Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 413 -

*Olivia*

I arrived at the restaurant a little early; I wanted to make sure I was settled and had my thoughts collected before Elena arrived. As the hostess led me to our booth, my heart raced with anticipation. I really had a good feeling about Elena, but I wanted to be absolutely certain that she was the right one to be a surrogate for us. It was mind-blowing to think that she could be the person who would bring our child into this world.

Although I was still nervous about everything, Elena's personality really did put me at ease. It was undeniable that there was a spark of commonality between the two of us. I could tell that she had such a passion for helping others, and she seemed like an incredibly warm person, both things that I aspired to for myself and that I would hope my child would have as well.

I knew that biologically the baby would be all me and Giovani, but that didn't stop me from thinking that Elena played a major part in how the baby would turn out as well. It would spend nine months hearing her heartbeat, after all. I wanted it to grow in the belly of someone who would be a good influence on his or her developing brain.

I looked toward the door of the restaurant right as Elena was walking in and we locked eyes. I smiled and waved her over. She was wearing an adorable green jumpsuit and gold hoop earrings. Her hair was pulled into a cute little side braid. I loved her style; it felt like just another reminder of our compatibility.

"Hi!" I stood up to kiss her cheeks.

"Hey! So good to see you!" she said before settling into our booth.

The hostess had seated us into a cozy little corner booth, which I was grateful for. I had a feeling this lunch might go long. I wanted to use this meeting to really get to know Elena and to let her get to know me. If she was going to do something as intimate as carry my child, we needed to be sure we could fully trust each other.

We greeted each other politely as our waiter came to get our drink order. Elena deferred to me, so I decided to order a bottle of rosé for the two of us to share. I figured the wine might help us both feel a bit more comfortable with the conversation we were about to have. Our waiter left to fetch our rosé, and I leaned closer over the table. "So how have you been?" I asked.

"Great!" she said, her warm voice immediately putting me at ease. "I've honestly been so excited about this lunch! If it's not too forward of me, can I ask what you and Giovani are thinking as far as a timeline?"

Her excitement thrilled me. I had worried that she might be nervous about what pregnancy would be like for her, but it seemed like she wasn't stressed about that at all.

"Well, if it's okay with you, we really want to get started as soon as possible. We've been trying to have a baby of our own for a while now, so we're really eager. I don't want to rush you by any means, but if you're comfortable with it, we could try the implantation as soon as-"

I was interrupted by the waiter bringing our wine over. He sat our wine glasses down and poured from the bottle before setting it on the table.

"And what would we like to eat, ladies?" he asked. I realized we hadn't even opened our menus, but food was the last thing on my mind.

"Um, I'll just have panzanella please."

I asked for the first Italian salad I could think of.

"That sounds delicious; I'll do the same," Elena said.

Our waiter nodded and walked off to put in our orders. Elena turned back to me expectantly, and I realized that I hadn't been able to finish what I was saying.

"Anyway, we're ready to get started as soon as you're ready," I explained.

"Sounds great to me!"

Her words filled me with relief. I knew by agreeing to be our surrogate that she was essentially saying she was ready to get pregnant, but I had still worried that she would want to wait for some reason. This entire process had taken so long already, I was antsy to finally get started.

"Thank god," I sighed. "You've been so perfect already. Are you sure you're even real?" I joked.

She laughed. "I'm not sure. I guess I'm as real as anyone else."

I smiled. "So, tell me about yourself. I'd love to get to know you better."

"Well, I'm originally from Sicily. I moved here after graduating from high school, and I've been nannying off and on since then. Right now, I'm in between nanny families, and I'll take a break from that during the pregnancy, but I'd like to get back to it afterward. I really love kids."

Our waiter brought our panzanella, and we sat in silence for a few moments as we both ate. It was delicious, especially paired with the rosé. I noticed that Elena only took tiny sips of her rosé, which I appreciated. Not that I expected her to avoid alcohol before she was even pregnant, but it made me feel better knowing that she wasn't a heavy drinker.

"So how about you, Olivia? I know you're from the States. I'm so curious what brought you here!"

I smiled at her question, it had been a while since anyone had asked why I'd come to Italy.

"Well, my mother used to work for my best friend Dahlia's parents. They are fantastic people, and we basically grew up together. Dahlia and I had always planned on coming to Italy for college. It wasn't long after we moved here that Giovani and I fell in love."

"Wow, that's so romantic," she said with a smile.

"It was a whirlwind at the beginning," I admitted, "But as soon as things calmed down, and we got married, we both realized we were ready to have a baby. He completes me in every way, and I just can't wait to have a family with him." She reached across the table and put her hand over mine. "The two of you are already a family. You're just adding to it."

Her words were so kind I felt tears pricking at my eyes. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"Of course! A family is really what you make of it, you know. Growing up, it was just my mom and me, and I loved every minute of it."

"That is such a crazy coincidence," I said. "I grew up with mostly just my mom as well! My dad left when I was really young; I don't even remember him."

It was uncanny how similar Elena and I were. It made me feel even better about choosing her to be our surrogate. If I couldn't carry our baby myself, choosing someone who was just like me was definitely the next best thing.

"It's hard growing up without a dad, but I think it can make you strong too. I've always felt called to help people in any way I can, and I think it's because I grew up knowing what it was like to not have everything that other people might have," Elena said. "I think that's part of why I was so interested in getting into surrogacy. The idea that I could use what I have to help other people in such a special way is really exciting to me."

"Well, I'm really glad that you felt called to do this. You're definitely the perfect surrogate for us," I told her earnestly.

"That is really kind of you to say. I was honestly super nervous coming into this that I might never replace a couple who wanted to have me as their surrogate."

It was hard for me to believe that she would ever think people would not want her to be their surrogate, but I was glad that she hadn't found a match before us. She was exactly who I wanted.

"I'm just glad you're going to be going through the process with us. I'm really nervous to become a mom, and I think it made me even more nervous when I had so many months of struggling to conceive. I started to feel like the universe was telling me something, you know?" I felt my cheeks flush as I realized that I had just admitted something to her that I wasn't even sure I had been willing to admit to myself. There was just something about her that made me feel comfortable with sharing all of my thoughts.

"Oh, that's horrible!" she exclaimed. "I hope you know that's not true at all. I can tell you and Giovani will make great parents. Just seeing the way you both love each other is enough to convince me."

"Well, to be honest, meeting you and seeing how much you and I have in common has helped me to see that maybe the universe just wanted us to come together to bring this baby into the world," I said shyly, hoping that she wasn't weirded out by my thoughts.

"I think that's exactly it!" she responded, immediately putting my fears at ease. She seemed to always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. I began to suspect that the bond we were forming would transcend the boundaries of our shared journey to parenthood. I hoped that this was the start of a genuine friendship. There was so much about Elena that I connected with on a deep level, I just knew we would be great friends if she was willing.

We spent the rest of our lunch talking about our childhoods and realized that we had even more in common than we had initially thought. Not only were we both raised by single moms, but her mother had also had a cleaning-related job, working as a maid for a bed and breakfast. She still worked there, and Elena told me that Giovani and I absolutely must make a trip to the bed and breakfast sometime because they had the best croissants in the world.

By the time there was a lull in the conversation, our wine and panzanella was long gone. Elena checked her phone for the time and gasped, "Oh my gosh! I have to get going, I have an appointment in fifteen minutes." "Yes, please go ahead!" I told her. "Thank you so much for meeting me today."

"Of course, any time! Thank you for having me," she said before rushing out.

I paid our bill and headed out myself, feeling like I was floating as I walked to the car waiting for me. I had a feeling that this was going to be absolutely perfect.