Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I padded up to the bed as quietly as I could, but Gio’s long-honed instincts beat me. His eyes fluttered open as I leaned over them, and a satisfied grin spread over his face as he realized it was me.
“You were too cute to move,” I whispered.
He sat slowly, cradling Elio so our son remained asleep. “I know the feeling. Time to get ready?”
I nodded.
He stroked a free hand across my cheek. “Go, do what you have to do. He and I will be here when you’re done.”
I twisted to kiss his hand, enjoying how well he knew me, and fled to the closet.
Forty-five minutes later, I scooped a now-awake Elio out of his arms so he could dress. I picked a simple, gray stretch-cotton dress, so as not to scare Sal, but I knew the cut made me look elegant. My arms were totally bare, but it had a low turtleneck, and the hem hit mid-calf with modest slits on either side up to my knee. Paired with black heels and a simple updo, Dahlia declared me a “vision of modern motherhood.”
Elio squirmed into his first outfit, a sailor-inspired navy shirt with white trim and matching navy-and-white striped leggings. Together, we marched out to the foyer to make sure everyone else was in place.
Dahlia leaned against the banister in a similarly casual-cool outfit, a hot-pink oversized blazer she picked up in Milan over a black pencil skirt and a gray patterned T-shirt with matching pink heels.
Before I could say anything, the door swung open, and I whirled to see Tallon and Alessandro in the doorway. Alessandro, at least, had the dignity to look sheepish.
“It’s—” I checked my watch “—five minutes until he gets here!”
Tallon strode in, his hands in the pockets of his teal chinos. “So we’re right on time.”
Gio’s heavy tread down the hall behind me was the only thing that saved Tallon. I turned to see my husband in black suit pants and a gray button-up with the sleeves rolled to the elbows and no tie. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least everybody followed the dress code.
Dahlia held her arms out. “I’ll take him. The jacket’s waterproof.”
I grinned and handed my squirming son over.
The doorbell rang.
Time seemed to stretch as I walked to the door, Gio smiling at my side. It was time to welcome my father properly into my life. I’d been imagining this moment—a knock on the door of the tiny apartment I shared with my mom, a man at our door promising a better life with tears and hugs—for as long as I’d known most people had fathers, and it was finally here.
I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Sal, freshly shaved in khakis and a white polo, stood on our front stoop.
“Sorry if I’m early.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I really couldn’t wait.”
I grabbed him in a hug, the first time I’d initiated contact since he appeared outside our gate. It felt right. My father was here, and my husband finally wanted to get to know him. After a moment’s hesitation, Sal wrapped his bony arms around me and squeezed.
“I couldn’t wait either,” I whispered.
I pulled back and grinned up at Gio. He smiled back at me and put his hand out to shake.
“Welcome to our home,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the chance to get to know you.”
Salvatore took it gladly, and my perfectly planned night swept us into its rhythm. Drinks and introductions in the foyer flowed easily into dinner in the dining room.
Maria had outdone herself, creating a perfect Beef Wellington after I remembered Sal mentioned liking it as well as a massive dish of Gio’s mom’s spaghetti. Gio hired a bartender for the evening, insisting none of us would want to worry about it, and the lithe Italian man somehow kept everyone’s glass full in between Dahlia’s attentions. The conversation centered around Elio, the first year of events Sal had missed, and pictures got handed around the table at regular intervals.
I breathed a sigh of relief as we reach the end of Elio’s first year and nobody had even made an untoward comment. Our plates were getting empty, and the night seemed like it was going to be a success.
Alessandro knocked back the remainder of a Dark & Stormy and leaned forward. “Speaking of his birthday, did you know that was happening when you showed up?”
I took a steadying breath. Alessandro asked everything like a challenge. He didn’t mean anything by it.
Sal swallowed quickly. “Um, no. I just finally managed to track Olivia down and couldn’t wait.”
“Mm-hmm.” Alessandro crossed his arms. “And how’d you find her after all this time?”
“Her school, like I said.” Sal furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”
Alessandro shook his head and accepted another drink from the bartender. “I’m a curious guy. Why’d you show up after so long anyway?”
My heart raced as Sal gave him the exact same answer he’d given Gio and me. Everything was going so perfectly. Maybe, if he stopped interrogating my dad, I could get the night back on track.
“It just sounds a little convenient, you know?” Alessandro leaned back in his chair. “The way I see it, you fucked off when it was convenient for you and came back when you thought you might get something.” A storm cloud gathered on his brow. “Olivia’s our family now, not yours.”
I shot up, screeching my chair against the floor.
“Enough,” Gio said quietly.
“I need to change Elio,” I spat, pulling him out of his high chair and storming out of the room.
How dare Alessandro say something like that? I’d asked them all to be on their best behavior, but still, they insisted on disliking him. He was my dad. Shouldn’t I get to decide who was my family?
I sagged against the hallway to the bedroom, tears pressing against the backs of my eyes. The night was ruined.
“Livi?” Sal poked his head into the hall.
I scrubbed my cheeks and stood. “I’m so sorry about him.”
“I don’t take it personal.” He stepped closer with a rueful smile. “You’ve been close with them your whole life, and they want you safe.”
I laughed bitterly. “That doesn’t give him the right to talk to you like that.”
Sal patted me on the shoulder. “I can take a few questions from a kid half my age. Nothing’s gonna chase me away. I want to be part of your life.”
I looked up at him, into the eyes we shared, warm with compassion and love. I smiled at him.
“I do still need to change Elio,” I said.
He took his hand back. “Do what you gotta! Just didn’t like seeing my little girl off on her own.”
This must’ve been what it would be like to have a dad all along, someone to follow you out and tell you what you needed to hear.
“You can help, if you want.”
A soft grin spread across his face. “I happen to be an expert diaper-changer.”
As I took off down the hallway with him, Alessandro’s words rang in my ears. For everything else my father was, he was awfully convenient.
*Giovani*
