Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 437 -

*Olivia*

It was easy to forget all the chaos of the previous weeks while standing in the living room decorated with colorful balloons. Baby blues and bright pinks were bunched together on either side of us, and a huge colorful banner hung above where Gio and I were standing.

With his arm around my waist, supporting me, I glowed happily as I had on my wedding day, our friends and family surrounding us. Everyone I loved was there-Dahlia, Alessandro, Tallon, my mom, and James and Becca.

And of course, standing happily in front of us with her swollen belly was Elena, just out of the way but close enough to reach out for her. She'd gracefully taken a step back even after we offered to let her join us on our makeshift stage. "Here comes the cake!" my mom sang, pushing through the others as she set the cake on the simple table in front of us. She handed the knife to me.

The cake knife felt heavy in my hand, and I couldn't stop my excitement from bubbling up, rocking on my heels back and forth. Gio chuckled behind me, his hands loose around my waist as he laid his head on my shoulder. "Are you ready?" I grinned, glancing at him excitedly.

"Always." He pressed a kiss to my temple. "No matter what the outcome, it'll be perfect."

"Last minute guesses!" Dahlia called out, grinning as she held a thin cylinder in her hand, readying it.

"Boy!" Tallon called out.

"I say girl!" Becca laughed, her own husband holding her close. Despite her age, she looked just as beautiful as when I was a child, and I was honored to have her and James here with me to celebrate this.

I grabbed Gio's hand in mine, sending him a teasing glance as we held it together and approached the cake. It was beautiful-half baby blue and half pink and easy and delicately, our knife sliced through the soft spongy cake.

We waited with bated breath, all eyes transfixed on the cake as we dug in and lifted the piece out. My eyes met with the soft color hidden beneath the sweet icing, and I clenched Gio's hand tightly in mine. "Gio...." I said, my voice thick with emotion.

"I know, carina." His hold tightened around me, pressing his lips to the top of my head as he murmured the baby's gender allowed for the first time.

"It's a boy."

Cheers rang out like a New Year's Eve party counting down to one, and several bangs went off as confetti burst into the air in colorful pastels.

"I knew it!" Tallon shouted out among the noise.

I laughed, tears filing my eyes as everyone celebrated the truly happy moment with us. Soaring high above the clouds, I was floating at this moment, and the only thing keeping me from drifting off and never coming back was my husband's

arms.

We would be welcoming our baby boy soon, and nothing could diminish the joy and excitement we all felt from adding our new precious member to the family.

I turned in Gio's arms, embracing him tightly as I leaned up to kiss him deeply and fiercely. Whistles pierced the air, teasing and light-hearted, but I didn't care. I caressed my fingers across his cheeks, pulling back to see a mirror of the love I felt in his eyes.

"A baby boy," I breathed, unable to believe it. "Are you happy? You said you wanted a girl...."

"Carina." He chuckled, kissing my forehead, "He could be green, with one eye and wings, and I would still be the happiest man in the world. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to be your husband and now, a father. I love you." "I love you too," I grinned, nuzzling into his arms.

The future I envisioned wasn't far off-a baby boy with Gio's curls and little dimples held in his father's arms, my two boys holding me close.

I never imagined how deeply I could love someone I had never even met until this moment. Our son was going to be so spoiled-I would give him the childhood neither of us had received. Unconditionally.

The party was in full swing and none of us were surprised when Tallon spiked the punch. He had just enough sense to stop Elena from taking a sip before Becca had descended upon him with all the wrath of a mother.

The cake was passed around. It was delicious as usual, and I watched my mom brag about the homemade decorations. She'd always made my cakes every year, even when she was drowning in work. It was something I had always been able to count on.

Even Elena was having a wonderful time as she and Alessandro talked about school. I was surprised Alessandro was showing such an interest in academics when he had never had before. Maybe going to school would be a good step forward for him.

Everyone came up to congratulate us, including Elena. Despite how tense I had been with her lately, she was still as warm as ever. Gio made sure to keep his distance from her as he promised, and it was clear she had noticed.

But soon, as with all good things, the party came to an end. My mom was flying back to the States in the early morning with James and Becca, and though we offered to see them off, they refused vehemently, telling us to take this time to enjoy our last moments of being just me and him.

Alessandro offered to drive Elena home and she hugged me before she left, taking a few pieces of leftover cake and she even allowed me to feel the bump our baby was growing. Tallon and Dahlia had plans, and that meant Gio and I had some private time together.

"What now?" I smiled, taking my final bite of the cake.

I was a bit sad to see it all gone since my mom's baking had always been delicious. It reminded me of home and when I was a little girl.

"I want to show you something." Gio grabbed my hand, sending me a huge grin as he led me down the hallway and toward our suite.

