Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 964 : Ours now

*Leo*

The slow wake in the morning felt more like a dream than actual reality. It was late morning, considering the bright lights shining through the curtains. I blearily blinked my eyes, as I stared at the ceiling above me, feeling oddly cold for some reason.

It wasn’t until I sat up that I realized why.

I stared point-blankly at the one part of me that clearly wasn’t as cold as the rest of me and then slowly turned to my side. There I found a mess of hair buried inside of a burrito of blankets. Only one side of my leg still had any part covered under me.

“Blanket hog,” I whispered with a smirk. I’d long grown used to her behavior when it came to stealing the blankets in the middle of the night, especially when it was cold out. It honestly didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I wasn’t shy and neither were the other parts of me.

“Baby,” I lay down beside Bianca, curling close to the burrito shape of my future wife, and gently brushed my fingers through her hair. As I did, the sunlight glimpsed against the band around my finger.

My engagement ring.

An identical band to the one I knew rested on Bianca’s finger, without the big ass diamonds of course. Even just glimpsing it like this filled me with enough warmth to last a lifetime. Bianca is mine and I’m hers.

Finally was all I could think.

I felt amazing, practically glowing with satisfaction after such an amazing night. If I knew the wonders such a little piece of metal could do, I would have proposed the first day I met her.

Even back then, I knew she was the only woman I would love. My bride and future wife. Even after the night, we had ravished one another until the early morning light, I still couldn’t quite get enough.

“Hey, baby,” I gently woke her, uncurling the layers of blanket she’d rolled herself around in under I spotted her beautiful face. And all the bruises lining her neck and shoulders. She’d be furious once she saw them.

But it wasn’t like she hadn’t left her own all over me as well.

I still felt a sting on my back from where her nails had dug in.

“Hmm,” Bianca frowned, half asleep still as I pulled her from her warm blanket burrito. But she stubbornly resisted, burying herself deeper. “No waking time yet.”

“Come on, we have to get up. It’s almost time for the plane to leave, remember?” I told her as gently as I could, finding her childish side when she was half-asleep more charming than it should be. But it was a part of her that was mine and mine alone.

One only I got to see.

I laughed as she pouted, just being difficult now as I tugged the blankets away from her face and finally pulled off my last move to get her up.

I laid my lips against her warm ones, savoring her sweet taste on my tongue as she easily let me in, going utterly limp as she stopped fighting me and started pulling me towards her on instinct. Even half-asleep, she still recognized it was me.

“Hmm,” Bianca mumbled as I pulled back, smirking at her dazed expression as she finally opened up her eyes. “What was that for?”

“To wake my sleeping princess,” I answered, grinning widely at how corny it sounded. But it was worth it to see the smile that split across her lips, giggling like I’d said the funniest thing in the world.

It took a while to coax my gorgeous fiance into the shower but once she was up and moving, she woke up real quick. We had to rush to get dressed, pack our bags, and head downstairs finally.

As soon as we got downstairs, we found the usually chaotic family completely ready to go as they chatted in the living room together, bundled up in nice jackets.

As soon as Bianca walked in with her full scarf around her neck, my mother-in-law gave me a smirk as she crossed her arms.

“Have fun last night? I hope you didn’t stay up too late,” Lucia teased as Bianca paused in the doorway, her face slowly heating up into a bright red. “I swear I thought I could hear you two up all night.”

Bianca’s Aunts snickered, sending her a knowing look as my tomato-red fiance glanced from her mother’s knowing smirk straight at me. Meanwhile, I caught the thumbs up and winks from her uncles from where they hovered behind their wives.

I laughed and seeing how adorable she was, all cuddled up under layers and utterly embarrassed, I just couldn’t help myself.

“Oh, we were,” I gave Bianca a shit-eating grin as I pulled her closer to my side, dipping my hand from her waist down to her butt as she let out a loud squeak. “We had a very enjoyable night and morning.”

“Leo!” Bianca dodged my hands, glaring at me as she stood on her tippy-toes to slam her hands over my mouth. She was near tears now as chuckles echoed behind her from her family and I felt a little bad for driving her to this point.

But also not really at all.

“Oh come on now, you think we all weren’t newlyweds at one point or another?” Lucia waved a dismissive hand. “Your father proposed to me on a weekend cruise and I used to tell him all the time, he should’ve booked a bedroom ’cause that was the only thing I saw.”

