Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 934 : More beautiful than roses

*Leo*

The map of LA in front of me didn’t make any sense. I brushed my hand over my face in frustration, feeling the five o’clock shadow growing into a beard after almost four days of not going home.

The Chinese takeout boxes towered on the table as Franky glared at me across the room. I didn’t pay him any mind, he’d been glaring at me for hours now and we both knew why.

“Get the fuck out,” Franky snapped at me, his little limit of patience having worn out four days ago.

I rolled my eyes, reviewing the map again as I glanced over the blackout zones we’d drawn up. The map was a detailed plan of every location we knew of Michael’s previous hideouts or drop zones and ones we knew he’d abandoned.

Luckily, the warehouse is in a blackout zone.

“Beverly Park and Bel Air are still the best contenders, though I still think Crestview and Santa Monica are the most likely. Did we check out the warehouse district thoroughly?” I wondered aloud, tapping the steel pen against my bottom lip as I went through the options for what felt like the fiftieth time tonight.

“Yes,” Franky glowered at me, “Now will you quit this and fucking go home? It’s after four and you promised your girlfriend you’d get there at five!”

“There’s still plenty of time,” I dismissed him with a wave, “I think we should rethink Crestview actually. Security isn’t as tight over there so it’d be easy to get in and out without us finding a hint of his location.”

Four days. It took four days for Franky to finally blow his lid.

“Enough!” Franky snatched the map away from me in a furious rage, rolling it up and tucking it into his back pocket before I could grab it, and slammed both of his palms onto the table. He rattled the tower of Chinese food containers which spilled a bunch of the day-old noodles onto his laptop.

“Um, laptop,” I pointed casually to the laptop now covered in day-old lo mein noodles.

“I have been with you for nearly four days! Go home and stop bothering me!” Franky snapped. I pursed my lips, giving him a narrow-eyed look but even I knew when I’d tested a person’s patience to the limit.

“Alright, alright, already,” I sighed, not exactly excited about heading home when we still had so much work piled up. But Franky looked so relieved as I stood up and gathered my things that I didn’t have the heart to linger anymore.

He led me to the door, looking exhausted like he hadn’t slept in days and that was partially my fault, to be honest. I grimaced as I finally stood in the doorway, not really sure if I was ready to face Bianca and whatever she had planned for tonight.

But I knew it was for the best.

“Thanks for being a good friend,” I said to Franky with a half-smile. “Even if I still think you’re a cold-hearted ass sometimes.”

Franky snorted. “Nice way to repay me for ordering you almost 300 dollars of Chinese food over the past few days.”

“What can I say? I love their Lo mein,” I laughed, my spirits brightening from the dark depths they’d been stuck in. I didn’t feel so apprehensive anymore as I finally left. Franky didn’t live far from the compound so I knew I had time.

Bianca had been suffering alone without me these past few days and I still remembered the heartbreaking sobs that had plagued her when she called me last night. I knew if I wanted to stay by her side, I’d have to make it up to her.

I stopped at a few stores on the way home to pick up a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for her. Even if it did make me remember the disaster that was the last bouquet. When I’d caught her at the bonfire and exploded out of jealousy at her.

Then I stopped as I planned by the jewelry store to pick up the gift I ordered for her in advance. The velvet box was heavier than expected but no less dazzling once I opened it to check on it.

It had been months of waiting for the custom design and even if things between us were more rocky than when I’d first ordered it, one thing hadn’t changed a bit. I still loved her to death and I still knew that she was the one for me.

I rushed through the LA streets, getting stuck in traffic which made me nervously keep glancing at the clock on the dash. Minutes ticked away with every look and by the time I pulled into the driveway, I knew I was fucking late.

Only by a few minutes but that was enough to ruin the night after all the bullshit I’d put her through these past few weeks. I grabbed her presents and rushed in, not even bothering to fix my outfit or hair. The door opened before I even reached the front steps and there stood Bianca.

Cast in a warm glow from the hallway lights, her eyes sparkled with joy and relief as she watched me approach. She was gorgeous in an off-shoulder burgundy dress with a lace skirt that was shorter in the front, giving a few of her long tanned legs and the simple silver strappy heels she wore. The back of her skirt was longer, framing her body perfectly as the bodice made of an intricate beaded craft hugged her waist.

She’d pulled out all the stops, hair curled into soft waves and pulled over one shoulder, her lips lined with her favorite red pulled up into a beautiful smile as I approached. My heart was thudding inside of my chest like a drum and just the vision of her had knocked all the air from my lungs.

