Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 463 -

*Olivia*

"Here comes the airplane!"

I grinned, pretending to make a sputtering sound as I flew the children's plastic spoon all around the face of my one-year-old. Elio giggled, eyes fixated on the spoon. Gradually I inched it closer and flew it right up to his lips, which opened happily.

The mushy oatmeal slipped past his two bottom teeth, most winding up in his mouth and some dripping onto his chin and the colorful bib I'd chosen with tiny blue fish on it.

I ignored the mess, scooping up another spoonful of the oatmeal as I hoped to get him to eat at least a few more bites.

The airplane was getting old though and Elio pouted, turning his face away from the spoon as he reached out for the pieces of strawberries I'd cut up on his plate.

"You can't just eat fruit all day, baby," I sighed.

Clearly, he disagreed as he stuck the whole piece straight into his mouth, cooing in happiness as he attempted to use his few baby teeth to chew on it.

I stuck the spoon back into the oatmeal and turned to my own plate of food. I leaned over to cut into the waffle with my fork, the metal scraping against the glass plate in an irritating way before I expertly stabbed it and threw it into my mouth.

I didn't even get a chance to taste anything but the sweetness of the syrup before Elio was reaching for another strawberry and I swallowed, hurriedly moving the plate of fruit away from him.

"Mama!" he cried, slamming his little palms on the tray of his high chair in frustration.

"One more bite of oatmeal and then you can have another strawberry, okay?" I compromised, giving him a sweet smile as I scooped up the oatmeal.

"Mo," he whined, throwing his head back against the seat.

I sighed, glaring at the ceiling. All I could get him to eat was fruit nowadays.

"Is he giving Mommy a hard time?" Gio yawned, stepping into the kitchen with a sleepy look. I stared at him unashamedly as he walked around the island and Elio to get a cup of coffee.

He wasn't wearing a shirt, just a pair of dark satin bottoms that hugged his hips just right. My whole body heated up as I watched his back muscles ripple with his movements. The morning light pouring in from the windows was just too delicious on his sun-kissed skin.

"You want to try?" I smirked, gently pushing the bowl of oatmeal over to his side of the table as he took a seat.

He took a drink of his steaming mug of coffee-the bitter scent only egging on my dirty thoughts.

He raised an eyebrow at me, a smirk tilting up the corners of his lips. I was unbothered as I realized he had caught on to my thought pattern. He grabbed the bowl of oatmeal, stirred it a few times, and attempted to feed it to Elio. Our one-year-old son only pouted, turning his head away from the spoon stubbornly as he reached his little hands out for the strawberry again. I tilted my head, giving my husband a look that said, "See?"

He pursed his lips, deep in thought, and then grinned as he gestured for the plate from me. I handed it over and he dumped the rest of the strawberry pieces into the oatmeal, stirring it up for good measure. Elio's attention was caught now and he stared open-mouthed as Gio scooped up an oatmeal-covered piece and offered it to him. Elio didn't fuss this time, just gladly chewed on the piece contently. "And that's why Daddy's a genius," Gio said proudly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, don't go getting an even bigger head. It won't fit through the doorway."

"Oh?" He smirked, glancing at me with a look I knew very well. "And to which head are you referring, because I thought mine was certainly quite big enough to satisfy you-"

"Gio!" I yelled, my face heating up against my will.

He laughed, and though Elio had a clueless look on his face, still much too innocent though I wasn't sure how long that would last with this pervert as a father, he giggled along with his daddy anyway.

With Gio feeding the baby, I turned back to my own food, which had quickly grown cold in my absence. The life of a mother, I thought as I ate it up anyway. Maria's cooking was as delicious as ever, and I was glad she'd had time to help me with breakfast before she took the rest of the day off.

She was a godsend, and Dahlia clearly took her for granted.

As I ate, however, the airy and light tone of the morning darkened as my thoughts traveled back to last night. Despite knowing the argument was over, my body still stiffened as the muddled river of emotions I harbored came flooding back. I still wasn't happy, not at all.

"Carina."

Gio was the first to break the silence. He turned to me with a guilty look, and I knew we had to talk about this now or risk it festering. I sighed, nodding at him to get it over with.

"I'm sorry for how I acted last night," he started softly. "I didn't mean to make you feel like I was going behind your back or trying to keep you from Sal. I just want to keep our family safe."

"I know that." I smiled, a bit sadly. He was always working so hard to keep us safe, but there were still certain lines he couldn't cross-not with me. "I just-" I took a deep breath. "I've been dreaming of having my father back my entire life. And he's right here and he wants a relationship with me and I just... I need you to understand that. This is a dream come true to me and I want so badly for this to work. If there's even the slightest possibility that he's here for me, that he's telling the truth, then I have to believe him. It's who I am."

"I understand, carina." He sighed, reaching across the table to cup my cheek tenderly. He rubbed his thumb under my eye and I leaned into him, savoring his touch. "I would never try to change that. I love how kind and trusting you are. I don't want to take this away from you or ruin it. I just want to make sure he's safe for you and for Elio."

