Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 368 -

*Olivia*

I woke up with the sun shining in through the gauzy blinds on our hotel window and immediately rolled over, wanting to cuddle up to Giovani, but his side of the bed was empty. I blinked and felt his pillow, thinking maybe he had just run to the lobby for something, but it had gone cold like he had been gone for a while.

I couldn't imagine why he would've gotten up without me; it was only our third day in Paris, and so far, we had spent every single second together, just basking in the luxury of being in one another's company. It had been the best few days of my life, spent doing nothing other than exploring the city, eating amazing French cuisine, and making love to Giovani every single night. I never wanted to go back to our regular life in Italy, I just wanted to keep our Parisian fantasy going forever.

I sat up and grabbed my phone, but I didn't have any messages other than a suggestive text from Dahlia about France and high libidos. I could tell that she had been growing increasingly bored at her parents' place as her texts grew stranger and stranger. I sent her a quick laughing emoji back and resumed my hunt to figure out where the hell Giovani could be.

After a few minutes of walking in circles around the room, I finally found a small note that Gio had written on the notepad by the phone. The note simply said, "Went to get breakfast. Back soon. Love you. -G"

I found it endearing that he still did things like leave handwritten notes instead of just sending texts, but I was mildly annoyed at how long it had taken me to replace it, not that that was his fault.

I also wished I had some way of knowing when he had written it. What did "back soon" really mean if I had no idea how long ago he had left? Being left alone in an unfamiliar country had me majorly on edge. The small bit of peace that our trip had given me was being stripped away as I sat alone in the hotel and hoped that Giovani would return quickly.

I called him, hoping to get an idea of when he would come back, but he didn't pick up his phone. My mind began running through worse and worse scenarios as I sat and tried to stop it. What if he had been injured and was lying hurt in the street somewhere? What if the Russians had somehow kidnapped him and were coming for me next? I decided to give Dahlia a quick call, just to help calm my nerves. I knew that she would be able to help me stay rational. Her parents were staying in a place near Rome, seeing some friends, so she'd gone there to visit, but I believed she was planning to head home today.

"Hello!" she answered in her usual 'happy to hear from you' way.

"Hey, Dolly," I said, not bothering to hide my upset tone of voice. "Uh oh, what's wrong?"

I sighed, feeling a little embarrassed to admit why I had called her. Wasn't it most girls' dreams to be surprised with breakfast after their man had taken them to Paris? What was wrong with me that such a sweet gesture left me feeling sad and scared?

"Ugh, it's nothing," I said, feeling like I had majorly overreacted. "I just woke up this morning, and Gio isn't here, so it kind of freaked me out."

"Aw, I get that," she reassured me. "I mean, you're in a totally different country, and he's the only one there that you know. It makes sense why you'd want him to stick by your side. Do you know where he went?"

Her calming words immediately made me feel better.

"Yeah, he left a note saying he went to get breakfast, but when I called him, he didn't answer. I feel stupid for even calling, but with everything that's been going on, it just felt weird to wake up alone."

"Well don't worry about it. I haven't heard anything from Tallon or Alessandro, so I'm sure everything back home is just fine."

"You're right," I agreed. "I'm just overreacting."

"Try to let it go, and I'll see you in a few more days! Have a great rest of your trip!"

"Okay, bye," I told her, feeling far better than I had when I woke up and wondering why I had let my imagination run wild with fear.

I was in Paris fucking France! There was no time for upset feelings. I decided that I would use Gio's little outing to my advantage. This would be the perfect opportunity to take a little longer on my morning routine so I could look especially great. We planned on spending the day walking around the city and seeing the most famous landmarks, and I would love to get some great photos to post on my social media. What was the point of going to university in Europe if I couldn't brag a little bit on social media, after all?

I got in the shower and turned the water to the perfect temperature, taking my time as I scrubbed myself and shaved my legs. I decided I was finally going to attempt the tousled, air-dried look that I had seen so many of the beautiful French women wearing, so I washed my hair and hoped it wouldn't dry looking like I had been in a windstorm. I usually used a blow dryer.