How the fuck had I stayed away from her for so long?

I stopped in front of her, feeling like a nervous teen picking up his date for prom again as I passed over the bouquet of flowers to her.

“I’m sorry I’m, uh, late,” I said awkwardly, not sure I even remembered words when she looked like a goddess. I stepped inside and shut the door behind me as she smiled widely at the bouquet of flowers I’d given her.

Not even the roses compared to her beauty as she took a long deep breath of their scent. I handed her the velvet box next and her eyes widened in surprise as she set the flowers down on the side table next to the door.

She gasped as she opened it up. Inside was the golden heart-shaped locket I’d had personally forged and engraved with our initials.

“May I?” I asked gently and she nodded happily as I stepped around her. I brushed her hair from her neck as I laid the locket across her skin and clasped it behind her.

“It’s beautiful, the flowers too, Leo,” She turned around to give me a warm smile, “I love them but it’s the effort you’ve put into this that means more to me.”

I swallowed the apologies in my throat because I knew there was no need for them anymore. She’s more than I ever deserved and she’d long forgiven me. She’d once more proven just how lucky I was to have her.

“I missed you so much,” I pulled her into my arms, burying my head into her neck as the sweet scent of her shampoo and perfume filled my nose. She held me back, clinging to me just as tightly.

All of the stress, anger and guilt that had been building for days just vanished as we stood there holding one another.

“Welcome home,” She whispered into my ear, sounding just as choked up as I was. I hadn’t realized the true torture I’d been putting myself through until now when I had her here in my arms. I doubted I could ever let go ever again as my heart finally felt full and alive.

I leaned back to cup her cheeks, laying a kiss on every part of her I could get as she giggled in response. Our lips met in a clash of intimate heat and sweetness that melted us both into one another.

“Come on then,” Bianca smiled widely, intertwining our fingers together as she turned to pull me up the stairs. I followed, entranced by her figure and the love that was trying to burst out of my chest for her. She pulled me to the roof where I stepped into the romantic candlelight dinner she’d put together.

It was gorgeous and the food smelled better than anything I’d eaten in days. My mouth salivated as I took my seat across from her, awe in my eyes at how she’d managed to put this together.

“Even if we’re stuck inside, I wanted to make the best of it, you know?” She blushed when I asked.

I glanced at the warm delicious food and the brilliant lights above us as it overlooked the garden of what was quickly settling into my mind as ‘home’. Then I stared into the eyes of the woman I loved the most and melted like chocolate on a hot day.

I couldn’t contain myself any longer as I walked around to her side. She gave me a confused look but giggled as I lifted her into my arms and sat down, laying her on top of my lap. I brushed my hand across her cheek, her flushed cheeks a contrast to my worn hands as I pulled our foreheads together.

Her eyes reflected the skies above and even without any stars on a cloudy night, it was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“I love you and I swear to you, as soon as all of this is over, I will never leave your side again. I’ll pamper you with everything I have so you won’t ever have to lift a finger and give you the life you deserve. I won’t ever let anyone put you in danger again.”

“I believe you,” she whispered back, smiling as tears welled up in her eyes. I kissed her more passionately, like a seal to my vow and she wrapped her arms around my neck as we lost ourselves in one another.

But just when things were getting hot and heavy, my hand traveling up her thigh to under her skirt, Bianca suddenly lurched back with a horrified look on her face. She slammed her palm against her lips and jerked out of my arms before I could stop her.

Her brutal strength was more than I was expecting and I watched in shock as she rushed downstairs without even glancing behind me. Scared that I’d done something, I came to my senses soon after and followed her. I found her in a familiar scenario.

Gripping the toilet and heaving out her guts, I fell to my knees behind her as I held her hair back. She threw up everything she ate, lasting far longer than the previous time and my anxiety shot through the roof the longer I watched.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her throwing up like this. But she was supposed to have recovered from her ‘stomach bug’. An uneasy silence fell between us as a possibility I didn’t want to think occurred in my head.

But Bianca groaned and I pushed it away as I lifted her into my arms. She was exhausted, completely out of it as I took her back to bed but my mind was a mess. Terrified, my whole body felt cold in shock as I mechanically tucked her into bed.

It’s only once her eyes opened again and she whispered an apology that my spirit returned back to me. I glanced at her apologetic and scared eyes, wondering if it was even possible. And if it was...

What the hell were we going to do?

“Bianca,” I started more calmly than I felt, terror gripping my throat as I forced the words out. “Are you pregnant?”