Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 958 : Two Cents

*Bianca*

The shopping trip with Mom was fun. However, I think I bought entirely too much at the baby store. Besides, I was not going to need most of this stuff for another six and a half months or so. By the time I had nearly bought the store out of its newborn onesie sets, Mom called me to the side of the store where she was.

I was thrilled to find all kinds of cute maternity clothes. Many of the shirts had cute sayings like, “Baby on Board,” and “Bun in the Oven.” I had to get a few of those too. There were these really awesome shoes that felt as if my feet just melted into them. It was like walking on clouds.

I wanted to wear them even when I was not pregnant. They were splendid. I saw a few caps for the baby, shorts, t-shirts, and all kinds of nifty stuff. I had to grab a blanket or two. I even bought Leo a keychain that said, “Big Daddy.” I figured he would get a kick out of that one with its double-entendre.

Mom and I were weighed down with shopping bags when we left the baby store.

“didn’t you say, you didn’t need all this stuff?” Mom asked, a cagey look in her eyes.

“Do not start, old woman,” I teased, “this is all your fault.”

Mom threw her head back and howled with laughter.

“You evil woman, you,” I accused.

It just made Mom laugh even harder, clutching her stomach as we found our way back to the car. I attempted to glare at her, but her laughter was contagious, and I began laughing along with her as we packed all our bags into the car.

“Do we need anything else?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t think so, dear. I believe you bought them all out.”

I blew Mom a raspberry and drove us back home.

I walked through the door, looking around and feeling rather sheepish as I made my way to my and Leo’s room.

“Where is Leo?“ I ask when I realize I had not seen him since I walked through the door.

“He left with Taylor a little while ago,“ one of the cousins told me.

I was a little shocked and disappointed to see that he had left and went somewhere while I was gone. Would he be back? Is he safe? Those thoughts ran through my mind as I looked around a little bit worried and upset.

As I stood, gazing out the window at the backyard in all its pristine whiteness, Leo and Taylor shuffled through the front door behind me. I turned around and glared at him. He gave me one of his charming smiles, but that did not deter me from scowling right back at him.

“How was your shopping trip, sweetheart?“ He asked, putting his good arm around me and pulling me closer to him.

“Where were you?“ I asked, lifting my head for his kiss, even though I was angry with him.

“I’ll have to tell you about it later,“ he promised, kissing my lips and pulling me even closer, so my body was flush against his.

“You had better,“ I ordered, straightening the collar of his shirt and stealing another kiss from him.

“So, are you going to answer me?“ he asked, still smiling down at me.

“About what?“ I asked, looking away from his teasing eyes.

“How did your shopping trip go?“ he asked again.

I felt a little embarrassed and guilty again And I tried to pull away from him.

“It went well. We got everything we needed and more.” I said, pressing my hands against his chest, trying to push him away from me, but Leo did not budge.

“Bianca, why are you blushing, sweetheart?“ he asked, his expression teasing.

It was his I know you’re up to something expression he had adopted with me a few months after we first started being together. He kissed my nose, and peered at me, a gleam of mischief in his dark eyes.

“Fine,“ I grumbled and pulled him into our room where I had hidden my loot.

I pulled the bag from beneath the bed where I hit it. I pulled out onesie set after onesie set and showed him the different items I bought for me and the baby.

“I’m so sorry, Leo, I spent entirely too much money, but they’re so cute. I really was excited about the different items that they had for the baby. They were so adorable. These tiny little clothes that barely fit over one of my hands and the little booties that only fit over the tip of one of my fingers...”

“Sweetheart,“ Leo laughed, “we don’t even know if the baby is a boy or a girl yet.“

I pushed at his good shoulder.

“Stop it, it is not that funny,“ I said, laughing along with him.

When we walked back out into the family room, Leo sat beside me and held me close to him.

“Will you go on a date with me on New Year’s? Just you and me?” he asked, staring into my eyes as if this were the most important question of our lives.

I grinned at his anxious and grave expression, but nodded my ascent.

“Auh, Leo, you the man,” Taylor teased. “You already making sure you have her all to yourself for the real question?”

I looked over at Taylor for a moment, then back at Leo.

“I have no clue what this person is talking about. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure I know him at all. Do you know him, love?” Leo asked, pulling me into his lap and away from Taylor’s side of the couch, as if Taylor were really a stranger.

