Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“If you need to get my son a surprise,” I said lowly, “ask my wife, or me. I’m sure you can get it just about anything for him. He’s not even one and a half yet.”
Sal chuckled. “Fair enough. Just figured it would be nice to surprise you as well.”
The easy set of his shoulders, the way his calm made me seem unreasonable, and his answer to my every question made my blood boil.
“Oh yeah?” I said. “What sort of surprise were you thinking for us?”
A flicker of something else, something darker, crossed his face. “Aw, nothing particular. What would you want?”
I saw red.
“See, I think you’re a fucking liar.” I stepped into his space, raising my voice. “I think you’re a bullshit fucking liar, and I think you were doing a damn sight more than planning a surprise for my fucking son!”
That dark look returned and stayed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Giovani, and I don’t much like the implication. Olivia wants me to be part of her life. I’m starting to worry you don’t trust your wife.”
“Don’t trust my—how dare you?” I bellowed. “I know her better than you ever will, and if you say shit to her about me, I will make you regret it.”
“I’ve shown both of you nothing but kindness,” Sal growled. “You can’t treat me like this.”
I scoffed. “If this is kindness, I’ll start making charitable donations of broken glass and spiked candy.”
“You don’t deserve my—” Sal started.
“I don’t care what you’re trying—” I interrupted.
The door to our room hit the wall behind me.
“What the…?” Olivia asked, her voice steely.
*Olivia*
Sal stepped easily away from Gio with his hands slightly raised, though I couldn’t tell if he was placating me or protecting himself from the quivering fury of my husband.
“I don’t know how to say this, Olivia, but Giovani is just being paranoid.”
Gio’s shoulders tensed further at the accusation, but he didn’t turn to me yet. I repositioned Elio on my hip and let my father continue.
“I was looking for the bathroom,” he said. “I got lost, found Elio’s room, and thought I might take a look-see at his toys for a later–” He glanced at his all-too-alert grandson in my arms. “For a later surprise.”
Gio turned then, slowly. Every line of his body was taut with tension, but the gaze that met mine lacked any heat. Instead, I found nothing but an open, honest bid for trust. He was begging me, with nothing but his eyes, to believe he wasn’t just paranoid, to trust him over my father.
I bit my lip. I’d just sworn I was going to trust Salvatore, but with Gio looking at me like I was the last thread between him and total insanity, I couldn’t bring myself to take his side.
“The bathroom’s the first door on the left from the dining room door I pointed you out of,” I said to Sal. “I don’t totally know how you missed it and came upstairs, but why don’t you head there, and Elio and I will be back to walk you out in a moment?”
“Not a problem. You probably have some things to talk about. I don’t know how I missed it, either.” He chuckled self-consciously and dodged around Gio to exit.
I settled Elio on the floor of his room with his animal noises toy, kissed him on the head, and pulled Gio out into the sitting room before shutting the door.
Sal absolutely couldn’t hear us at this point.
Gio held onto my hand softly. “Thank you, carina. I—”
My temper flared. “That was not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Why couldn’t you just do the one thing I asked and trust him?”
He dropped my hand as if it were hot. “I tried. I was going to my office, staying out of your way, but I caught him in Elio’s room. He was studying it like he’d need to recreate it later.”
“Like he’d need to recreate it later?” My eyebrows shot up. “Do you hear yourself? Why would he need to do that?”
A dark cloud passed over Gio’s face, but he simply shook his head. “I cannot shake the feeling that he’s up to something.”
I huffed and dropped onto the couch. “I need you to. He said he was looking for a present later. Why couldn’t that just be true, even if he wasn’t supposed to be there?”
“It’s possible,” Gio admitted through gritted teeth. “But don’t you think it’s strange he got all the way upstairs and into our room before thinking he might’ve had the directions wrong, even if he had something useful to do after he found Elio’s room? We’re on a different floor.”
I closed my eyes. That detail bothered me a little, but I couldn’t stand the conclusions Gio always leaped to.
He took my hands in his. “I’m sorry, carina.”
My eyes shot open, and I pulled my hands out of his. “Save it. You don’t mean it, and I don’t want to get into the habit of distrusting your apologies like I apparently have to your promises.”
Gio’s mouth fell slightly open, and he looked as if he’d been slapped. I regretted it instantly. I didn’t distrust him, not really. I was just tired of spending my days alone while he did god only knew what, tired of defending a father who had maybe just made his first real misstep.
He gathered himself quickly. If my husband knew one thing, it was how to take a hit.
“I am sorry,” he said. “If my words are no longer enough, I will do what I can to prove it to you. I meant to cause you no distress. I didn’t mean to cross paths with your father at all, to ensure your lunch went well.” He grimaced. “He’s leaving now?”
It was a good apology. I wanted to believe it, wanted to fall into his arms and weep my own apologies for what I’d said. I wanted the world to be simple enough that I could believe doing that wouldn’t just end us back in this exact same spot a week or a month from now, when Gio had some new scrap of “proof” my father wasn’t what he said.
But the angry part still had the reins.
“Of course that’s what you want to know.” I sighed. “Yes, he was already on his way out.”
He stood. “Let me see him out. I owe him an apology as well, and I’d like to show you I can behave civilly.”
“You owe him more than an apology,” I said. “But I don’t want you two fighting in the foyer. Take some time to cool off. You can say whatever you want in a few days.”
Gio crossed his arms. “How else can I make this up to you?”
I dropped my head back on the couch, all the fight draining out of me. How could he make this up? Maybe time travel, or a memory wizard, or actually trusting me like he claimed he did.
“I don’t know, Gio,” I said honestly. “It’s not about the fact that you yelled at my father, though, god, I wish you hadn’t. It’s about the fact that you keep promising to follow my lead and then turning around and doing whatever you damn well please. How do you fix that?”
The couch shifted as he sat back down next to me. “I don’t know yet either, carina, but believe me when I say I will find a way.”
I opened my eyes and found him leaning over me, his gaze boring into mine. He looked determined, earnest, and despite everything, I wanted to see what he came up with.
I patted him on the cheek. “Good luck.”
He leaned back, and I stood.
“I’m going to walk him out, and I honestly don’t want to hear anything else about this from you tonight. Can you put Elio in something cleaner and take him to play?”
Gio nodded, looking slightly more repentant.
