, fine," Dahlia complained, but then I let her drag me off to her new room. I giggled happily, sending Giovani one last look before I became Dahlia's once more.

"Time for some girl time!" Dahlia cried happily.

I was all too happy to oblige.