Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Mm.”
I heard a slight groan and rustling. Gently, I shined my light across the bed and my heart melted inside.
There was Olivia, fast asleep on her side. Laying beside her was Elio, tucked into her chest as he snored lightly, a habit I was sure he had developed from me.
I grinned at the peaceful sight and gently slipped my legs under the cover and lay down, careful of Elio. Gently, I wrapped my arm around Olivia, pulling her slightly toward me so Elio was between us.
A sigh left her lips and still asleep, she gravitated toward me, cuddling into my chest but still so careful of our son. She fell back asleep and I brushed my fingers through her hair, gently tugging out the tangles.
I sighed, both in relief at having my family back in my arms and in exasperation. I was not looking forward to convincing Olivia that she couldn’t be alone with Salvatore. He was her father after all.
As I drifted off into dreamless sleep, I wondered what was going to happen if she said no.
*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 finding 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.