"I promise I'll be careful," I told him firmly, "so can we put this behind us, please?"

"Of course, carina." He chuckled. "And if it means that much to you, how about you invite him over to the compound for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Really?" I perked up excitedly. "With both of us?"

"Anything for you, amore." He grinned, leaning over the island to sweep me into a hard kiss. Before it went any further, a clatter broke us apart and we both whirled around to face Elio.

He'd apparently grabbed the oatmeal mixture and toppled it all over the tray. His little fingers squeezed the strawberries, somehow replaceing them in the mess and sticking them into his mouth.

"Elio," I groaned, looking at the oatmeal dripping onto the floor and smeared across his face and curls. "Now you're going to have to take another bath."

He looked at me with wide innocent eyes, like he'd done nothing wrong.

"I'll clean him up," Gio volunteered with an easy smile. "You call Sal and tell him about dinner. Come with me, little man."

My heart melted as he got to his feet, easily unstrapping Elio from the high chair and pulling him into his arms.

Elio squealed, his messy hands immediately clinging onto his daddy's face, but Gio wasn't phased one bit.

"Thank you, Gio," I told him with a soft smile, "for listening and being there for me. And for giving Elio a bath for me."

"You can repay me by taking a shower with me next." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he walked away and I laughed, taking the moment to stare at his back. Naturally, my eyes drifted to the way his pants hugged his ass. 'I wouldn't mind a shower, either.'

I chuckled, getting to my feet and pulling my hair into a ponytail before starting on the mess. It only took a few minutes before everything was clean and put away, but I knew Gio and Elio would be a few minutes more.

I reached for my phone, quicking replaceing Sal's number there. I still hesitated to call him Dad all the time, but I was hoping it would change in the future. Things had been difficult since he'd shown up out of nowhere but it was getting better, gradually.

I really hoped I was right and that Sal really did just want a relationship with me.

"Olivia!" He picked up on the first ring, sounding overjoyed and relieved as he usually did. It was easy to imagine that he was as anxious as I was, that each call would be the last and we'd never hear from the other again.

"Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to come to dinner tomorrow night," I asked straightforwardly.

"Sure, where would you like to go? I picked last time so you choose." He chuckled.

"Actually, I was hoping you would come over here to the house for dinner."

There was a pause on the phone and I almost assumed he'd hung up if it weren't for the slightest breath I heard.

"There, at the mansion?" he asked, quietly, sounding a bit shocked. "But wouldn't Giovani have a problem with that? I know he doesn't like me too much and I don't want to intrude, not after last time-"

"You wouldn't be," I hurriedly told him. "And Gio likes you, he's just a very... cautious person. And this was his idea actually, but if you're uncomfortable then we can always-"

"No, no! I'd be delighted to join you! I wouldn't miss it for the world." He laughed. "I'm a bit surprised but I'm glad you trust me enough to let me inside. I'll be there, let's see, around five-ish?" "Sounds good. I'll see you then... Dad." The word still felt uncomfortable, like forcing my tongue into a shape it wasn't supposed to go, but I felt a bit better now that I'd said it. "Yeah." His voice was thick with emotion. "I'll see you then... Olivia."

The call ended abruptly, and before I could question it, Gio walked in carrying a freshly clean Elio, who squealed upon seeing me.

"Mama! Mama!" He reached his chubby hands out for me, nearly jumping out of Gio's arms to greet me. I laughed, letting him latch onto me. He giggled happily, clinging to me like a little koala as I gently swayed back and forth out of instinct. "Did you have a fun bath with Daddy?" I asked sweetly. His curls were still a little damp, but Gio had done a good job of ringing the water out, probably because he'd had the same hair type all his life.

My own hair had always been straight and easy to care for, so I was still learning. Luckily, parenting was a team effort and what I wasn't sure of, Gio handled easily.

"What did Sal say?" Gio asked with a smile.

"He said yes," I beamed. "I was hoping everyone would come-Alessandro, Tallon, Dahlia, and even Gabriele if he wants. We've also got to plan the menu. Would you mind if I picked it out?"

"Sure, just let the kitchen staff know so they can pick up the ingredients," he agreed, a bit too easily.

"Oh, I'm so excited," I grabbed Gio's hand in mind, swinging our arms together as I pulled him toward our room. We both had to get dressed and he still owed me a shower. "You'll all love him if you give him a chance, and you and he will have a ton of stories to share, you know? You have so much in common."

"Naturally." He chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to my hair. "We both love you, don't we?"

I blushed, giving him a sweet smile. "Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. Though...."

What made you have a change of heart, I wanted to ask. He'd always been so stubborn before. It felt odd to have him change, literally overnight.

"What?" He tilted his head, smiling like usual.

"Nothing," I discarded the thought.

Maybe he just knew all of this was hurting me. Maybe he just wanted to make all this easier for me.

That had to be it. I settled on the thought naively.