Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 436 -

*Olivia*

A few days later, I stood next to the baggage claim at Florence Airport, waiting for my mother to emerge from the terminal. She was still deciding whether she wanted to move to Italy full-time, but we were learning the sex of the baby

tomorrow, and she'd gotten a few days off work to be involved.

I clutched Gio's arm and leaned up on my tiptoes as if that would make her arrive faster. "You said a private flight wouldn't have this problem."

He chuckled at my impatience. "I said it would be shorter. We're still at the Peretola, not my private strip."

I stuck my tongue out at him just as the door swung open, and my mother emerged, lugging a huge carry-on.

I squealed and raced over to her. Gio followed at a more sedate pace.

She dropped her bag and enfolded me in a hug. "Ugh, I've missed you. Every time I come here, moving seems smarter."

"Good!" I laughed. "Then I'll keep inviting you. You're coming after the baby's born, right?"

She nodded. "Any chance that big, strong husband of yours will take an old lady's bag?"

I glanced at the suitcase on the floor. It bulged at the seams.

"How could you possibly have that much stuff for a three-day trip?" I demanded.

She smiled sheepishly. "I may have brought some memorabilia from your childhood."

I blushed as Gio caught up and scooped her suitcase off the ground.

"Mrs. Robinson," he said warmly, kissing her on both cheeks.

She blushed the same shade as me. "Please, I've asked you to call me by my first name."

He inclined his head. "Amanda. Let's get you lovely ladies to dinner."

She raised an eyebrow. "Dinner?"

"Nothing fancy," I said with a giggle, knowing Maria was hard at work in the kitchen. "On the eve of the reveal, we thought it would be nice to have a big family dinner. You, the Valentinos, and Elena's mom." She grinned and took my arm. "The perfect setting for my scrapbooks!"

We arrived home with just enough time to dress before Elena and her mom arrived. The surrogate still made me a little nervous, but I was determined to have a good time tonight. I slipped into a simple charcoal gray linen cocktail dress, chic but not too formal, and helped my mom into a high-necked floral jumpsuit she couldn't stop telling me about the deal she got on.

The familiar rhythm of her conversation soothed my nerves. We could have a good night, even with all the emotion and confusion in the air. We had to.

I slipped on a pair of low heels and led my mom downstairs to where the rest of the Valentinos had gathered, including James and Becca who had arrived a few days earlier. Dahlia had selected a hot pink, fitted, knee-length dress that didn't really suit the formality level of the evening but that I knew she'd been itching to wear. Tallon tugged at the collar of a short-sleeved button-up patterned with fish and grumbled something to his brother, who had gone with a blue long- sleeved button-up and red tie. James and Becca were so happy to see all of their children, they kept doting over them, driving Dahlia crazy, which I found funny.

Gio smiled at me from the bottom of the stairs, wearing one of his usual suits, but with the collar unbuttoned to show he had made an effort to be casual. I grinned back at him just as the doorbell rang.

Showtime.

He opened the door to show Elena, in a simple, mint-green cotton sundress that stretched over her growing baby bump, and what looked like an older version of her in a navy pantsuit. Elena smiled, but her eyes lingered on Gio. I shook my head. We were having a good night.

She gestured to the woman next to her. "Everyone, this is my mother, Viviana."

Her mother waved and smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked tired and awestruck by the glamour of our house.

Perhaps we should have gone out.

Gio welcomed them in, and we did more formal introductions. Everybody shook hands until I ended up shaking Dahlia's hand and giggling.

Maria poked her head into the entryway. "Senor, Senora? La comida esta preparada."

Gio nodded and clapped his hands together. "All right, if we could retire to the dining room."

He offered his arm to me, and I took it with a brilliant grin. We led the way into the dining room, and even I gasped when I saw the spread Maria and the rest of the chefs had prepared. The whole table was covered in food, from salad to fresh bread to a whole, glistening turkey in the middle of the table. I'd given the kitchen a list of foods that weren't safe for pregnant people, and it looked like they'd designed a whole menu around avoiding that.

Everyone murmured as they stepped into the room. The kitchen staff had outdone themselves.

"How wonderful," Viviana said under her breath as she passed me. "But how will we ever eat it all?"

I felt a pang of guilt as I looked at this woman who came from a similar situation as my mother, as myself, until I met Gio. The extravagance had started to fade into the background for me, but having the Grecos around made it unavoidable. I made a mental note to have the chefs box up leftovers for people to take home... if we even owned Tupperware.

I took a deep breath and returned to the moment. A good night-we were having a good night.

"Please replace your name card,and have a seat at the table," I told everyone.

Gio and I had worked out that compromise to avoid anything happening with Elena during this special night. I was trying to trust, but trusting was easier when Alessandro sat between her and my husband. "You'll also replace your favorite cocktails at your seats, virgin for those who aren't drinking."

I lifted my own virgin Sex on the Beach, a peace offering to Gio and Elena both, and tipped the glass at Elena. She smiled at the frozen virgin strawberry daquiri at her place.

I sat, but Gio remained standing as everybody found their seats. I looked up at him curiously.

He smiled at me. "I'd like to give a small toast."

Everybody raised their glasses, even Viviana, though she peered curiously at the deep red drink within. Elena had told me she preferred a dry red wine a few days ago. I smiled at my husband and raised my glass.