"Is this about that mysterious door?" I asked, smirking when he chuckled. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice our whole ass closet being taped up like it was radioactive? I'm smarter than that."

What had previously been a closet had become off-limits in the last week or so, and though I wasn't sure what was happening, considering the noise and people moving to and from the suite over the week, I had a pretty good idea.

"I know. I can't get anything past you." He laughed. "But you can act surprised if you want."

"Sure, sure." I laughed again, and Gio stopped right in front of the said door, no longer cordoned off but with a shiny new wooden door in its place. I had no clue when he had the time or how he had snuck this by me, but I wouldn't need to feign surprise.

"Alright, close your eyes," he instructed me, softly and I rolled my eyes but did as he asked. My world fell into darkness, and I could still see a yellow glow from the sunshine, but it quickly evaporated as he covered my eyes with his own hands. I giggled, hearing the sound of a door opening and a rush of cold air flowing across my cheeks. Gio hovered behind me, keeping my eyes shut as I waddled into the room, guided only by his presence.

"And stop," he declared. The floor was plush under my feet, and I curled my toes into the soft, fluffy carpet below. It felt like I was standing on clouds and I grinned, wondering what on earth he had done to our room.

"Is this another walk-in closet?" I asked playfully. "Because I'm pretty sure I have enough room for my clothes, honey."

"No, it's not." He laughed. "But I promise you'll love it. Ready?"

"Yes!" I cried impatiently.

"Okay, open your eyes."

As soon as his hands were pulled from my face, my eyes fluttered open, and I took in the space around me in awe.

The room wasn't very big-nothing compared to the other rooms in our suite-but it was clearly a bedroom. Under my feet was the white carpet that truly matched the feel of standing on clouds.

The walls were white and bare, but the space was open and had two open windows, including one bay window with a seat. There was a massive two-door closet left open, and though there was nothing inside, I could feel how much care had been put into the room.

But the main attraction was the wooden crib against the wall. There was no bedding, just a simple mattress, but there was a changing table attached to it with three drawers, more than enough for what we would need once the baby came.

I breathed in, touched as I brushed my hand against the smooth wood. It was old but polished- like someone had used it for a long time and then had it refurbished and updated. I could see the tiny dents, and in the corner of the wood, a little carving of a bird.

"Oh, Gio," I turned to him with teary eyes. "It's beautiful."

He beamed, giving a pleasant hum as he embraced me from behind, his arms locked and ready to never let go.

A baby room.

Besides our baby boy, it was the best gift I could ever receive.

"Thank you," I murmured, "for everything, Gio."

His only answer was a soft kiss to the top of my head, but it was enough.

I knew what he meant.

***

With the baby room completed, Gio and I took the time to carefully select everything that would go inside it. We chose a very light gray for the walls, and Gio let me paint my own mural across them.

I had chosen a forest with little woodland creatures all around. Deer, foxes, owls, and even cute little teddy bears stared back at us whenever we walked in. But my favorite part had to be the ceiling. It had been left white, but when the lights were turned out, above was a starlit sky. It was everything I could've ever wanted and more.

Of course, Gio had to throw in his own surprises and had made the stars into accurate versions of the real constellations.

As the days passed, it became our biggest project to do together. The empty room quickly filled up with shelves, storage, lamps, and other decor. We bought a bassinet as well for our own room as the baby would need to stay with us for the first couple of months.

Everything couldn't be more perfect... until we showed Elena the room.

She wrinkled her nose at the carpet, telling us we should've gone for a rug instead, and then stared at the painting I did on the walls for an uncomfortable amount of time. By the strained smile when she said it was pretty, it was clear she didn't mean it.

Then she took issue with the boring color palette, said the lights were too bright, and tried to show us a few pieces of furniture she had picked out. I could only smile and nod as she rattled on about what she wanted the place to look like, of how it could look so much better.

Her unsolicited opinions didn't just make me uncomfortable, they had pissed off Gio. And the moment she criticized the stars, saying the real constellations with unnecessary and pointless, Gio's face darkened.

The way she stilled and immediately backtracked despite having not apologized for all the comments she threw at the things I chose told me more than I wanted to know.

I was nearly sure now that Elena had feelings for Gio, no matter how much she tried to hide them.

Elena was carrying our baby and it was too late to back out now, so we had to make this relationship with her work. But there was only so much I could tolerate. I could swallow my pride and admit that her having feelings for my husband made me uncomfortable, but I also knew there wasn't much I could do about it. I couldn't control what she felt.

But if her feelings for my husband posed a threat to my relationship with Gio, with our baby, then it was most certainly a problem.

I decided not to bring it up again with Gio at first. After all, he was doing his part keeping his distance as much as he could. But I was not going to let this interfere with the happiness of growing our little family.

Elena wasn't going to ruin what we'd painstakingly built. I was going to make sure of that, no matter what it took.