Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 476 -

*Olivia*

I poked my head into Dahlia's bedroom and found her, for once, sitting at her desk instead of on her bed.

"Olive!" She shot up immediately. "Are you here to save me from the nightmares of Organizational Behavior 103?" Despite everything, I laughed. "Not intentionally."

"God, I'll take it," she declared, standing and flinging herself backward onto her bed. "It's like, I get it, there's a lot of human behavior research that goes into a successful business. But if I really wanted to learn about human behavior, I'd have majored in psychology!"

I perched on the bed next to her and patted her head. "Sorry, Dolly. Organizational Behavior waits for no debatable heir to a crime family."

She rolled on her side and pouted at me. "Tell me you've got something more interesting going on in your life?"

I groaned. "I guess that depends on how you define 'interesting.""

Her eyes lit up. "Spill."

I told her everything-the weird tension between Gio and my dad I'd been feeling since the first time they met, the time I went to his place and he thought I shouldn't have bodyguards, Gio's zillion promises to back off that he kept breaking. I even told her about the surveillance photos of the Russian tattoos, the bank account inconsistencies, and Sal's explanation for everything.

Dahlia's face grew more and more serious as I spoke, but I couldn't tell who she was upset with.

"And that brings us to today," I said with a huff. "Where I invited Sal over for lunch after Gio promised to trust me again. Sal left to go to the bathroom for like five minutes, and I found the two of them screaming at each other in Elio's room." She sat up. "Whoa, that's a huge escalation."

I threw my hands in the air. "I know! Gio's being totally unreasonable."

"I don't know, Olive, that seems really out of the blue. Are you sure you didn't miss anything?"

I frowned at her. "I thought you'd take my side."

She crossed her arms. "I thought you didn't know which side you were on."

I flopped back on the bed. "I don't!"

Dahlia stared down at me, nothing but an earnest desire to help in her eyes. "So are you sure that's exactly how today went? You're not leaving anything at all out?"

I shrugged. I wanted Dahlia to tell me she thought my father was a good man. I didn't want to mention the part about him getting lost on the way to the bathroom, because everybody kept fixating on it like it was damning evidence. I got lost the first few weeks, and I lived here. Somebody getting lost sometimes isn't a smoking gun.

"Why did you invite Gio to lunch with Sal anyway, if they're really not getting along?" she asked.

I looked away from her. "I didn't. Gio just kind of... stumbled into him."

Dahlia furrowed her eyebrows. "But Gio knew he was coming over."

I nodded.

"And, wait," she rubbed her head like it hurt, "how did they end up in Elio's room anyway? Were you eating on one of the balconies?"

I shook my head and began picking at a loose thread on her comforter.

"Olivia," she said sternly. "You cannot come to me for advice and keep relevant details from me. That makes my only advice 'seems like everyone's being fucking crazy, wait it out.""

I gnawed on my lip. "But everybody keeps overreacting to this part."

Dahlia crossed her arms and sat up. "When does Gio flip out?"

"I don't know, when he's mad!" I plucked the thread off.

"He flips out when he'd worried." Dahlia sighed. "And for all his many, many quirks, he doesn't really get worried for no reason. So, tell me, and I promise I will react completely appropriately, so you have to take my reaction as true." I buried my face in her comforter and mumbled, "Sal was there because he got lost on the way to the bathroom."

"I can't hear you," Dahlia said in a sing-song voice.

I sat up and faced her. "Sal was in Elio's room because he got lost on the way to the bathroom!"

Her face went still. "You were eating in the dining room?"

I nodded. "But it's easy to get lost in here!"

"Will you walk with me?" She stood and extended a hand.

I frowned and took it.

Dahlia walked me into the dining room. "What instructions did you give him?"

"First door on the left." I pointed. "Out that door."

She walked out the door I pointed at, dragging me behind her. Even just standing in the doorway of the dining room, I could see the door to the bathroom, slightly ajar as always. Hell, the toilet was clearly visible. "Elio's room is upstairs, Olive," she murmured.

I slid down the wall and sat. Even if, for some crazy reason, the bathroom door was closed, he'd have to go much farther to even see the stairs, much less get to Elio's room.

Dahlia sat next to me. "I don't think he's overreacting."

Of course, he hadn't gotten lost on the way to the bathroom. I was so stupid. It was the easiest place in the house to replace, by orders of magnitude. He'd have to be an idiot to have ended up in Elio's room, and if there was one thing I knew Sal wasn't, it was stupid.

He'd lied to my face to get into my son's room.

And I'd yelled at my husband for telling me that.

I jumped to my feet. Dahlia looked at me worriedly.

"I have to go apologize to Gio," I blurted. "Can you take Elio?"

She nodded and hoisted herself to her feet.

I raced off down the hall before she could stand.

When I burst into our room, Gio was laying on the sitting room floor with Elio, coloring in one of his massive coloring book.

