Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I swallowed, nodding to myself as I folded up the letter and tucked it back into the envelope.
What was I supposed to feel right now? I didn’t know. There was a surprise, but not as much as I had expected. Maybe a part of me had already guessed the truth and this was just confirmation.
My heart was pounding in my chest, but I was in such a complicated tangle of emotions that I wasn’t sure why.
But I wasn’t the only one who needed these results. Reluctantly, I picked up my phone, hearing it ring once and then twice.
On the third ring, I half expected it to go to voice mail but they picked up. The excited voice picked up with a light, “Olivia! I’m so glad you called me. Did the results come in yet?”
“Yeah,” I said numbly. “They were positive.”
I stared down at the letter again, remembering that ninety-nine percent figure written beside both of our DNA results. Gio had paid for the best testing and for it to be expedited because he knew how impatient I was to find out the truth. I was so thankful for that.
“Of course they did!” Sal boasted proudly. “I wasn’t worried in the slightest. You’re my girl alright, I could tell at just a glance. You look so much like Amanda and me. You’ve got my eyes and my chin.”
“Right,” I said awkwardly, not sure how I felt about being compared to him. “Well, would you like to have dinner tonight? I’ll pay for wherever. I promised to give you a chance to explain and you were telling the truth. You are my… father.”
The word tasted wrong in my mouthm like a sour note of a lie mixed. It felt weird to call him that after twenty years of only having my mom.
“That sounds wonderful. How about Trattoria Nerone? I heard their pizzas are delicious!” he said excitedly.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” I nodded, smiling a bit. Of course, my father would have the option to choose anywhere and he went for pizza. That sounded exactly like something I would do. “I’ll have to come with about two or three guards, though, if you don’t mind. They won’t hover around us, but Gio won’t let me go otherwise.”
“Gio is your husband?” Sal asked a cautious note to his voice.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “We got married last year before we had Elio. He’s a wonderful man and he takes care of us.”
“Hm,” was all he said.
My smile dropped, uncomfortable at the way he had said that, like he was disapproving.
“Is something the matter?” I asked, narrowing my eyes dangerously at the stupid duck in the cartoon who kept putting his face on the end of a gun and getting his beak blown off.
“No, of course not.” Sal laughed, a bit strained. “It’s just… I didn’t know your husband was so… protective.”
That was definitely not the word he wanted to use.
“He has to be. He has a dangerous line of work,” I told him firmly.
“And what kind of work would that be?”
I stiffened as I heard the door open and I ignored his question, not trusting him with that information yet. “I’ll see you later tonight. Six-thirty, maybe?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you then, Li–Olivia.” He corrected himself in a hurry. “Bye.”
“Bye.” I hung up just in time for Gio to appear around the corner with a tired look. Elio squealed as he saw his daddy, wiggling his legs as he held his arms out.
“Hey, little man,” Gio laughed, immediately coming over to scoop Elio out of my arms and lift him up. “Did you have a good day? I missed you so much.”
I smiled while watching them happily. No matter how tired Gio was, he always made time for me and Elio.
“What about me?” I huffed, pretending to be offended as Gio took the chair beside me, holding Elio in his lap. He grinned, blowing me a kiss.
“I missed you too, carina.” He laughed.
I rolled my eyes, giving him the moment with his son. I glanced at the letter, handing it over to him with a nervous smile.
“The results came in today,” I told him.
“And?” He grabbed the letter but didn’t open it, only looking at me with soft, trusting eyes. He knew me by now, and I melted at his expectant look.
“It was positive,” I admitted.
“Like we thought.” He nodded. “But it’s good to have confirmation. At least you know now and don’t have to keep wondering.”
“Yeah,” I said, fiddling with my phone as Gio grabbed the narwhal and pretended it was eating Elio. His shrieks rang through the living room, covering the sound of the cartoon.
“Nom nom nom,” Gio repeated, playfully, teasing our one-year-old with the plush toy. Elio beamed like a ray of sunshine, happily playing along as he tried to push the narwhal away.
“Mama!” Elio reached his hands over to me, hanging upside down on Gio’s lap as the narwhal attacked him. His little eyes screamed for help, though the smile on his face told a different story.
“Is Daddy bothering you?” I huffed, suppressing the smile at the corner of my mouth. “Huh? Want me to beat him up? I’ll do it.”
“Let me see you try!” Gio sent me a smirk.
“You’re on!” I grinned, climbing over the couch and leaning over the armrest as I pressed my lips to his cheeks and then to wherever I could get.
“Ahh, no! She’s got me, she’s got me!” Gio flailed, pretending to be hurt by the kisses and I giggled, using the moment to grab Elio from him and hoist him into my arms. His giggles were contagious, eyes shining bright as he watched me attack his daddy with my love.
Before I could kiss his cheek, he turned his head at the last moment, meeting my lips with his and his fingers wound through my hair as he pressed us together. It was only a moment before we broke apart, the two of us grinning like love-sick loons.
“Want to have dinner tonight? Dahlia wants to kidnap Elio,” Gio smirked, giving me a suggestive look.
I smiled, a yes on my lips before I remembered the dinner with Sal. I sighed, leaning back and curling back into my own seat.
“I can’t,” I told him with sad eyes. “I already called Sal and told him about the test results. I offered to go to dinner with him tonight.”
“Okay, we can just go together, then. Where is it?” Gio shrugged casually.
I bit my bottom lip, unsure of how to break this to him without sounding like a complete bitch.
“Trattoria,” I said hesitantly. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like to go alone.”
He tensed, sending me a careful glance, all of his emotions hidden behind a stone wall again, but I knew him better now. He was uncomfortable with the idea but didn’t want to disappoint me.
“I already told him I’d have guards with me, two to three, and they’ll be with me the entire time. I just–” I gave him a pleading look. “I just want to get to know him just him and me. Is that okay?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Of course, Olivia. I just… I don’t know why but I have a bad feeling about all of this. Just be careful, okay?”
“I will,” I said firmly. “He may be my father, but I don’t trust him yet either. He’s been gone for too long for that.”
“All right, then.” He smiled. “It’ll just be the boys tonight. Right, Elio?”
Elio giggled, clapping his hands together at the rabbit in the cartoon.
