Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
He had yet to tell me what he wanted to do–about the family, about me and Elio, and whether we would be staying here. Whatever he decided, I would have to be okay with it, even if he wanted to remain the Don. As long as I had him with me, we could work through anything.
“Well…” Gio started, sending me a crooked grin, his emotions completely open for me to see and feel.
I could feel his heart racing under my palms, and I wasn’t sure if it was anxiety or excitement that was reflected in his eyes… or maybe it was both.
“In a month, I will announce my retirement as the Don,” Gio declared with a sure smile.
I reeled back in surprise, positive I had to have heard him wrong, but the moment I saw his smile, so loving and understanding as he caressed my cheek with one hand, bringing me close so that I could feel the heat of his breath caressing my skin, I knew he had made up his mind.
“Are you sure?” I asked worriedly, feeling bad now that he might be doing this for me and not because he actually wanted to. “I want you to do this for you and not for me. Elio and I–”
“Are my priority.” Gio cut me off firmly, giving me a half-scolding glance. “I didn’t make this decision just because of that. I admit I’m a bit nervous about leaving the position. I don’t know what else I’ll do with my life, but the family needs new leadership now, and I want to be with you and Elio for a long time, without the danger of my position as Don. I’ll name a replacement and we can go wherever you want.”
“Anywhere?” I beamed, my mind bursting with the possibilities of a new life for us.
We could move to one of the other cities in Italy, stay close but allow my son to grow up in the country he was born in, or maybe we could move back to the States, to be closer to Dahlia and my mom. James and Becca would love to have us close, I was sure of it.
The world was so wide, though, and I wanted to see all of it, to show Elio everything it had to offer and let him experience all the things I never got to as a kid. But I realized as I gazed into the warm eyes of my husband that it didn’t matter where we went.
“As long as we’re together.” I smiled, bursting with happiness.
“Of course. You can’t get rid of me yet, carina.” He chuckled, laying a kiss on my temple. “We’ll have to hold a big party for it, invite everyone in the family, so if I could have your help with that, I’d appreciate it.”
“Of course! You can count on me,” I said with a grin, then I quietly added, “and Dahlia.”
He rolled his eyes with a fondness to it that I adored. As much as he complained, I know he loved Dahlia just as much as I did.
“Just make sure you two don’t go overboard.” He sent me a stern look but I leaned up to kiss him and changed the subject.
“So who are you naming as your successor?” I asked cheekily.
I could tell by the look he sent me that he knew exactly what I was doing. But he loved me too much to call me out on it.
“I don’t know yet.” He sighed, allowing me to distract him. “I don’t know who would make the best choice for Don. James chose me because he trusted that I’d know how to handle it. No matter who I choose, someone’s going to be resentful.”
“Do you know who you want yet? Did you pick out a few candidates?”
He shook his head. “Not yet, but I will. I have to, after all.”
“Gio,” I said, grasping him by the cheeks and forcing him to look at me. “You will make the right decision. I know you will. Trust your gut and go with it.”
“That’s rich coming from you, Miss Overthinker.” He grinned.
“Hey.” I winked at him. “That’s Mrs. Overthinker.”
“Oh, really?” he smirked. “So there’s a Mr. Overthinker in your life, is there? Careful or you’ll make me jealous, carina.”
I giggled, bending forward to lean my forehead on his. “Of course there is. I’m looking right at him. You know I would never dare to marry anyone but you, dear.”
“That’s better,” he said teasingly, capturing my lips in his.
He took away my breath, swallowing my moans as he entangled our tongues together. I gripped his curls, pressing my ass down onto his lap and wiggling until I found exactly what I wanted.
I smirked, grinding my ass on the shadow of his cock through his pants, and listening to the little groan he made at the sudden friction.
“So,” I started innocently, breathing heavily as I broke apart just enough to see his dilated pupils and the dizzy hunger on his face. “Where are we moving to?”
And just as I predicted, Gio pinned me onto the floor, forcing my legs apart as he pushed his bulge toward my core. I moaned, loudly, wrapping my legs around his waist, staring up at him coyly.
“Wherever you want, carina.” He smirked indulgently.
Then he pushed into me.
*Olivia*
One month later
In elementary school, we used to have a motivational poster on the walls of the principal’s office. It was of a line of cartoon birds sitting on a telephone wire, except one of the birds wasn’t a bird at all.
It was a fish. All the birds were happy and smiling, but the fish was not. The birds avoided the fish like the plague.
The poster said, “Just because you’re a fish, doesn’t mean you can’t hang with the birds.”
Honestly, the poster always confused me. How did the fish get on the telephone wire? How was it breathing air? Why were the birds all laughing when the fish looked so sad? Why was the fish sad in the first place?
It didn’t make sense to my young brain, and it still didn’t.
Yes, that is exactly what it meant. A fish couldn’t hang out with birds because fish weren’t birds. And every time I brought that point up to the principal, telling her a little rudely that the fish shouldn’t be on a telephone wire in the first place, she’d always smile sadly and tell me that one day I would understand.
Today, over fifteen years since I first saw that poster, I finally understood how that fish felt.
“Joey Baloney! How’s the wife?” Alessandro grinned, grasping the hand of a man with a severe case of dark freckles all over his body.
“Benny the beauty! I swear you get more handsome every time we see you.” Tallon winked at the gentleman wearing a fedora with, I had to admit, a rather handsome demeanor despite his age.
“Fish-eye and Cacti! I’ve missed you so much!” Dahlia grinned, rushing over to hug two older women, one with an eyepatch on her left eye, slightly covered by gray hair, and the other wearing a turtleneck sweater with cactuses all over it.
And with the three of them gone, I was left standing in the middle of the foyer with Elio in my arms, surrounded by dozens of strangers as they came pouring in from not only the front door but the windows and secret passages I hadn’t even known about.
I hadn’t realized what Gio had meant by inviting the whole family, but I certainly knew now. I plastered on a smile, entirely uncomfortable as weird nicknames were shouted and people rushed past me like I was a ghost.
No, not a ghost… I was like a fish in a room with birds.
I silently said an apology to the poor fish I had called out so many times in my youth, standing awkwardly in the way of everyone as Tallon, Alessandro, and Dahlia rushed around greeting everyone by name.
The cacophony of sounds was so loud that Elio whined into my shoulder, and I was about ready to call it a night and hide in the suite until things settled down when I finally saw a familiar face.
“Mom!” I breathed in relief, stepping forward as my mom pushed her way through the crowd. James and Becca were right behind her with huge smiles on their faces. I dodged my way around, meeting them in the middle, expecting one of my mom’s warm hugs like usual.
Instead, before I could even blink and comprehend what happened, Elio was plucked from my arms and my mom dodged me entirely, pecking kisses all over his face.
He giggled, babbling, “Gammy!” in sheer delight.
I stood there at a loss, a bit in shock as I watched my mother ignore me in favor of my baby. I dropped my arms to my side, blinking rapidly in sheer betrayal before Becca laughed, stepping forward to pull me into a hug.
