Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“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 finding 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.
*Olivia*
“We’ve got the sausage and cheese for the crostinis, right?” I asked, glancing up from the list on my phone.
“Check and check!” Dahlia called out, rumbling through the paper bags from our most recent grocery trip. Maria had insisted on going with us to shop, but even she couldn’t stop me and Dahlia from throwing whatever we could into the cart.
Maria had only shaken her head in defeat at the dismayed look on the checkout girl’s face as she faced our mountains of food that could probably feed an entire army of starving soldiers, including the war horses.
Luckily Tino and Dom had been such good sports about lugging all of it inside.
“All the veggies?” I asked with a frown.
“Uh–” Dahlia glanced at the floor of our kitchen, filled with dozens of bags of groceries. “Probably somewhere, right?”
“Dolly!” I complained, putting my hands on my hips. “We need to make sure we have the carrots for the pomodoro, the potatoes for the gnocchi, the romano for the genovese, and the tomatoes and onions for practically all the dishes!”
“Ugh, fine,” she snapped, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the nearest bag and dug through it. “I think this is the meat. Did we order meatloaf or something?”
“That would be the ground pork for the porchetta,” I remarked, checking it off the list and moving on.
“It looks kinda funny, doesn’t it?” She made a weird look, staring at the wiggly bag of meat. “What kind of pork is it?”
“The intestines,” I said casually.
Dahlia screamed, dropping the bag of meat and backing away. “Gross. Gross. Gross! What the fuck is wrong with you? Why couldn’t we just order pizza and call it a day?”
“Really, Dahlia? Pizza?” I glared at her.
“It’s the food of the gods,” she said proudly. “And if you tell me any different, you can pry it from my cold dead hands, Olive. Besides, everybody likes pizza.”
“I’m not serving pizza.” I rolled my eyes. “I have the entire menu planned out and Maria will help me. Right, Maria?”
I turned to her with a bright smile, but she only stared at the kitchen floor completely covered in ingredients that added up to more than her whole paycheck.
“Ay.” Maria sighed, looking exhausted. “No me pagan lo suficiente.”
“See?” I turned back to Dahlia smugly.
“Whatever.” Dahlia dug through the bags as Tino and Dom came back inside carrying four bags each, the last of them.
“This is the last of it,” Tino panted, gently placing the bags on the only clear spots left on the table. Dom gave a silent grunt as he didn’t even bother stepping into the kitchen and dumped his right on the front.
There was an unmistakable clinking of a bottle hitting the ground, and Dahlia’s head whipped up so fast I heard her neck crack. She dashed over, looking much like she was playing hopscotch as she moved through the kitchen and dove into the bag Dom had just left.
