Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I sighed, my body relaxing as I leaned my head onto his shoulder.
“You’re right,” I admitted, a bit unhappily.
I could feel his grin even if I couldn’t see it, and I rolled my eyes, snuggling into the crook of his neck for comfort. His arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me close, and I felt the halo of safety that always surrounded me when I was in his arms.
The most important thing right now was to establish a solid foundation between us and Elena. Gio had a hard time trusting due to his job and how he lived, and I had to admit I still had a few reservations myself.
I liked Elena, and I considered her a friend and a kind person, but that wasn’t enough to invite her into our home, to take such a significant step before we knew if she could be trusted with the secrets she didn’t know about.
If she found out Gio was the boss of the mafia, she could take off, and we’d lose our baby with her. The thought squeezed my heart uncomfortably. Now that the little bean was growing, we had to take things slowly and cautiously.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment though. I wanted to keep the baby close, and the thought of something happening and us being so far away and unable to help was triggering my anxiety. But still, I had to respect Gio’s stance on this.
This could have a massive impact on our relationship, and it couldn’t be decided just like this.
I pulled back from his arms, staring him straight in the face determinedly. Even under the pressure of his caution and overprotectiveness, I was still me. And I believed in people. That included giving Elena the benefit of the doubt.
“We’ll do it your way,” I said softly. “But promise me you’ll give her a proper chance. Be more open-minded. Not everyone is out to get you, Gio. She’s a really good person. Give her a chance to show you that.”
He hummed, the hesitation clear as day on his face, but eventually, he nodded. I beamed, kissing him on the lips before getting to my feet.
“I’ll text her to let her know we need more time to discuss things before we decide anything,” I chirped happily.
As I sent the text message, I couldn’t help but see the reservation in Gio’s eyes as he watched me. Despite what he promised me, I knew it would be a long journey for Elena to earn his full trust.
I only hoped I was right–that Elena was the kind of person I believed she was.
*Dahlia*
Olivia was sunshine. She was warm beams of rays on a cloudy day and the epitome of optimism if it could be bottled.
I knew better than anyone how kind and understanding she could be. She was the kind of person who others latched onto, especially those who didn’t have that kind of warmth. She was a beacon for them, a lighthouse guiding them toward her.
It was why Tallon always listened to her even though he drove all our parents nuts with his rebellious and mischievous ways. He pulled pranks on everyone, but never Olivia.
It was why Alessandro, with all of his brutish ways, treated her like she was precious. He’d left bruises on me and Tallon after fights too often when we were younger, but not once did he lay a hand on Olivia.
It was why my parents adored her, why they treated her like a second daughter growing up, always praising her, my dad giving her the male affection she didn’t get at home.
It had always amazed me how she could have grown into such a caring person with only her mother there to guide her. Her mother was always so busy throwing herself into work to forget about the man who had abandoned them. She got better later on, but as a small child, I had seen the way Olivia had been the one to take care of her mom, not the other way around.
And her father… well, no one had seen the bastard, even before Olivia’s mom came to work with us. And her mom never spoke of him. It was possible to believe he didn’t even exist with the way he had just simply vanished.
But the absence he left was there, even if they ignored it.
I wasn’t stupid. My family and I… weren’t exactly good people. I’d always known the dangers of being tied to such dangerous work, and I had never wanted Olivia to get involved. She was too soft, too kind for this kind of place.
I never wanted anyone to have the chance to snuff out her light.
But she’d surprised me. Despite everything that had happened, all the fear and complications, I never expected Olivia to have remained so strong through it. Her light never dimmed, not even during the darkest of nights.
Instead, she kept burning, continuing to be a beacon that kept all of us revolving around her like she was the sun, and we were just caught in her orbit.
I hadn’t been surprised when I found out about her and Gio. It just made sense. She attracted people who didn’t have that light, and Gio had lived long enough in the dark that even he couldn’t resist her.
He loved her, and she loved him. That was all that mattered to me.
As long as she kept smiling, I would be right beside her, supporting her in whatever way she needed me. She was more than my best friend and a sister–she was the only person I loved more than the world itself. I would burn it down for her, reach into hell and come back as long as she asked me to. If anyone, and I mean anyone, threatened her happiness, they would have to deal with me first.
And this Elena girl was getting dangerously close to that line.
Elena giggled as we sat out on the porch under one of the big umbrellas. The ice in the tea in front of me was slowly melting, but I hadn’t taken a single sip as I kept glancing at Elena.
The casual hangout had been Olivia’s idea, a hope to strengthen the bond between us–camaraderie, she’d said.
“So if you could go anywhere, where would you like to visit, Olivia?” Elena asked lightheartedly. She was just making conversation, enjoying the visit, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn’t shake.
“This sounds weird, but I’ve always wanted to visit Reykjavik,” Olivia laughed.
“Iceland?” Elena asked, surprised.
I smirked, glancing at Olivia, who blushed like a ripe tomato as she nodded in confirmation.
“You want to see the street art, right?” I piped up, remembering how she’d often go on and on about the city.
“Of course!” Olivia gushed, then explained further once Elena sent her a questioning look. “The laws about graffiti art are so lax there that local artists have taken to painting the streets, literally. I’ve seen some of the work, and it’s gorgeous. And because it’s street art, it gets repainted or faded away, and there are always new ones. The city is always changing, bathed in color and creativity.”
“I don’t know why, but I think she likes art,” I teased her with a mischievous smile. “What do you think, Elena?”
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye as she laughed.
“Oh, I don’t think she likes art,” Elena shot back with a grin. “I think she’s obsessed!”
“Guys,” Olivia whined, her cheeks burning red.
“Sorry, sorry,” I laughed, waving her embarrassment off. It was endearing how lost she could get in her rants about art, just like I could with makeup and fashion. As different as we were, she had always been willing to listen to me about anything. And I gladly did the same.
“Sorry,” a deeper voice piped up, and I turned in my seat to see Gio slide out the back door and enter the patio. He gave us an apologetic smile, taking the seat next to Olivia. “I had a call about something important. What were we talking about?”
Elena, in the seat on the other side of Gio, beamed, leaning forward on the table as her eyes fixated on him. Any normal woman would’ve looked away as Gio laid a kiss on Olivia’s temple, the two sharing an intimate scene, but not Elena.
“Traveling.” Elena interrupted the two, smiling brightly as they turned to look at her. “By the way, is there any place you would like to go that you haven’t been, Giovani?”
I narrowed my eyes at her, my keen intuition picking up. She scooched her chair just the slightest bit closer to Gio, and she called out his name like she was intimate with it. But I didn’t recall him ever giving her permission to call him by his first name.
Gio raised an eyebrow, a tiny hint of annoyance in his eyes, and I knew that he hadn’t.
Elena didn’t seem to care, though. She seemed innocent as she smiled brightly, and she stared at him far longer than was polite, completely overly attentive to him. It was like she’d forgotten Olivia and I were even here.
“I haven’t thought about it,” Gio said, slowly. “I’ve visited most places I’ve wanted to go.”
“That’s wonderful,” Elena giggled, leaning over the table, just a bit too close than was appropriate. “Olivia said she wanted to go to Iceland.”
Olivia blushed, startled at being thrown under the bus.