"Tomorrow is an exciting day for us, but in some ways, it's no more exciting than every other day since we began our surrogacy journey. We are honored to have our whole family around us, even those we don't know that well yet." He nodded at Viviana, who nodded appreciatively back at him. "Thank you, all, for the parts you are playing in our long walk to parenthood. And without any further ado, mangia!"

Everyone laughed and clinked glasses before diving into the spread before us. Despite my lingering fears and the way I kept glancing at Elena to make sure she wasn't trying anything on Gio when I wasn't looking or doing anything dangerous for the baby, the dinner went smoothly. Conversation ebbed and flowed. Viviana spoke a little less English than her daughter, but most of us spoke enough Italian to make up for it, and it turned out my mother had begun learning. We all had a good laugh when she told us the tablecloth was morbid instead of soft, but overall, people encouraged her fumbling attempts at the language.

Elena drew her mother out of her shell as the conversation continued, and I learned Viviana had been a waitress for the past thirty years and was hoping to be able to retire soon. She told a few gut-busting stories about patrons at her restaurant, which my mom countered with stories about her clients before the Valentinos. Between the two of them, the whole table was in stitches by the time the plates were cleared.

I smoothed the front of my dress and stood. Nobody was fighting. Hell, people barely disagreed. After all the stress and fighting of the past few months, a single evening with Elena where everything went smoothly was like a balm to my soul. I inhaled a cleansing breath. Five months left of pregnancy-maybe everybody had just been hormonal in the first trimester.

"Everybody want to head to the sitting room for dessert and drinks?" I asked.

Tallon patted his stomach and belched. "Couldn't eat another bite."

I shook my head at him as his mother smacked his arm and whispered, "Manners!"

"Maria made that cheesecake you raved about for days," Gio said.

"Basque burnt cheesecake?" Tallon shot to his feet. "You know, it's funny. I'm suddenly starving."

Everybody laughed as Tallon led the way to the sitting room.

I walked alongside Elena. "I had her make buñuelos as well. They're safer for you, and they remind me of those Italian doughnuts you like so much."

Elena smiled, and it looked like the smile I'd seen those first few meetings, before everything got complicated. "You're too sweet."

We moved into the sitting room, and Maria rolled in a cart of desserts. After a small frenzy, everybody settled on the plush couches.

My mother smiled impishly, her upper lip dusted with powdered sugar. "I brought some fun things on the plane with me."

I groaned around a bite of chocolate-covered strawberry. "You can't do this to me."

"I most certainly can!" She dragged a tote bag out from behind the couch she sat on that she must have hidden there when I wasn't looking.

"Ooh, whatcha got?" Dahlia asked. I smacked her arm lightly, and she pouted.

"Don't encourage her," I grumbled.

"Well," she said. "This is Olivia best guess at what a rhinoceros might be, at age six."

She pulled out a piece of construction paper on which I'd drawn a bright purple T-rex. Everybody laughed and awww'd.

"The word rhinoceros sounded like a dinosaur name to me!" I protested.

Dahlia patted my arm. "And the purple?"

I buried my head in my hands.

"Here she is at ten, next to a pumpkin she carved herself in class."

My mom pulled out a picture of me, grinning wildly with my hair in pigtails next to a pumpkin bearing nothing but a horrifically crooked grimace.

"I remember that!" Alessandro said. "You said there was no reason for something that couldn't move to be able to see, but it needed the mouth to eat souls."

I groaned, and the humiliation continued. My mother began passing the pictures around while everybody teased.

At one point, Gio leaned into me with a picture in his hands.

"I don't want to see," I declared.

He smiled at me. "Please, carina? I want to show you something."

I couldn't resist him. I looked down. The picture was of a very young me, maybe less than a year. I wore a Winnie-the-Pooh onesie I knew my mom got secondhand and had the head of a baby doll halfway in my mouth. "What?" I asked.

"She also brought the onesie," he murmured. "She says we should keep it for the baby."

Another wave of laughter swept over the group, and tears filled my eyes. Despite everything, I was overcome with love. I was surrounded by my family, and no matter how tough things got, they loved me more than words could say. Gio pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I hope the baby looks just like this."

I stared up into his eyes, and suddenly, I had to have him. I needed him to know just how much I loved him.

"Well, it's getting late," said my mom. "I think I'll turn in."

Alessandro turned to Elena and Vivianna. "Can I offer you both a ride home?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," said Elena.

We all said our goodbyes, and I turned to Gio. "We're gonna turn in for the night," I told Dahlia and Tallon without looking at them.

I couldn't wait another minute to be alone with my husband.

Dahlia wolf-whistled, and though Elena wasn't quite out the door, I didn't look at her to see her reaction. I didn't need it. I just needed to take my husband's hand in mine and lead him to the room we shared.

He smiled at me as I closed the door behind us.

I pushed up on tiptoes and kissed him. "I couldn't resist you any longer."

His smile turned to a smirk. "I'm that irresistible?"

"You're being an ass." I deepened the kiss, cutting off all conversation. Words couldn't communicate what I wanted to say. I kissed all my love into him, all my trust and hope for the future. I would do anything to spend forever in his arms. When I finally pulled back for air, he smiled softly. "I love you, too."

He scooped me up and carried me into our bedroom, just as he had on our wedding night. I pulled him in for another kiss.

We wouldn't be going to sleep any time soon.