I laughed at Leo’s antics, but I was curious about what he and Taylor were talking about.

“Oh, ho, ho, don’t even try it, Leo. We all know you’re Mr. Romantic. Will there be candlelight, stargazing and all that shit before you whip out the big Q?” Taylor asked, with a wink.

“Big Q?” I asked, a little confused, but getting excited by the idea that was running through my mind.

“Shit, Taylor, I can’t tell you shit. You’re like the ocean, you can’t hold water.”

I laughed at them both. “You expected Taylor to keep your secret. No one warned you that he was the last person to tell your secrets and expect them to be kept? He is worse than a gaggle of old women. If he were constipated, he would not be able to hold shit.”

““Shut up, Bianca, I kept plenty of your secrets.”

“That is why Leo found out about the baby before I could tell him myself,” I asked, with a lifted brow.

Taylor’s cheeks turned crimson and he looked away sheepishly.

“That is what I thought.” I smirked.

“Are they always like this?” Leo asked Mom as she brought in the afternoon tea.

“Since they were knee-high to a duck,” Mom said, with a smile.

“So, about this question,” I probe, kissing Leo’s cheeks, forehead, chin, then his lips.

“Bribing me?” he asked against my lips.

“You bet, sweetheart,” I sassed back.

He chuckled and patted my bottom before setting me aside to fix tea for the both of us and pass the plates around the family room, so everyone could sip tea and snack.

“I was thinking about it since that was what I’d promised you. I figured I’d take you out for dinner and ask you then.”

I looked at him. Gazing at that gorgeous profile, those strong arms that ended in broad palms, and long strong fingers. From his head to his toes, I loved this man. Everything about him called to me. no matter what he had done or would do, I would love him.

It was probably a good thing he did not know that. Not that I thought Leo was the type of man to take advantage of love given unconditionally. I could see that he would treasure it, as he seemed to cherish the love Mom showered on him since he had been here.

“That is so sweet,” I told him and kissed his lips.

While I kissed Leo, one of the family felt they had the right to put their two cents into our business.

“Yeah, well, it isn’t so sweet when he forgot to talk to the men of your family and ask for your hand in marriage,” Zio Cedro argued.

“Cedro!” Mom hissed.

“You know he’s right, Lucia. It’s the way things are done,” Zia Rosa started, but I cut them all off, as it seemed like the entire family was about to start discussing my love life as if it were their own.

“Do you think your opinion is the one he needs most with your bickering and endless negativity? I would not have asked for your blessing either. You do not seem to be willing to give it or at least to be open to seeing what is best for me instead of basking in your self-righteousness.”

I leveled a glare at each one of them with their judgmental opinions and angry expressions. I was tired of them giving Leo death glares for nothing and everything. So, he had made a mistake in coming here, not knowing Michael would follow him across the freaking Atlantic Ocean. Hell, I had not thought of it either.

Who did that? Who left their homes in the middle of the holidays to follow an enemy across the world for revenge? I had read about it in books and seen it in movies, but I had never heard of it happening in real life. I guess I was naïve after all, but Leo was not to blame for the acts of a madman.

I think I had shocked everyone into silence. We all ate and drank our tea in silence after my little outburst. There was so much tension in the room it could have been sliced with a pastry cutter, but I did not care if they were angry or not. Sure, I wanted their blessing, but I would not let them treat Leo that way. He did not deserve it.

Later, when Leo and I were alone, he gave me an inquisitive look.

“What is that look for?” I asked, pulling on an oversized nightshirt.

“I know that out there you were just taking up for me, but does it matter to you?”

I sat on the side of the bed, letting down my hair from the bun I wore it in all day and handed Leo the brush.

“Well, yes, I care about their opinion. I love them, but I would marry you regardless of what they say. Zio Cedro was only being contrary. He will find ways to make life hard even when there is nothing to complain about. That is his way. Just as Zia Rosa said, asking for the family’s blessing is our way.”

“Then I will get their blessing before I propose to you,” Leo promised, while running the brush through my hair and kissing my nape.

“Sweetheart, you should not try too hard to win them over. They will come around in time.”

“I’ll win their trust and their blessing,” Leo vowed, turning me in his arms and kissing me hard to seal the deal.

I wrapped my arms around him and hoped for the best because I could tell Leo stopped listening to me and was hell bent on impressing my family so he could win my hand in marriage.