After my shower, I took my time applying my makeup, trying to emulate the French style of a fresh face with a lovely pop of red lipstick. By the time I was finished with my makeup, my hair had dried in nice waves that framed my face. I stood back to take in the whole effect and felt rather pleased with myself.

All that was left was to replace the perfect outfit. That would've been a bigger challenge back when I was living in the States, but living for a few months in Italy with Dahlia had significantly improved my wardrobe. I chose a mid-length white linen dress with long fluttery sleeves. It helped round out my "effortless but not" look perfectly.

I was deciding on which shoes to wear when I heard the door to the hotel room open. I glanced at the alarm clock and was shocked to see that I had been awake for well over an hour. And I didn't even know how long Gio had been gone before that. Surely it didn't take that long to grab a quick to-go breakfast.

I turned toward him as he walked in so he could get the full effect of my outfit and makeup. He was used to me going with a more understated look, so I hoped that he would enjoy the extra effort I had put in. But instead of looking at me appreciatively, his eyes were sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, immediately terrified that something bad had happened.

He wordlessly handed me a cup of coffee and a bag with what smelled like a chocolate croissant in it, but there was no way I was going to just ignore the haunted look in his eyes. I sat the coffee and bag down as Gio sat roughly on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?" I repeated, wondering why he was avoiding my question.

He looked up at me, his reluctance to answer written all over his face.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia," he started off, the fact that he used my actual name only made me more worried, "But we have to cut the trip home. We have to go back today."

Crushing disappointment washed through me, and my immediate thought was denial. Surely, he didn't mean today as in right this second? Maybe we still had until the evening.

"When today?" I asked, hoping desperately that we would at least have one last day of Parisian bliss before the real world came crashing back in.

"Right now. That's what took so long. I was on the phone making arrangements with the pilot at the cafe. I'm so sorry. I know this is disappointing."

"It's okay." I lied, not wanting to make things worse for him. "Is everything okay? Why are we leaving early?"

"It's not okay; someone else was killed," he said tersely.

He rubbed his forehead, clearly trying to rub out a tension headache. I felt horrible for him, but I was hung up on what he had said.

"What do you mean someone else?" I pressed. "Who else has died?"

He didn't meet my gaze; he just kept his eyes trained on the floor and continued to rub his forehead.

"I just meant-I meant when we killed Dmitri's men. It's just been a lot of death lately."

I eyed him suspiciously. I didn't believe at all that he had been referring to Dmitri's men, and his refusal to look me in the eye only confirmed my suspicion that he was keeping something from me. It made me angry to know that he was keeping things from me again after we had already talked about how I needed to know this stuff for my own safety, but he looked so sad sitting there with his head in his hands that I decided not to press the issue.

"I'm sorry you're having to deal with this," I said, forcing away my irritation at his deception. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. "It's going to be okay. We'll have more trips to Paris."

"I sure hope so, carina," he said, his voice muffled as he pressed his face against my belly.

I held him tightly for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of his strength beneath my arms and knowing that he needed the contact. This trip had been an important break for him as much as it was for me, and to have it cut short because someone had died was a lot worse for him than it was for me. The least I could do was be there for him.

After a while, he pulled back from me. "Alright, we've got to pack."

I nodded and quickly got to work packing up my clothes and toiletries. I decided to keep my dress on, but went with a comfortable pair of sneakers instead of the heels that I had considered wearing. Spending the morning on a flight wasn't what I had envisioned for this outfit, but at least I looked nice for Giovani.

Before I knew it, our car had arrived, and we were on our way to the airport where we would catch our private jet. I stared out the window of the car, trying to memorize every inch of the beautiful city. It hurt to know that in just a few short hours I would be right back to my fearful life in Italy. I reached out and grabbed Giovani's hand. At least I had him by my side, no matter what happened. I just needed to make sure that he stopped trying to keep things from me.