"Kahn!" Elio declared, holding up a red crayon.

Gio chuckled. "Almost. Try cray-on."

"Cray!" Elio yelled.

"Um," I said.

Both of my boys looked up at me. Dahlia stepped in behind me, panting slightly, and scooped Elio up.

"Wanna go see bubbles?" she asked.

"Buh-buh!"

The door shut behind them.

Gio rolled into a sitting position and looked at me curiously.

"What's the rush?" he asked.

I threw myself into his lap, feeling crayons roll under my hip. "I'm sorry!"

He stroked my hair. "What happened, carina?"

Tears filled my eyes, and I swiped them away.

"I talked to Dahlia. She showed me there's no way he made it up here, even if he did miss the bathroom." I sniffled. "And I feel so stupid and so mean for everything I said to you." I gnawed on my bottom lip, but the words burst forth anyway. "Because I think you were right!"

"Look at me, please," he said.

I lifted my face from his lap and found him smiling at me, softly and sadly.

"I'm not mad, Olivia." He cupped my face in his hands. "I didn't want to be right."

Tears spilled freely down my face. "Really?"

He kissed the tip of my nose. "Really."

I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest as the sobs broke loose. Gio just held me, stroking my hair and never once complaining that we were still sitting on the crayon-covered floor.

Eventually, I pulled my face away. "Do you know what the worst part is?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

I smiled a pained, tremulous smile. "That I just feel so goddamn stupid."

A fresh wave of tears sheeted down my face.

"I don't think you're stupid," Gio said. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I wanted to believe him so badly." I shook my head. "I wanted my dad to actually be mysteriously detained for my whole life, only to swoop back in at the first moment he could to be the parent I always wished for." I stoked his cheek. "You're such a miracle I guess I thought I could get another one, could actually live out every kid with an absentee dad's dream." I snorted. "I wanted it so bad I ignored all the warning signs."

Gio peppered my teary face with kisses.

"You, Olivia Valentino-" He kissed me again. "Are one of the most loving women I've ever had the honor of meeting." He pressed his lips to the back of my hands. "This man used that against you." He kissed my inner wrists. "Do not ever feel stupid for leaving your heart open, just because terrible people will try to take advantage of it."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "You're too good to me."

He shook his head. "No one could ever be too good for you."

I smiled softly. "I guess I'm just glad this part is over. Now we know we can't trust him." I swallowed. "He's just using me to get to you."

Gio carded his hands through my hair gently. "That's his loss."

"I think it'll be a little until I can believe that." I patted his chest. "I just don't know how I'm going to keep seeing him."

"What if you don't have to for a little?" Gio kissed the top of my head. "What if you, and me, and Elio just left town until you can look at him without crying or punching him or whatever's running through that mind of yours?"

I picked my head up to look at him. "I'd really like that."

He smiled. "Then I'll plan us something. Don't worry about a thing."

My smile turned rueful. "I'd like that, too."

"Well then, Mrs. Valentino, what do you say we get up off this floor?"

I pecked him on the lips. "Perfect!"

Gio collected his legs underneath him and stood, carrying me with him, bridal style. I gasped.

"I've got some trip planning to do, but I'm not going to leave you to wallow," he murmured as he walked into our bedroom.

I nodded, excitement chasing the dregs of my sorrow from my veins. I didn't know how long I'd be upset with Salvatore, or myself, but for now I just wanted a little uncomplicated pleasure.

He tossed me down on the bed, and I bounced, giggling.

He grinned. "There's that smile." His gaze turned wicked. "Let's see what other expressions I can get out of you."

Gio leaned over me and began peppering kisses up my arms once more, starting at my wrists. With every kiss a little closer to the top, he nipped and licked a little more. He made it all the way to the edge of my short sleeves, and I wriggled underneath him desperate for something more intense.

He considered for a moment, then gripped either side of my button-down shirt and pulled. The buttons exploded away from each other, scattering to every corner of the room, and revealing my plain, skin-tone bra to his eyes. I gasped and arched into the touch.

He shoved the cups down under my breasts and began peppering my chest with the same teasing kisses, growing increasingly more intense and closer to the nipple where I wanted him.

When he finally sucked one tender bud into his mouth, I groaned loudly.

Gio released his mouth and leaned up to meet my eyes. "How do you feel about Naples?"

"Naples is good!" I gasped. "Love Naples! Come here."

I tried to grab him, but he escaped, sitting up entirely. His erection tented his pants, and I licked my lips.

"Sorry, carina, I have a trip to plan." He stood and adjusted himself. "Feel free to keep yourself occupied."

I launched a pillow at his head, and he dodged, laughing as he exited the room. I collapsed back onto the pillows and caught my breath.

If just the thought of getting away made us this carefree, I couldn't imagine what actually seeing Naples would be like.

I smiled at the ceiling.

The only good thing about fighting with Gio was making up again.