“Mom!” Bianca gasped then let out a groan as she buried her face in her hands. “Can we please stop? I don’t need to know this.”

“Oh, stop teasing the poor girl,” her aunt finally stepped in. “I’ll get the kids so we can head out now. Fire in the hole.”

I was left the only clueless one as the adults all sighed and then raised their hands to cover their ears.

“What do you–”

The resounding banshee screech that came out of Rosa was like a dog whistle for all I knew because, for the next two hours, all I could hear was a ringing in my ears.

Even mostly deaf, Bianca and her family didn’t fail to include me as we watched Rosa attempt to round up her kids for nearly an hour, both sides even setting up traps to catch the mischievous twins and the teenager who somehow found his way onto the roof with his headphones.

But eventually, Nicolo came down after his mother turned off the wifi and she captured the twins by putting their jackets on backward and swaddling them in burritos. Much like Bianca herself this morning.

I helped move the luggage, which included a cackling Cesare as we tossed him into the back of the limo and headed to the airstrip. From there, it was smooth sailing.

My hearing eventually returned to normal and by that time, Bianca was dozing on my shoulder and little Cesare was curled up on my lap. I held Bianca’s hand, lazily rubbing the sleepy five-year-old’s back.

It felt a little surreal, sitting here thousands of miles up in the sky with my fiance by my side and a warm child in my lap. But it also didn’t feel wrong. This is exactly what I was meant to do with my life.

I couldn’t help but imagine as I brushed my fingers through Rolando’s curly hair what our baby would look like. A baby girl with Bianca’s rosy complexion and angelic eyes? A son with chubby cheeks and a bright smile like his mother?

The possibilities were endless in my mind, imagining four or five little ones running around my legs, looking up to me as they called me ‘Dad’. I couldn’t help but wonder what Christmas mornings would be like.

Waking them up to presents and candy. Bringing them to Italy every New Year to see the fireworks. Every birthday with cheeks smeared with icing and the sound of laughter ringing in our ears.

A family.

Our family.

We arrived back in Italy hours after our original schedule but it didn’t matter all that much. We took Bianca’s family back to their house. Bianca went to pack up the rest of our stuff while I stayed with her mom and family in the living room.

Rolando clung to me tightly, fists balled up on my shirt like he was insisting on going with us but I could only smile sadly as Rosa gently pulled him into her arms. He gave me big sad eyes.

“We’ll be back before you know it, kid,” I told him to cheer him up. I poked his forehead. “And we’ll bring more presents next time.”

He pouted but nodded sullenly.

“I want a trampoline,” Chiara said confidently, crossing her arms as she demanded the present. “Or you have to take me with you.”

“Yeah!” Cesare followed her lead from where he was clinging desperately to my leg on his sister’s command.

“A trampoline it is then,” I laughed, giving Cesare a hand as he scrambled to his feet in celebration.

“Yay!” The twins cheered, rushing off then.

“They’re a handful,” Bianca sighed as she came in lugging the last of our luggage on wheels. “I hope they don’t cause too much trouble for you, Aunt Rosa.”

“Oh, we know how to handle them,” Aunt Rosa smiled, kissing Bianca on the cheek. “You just worry about yourself over there.”

“I will. I have Leo, don’t I?” She glanced at me with a reassured smile, her confidence in me shining out like a bright light. I puffed out my chest, proud that I’d gained her trust as well as her love now.

She said goodbye to her Aunts and Uncles, until finally facing her mother.

“I’m gonna be okay, you know,” Bianca smiled softly as her mother stared at her with watery eyes.

“Oh, I know that, Paperella,” Lucia pulled her into a tight hug, “You’re strong just like your Papa. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little longer?”

“Mama,” Bianca pulled back with a pointed look.

“I know, I know,” Lucia sighed, turning to me with a sad smile. She stepped back from her daughter and then pulled me into a hug too. “Take care of my baby girl, okay? And don’t forget yourself, Leo. You’re family now. Don’t forget that.”

My throat swelled up with emotion and all I could do was hug her back. I could see the tears shining in Bianca’s eyes, her heart breaking at having to say goodbye again but there was a calmness.

She’d decided to go. Not even I could stop her now.

We left with heavy hearts and part of me actually felt like I was leaving behind family. It was a weird feeling but not unwelcome.

“So, what did you think?” Bianca asked with a big grin as we slid into the car, ready to head back to LA. “About meeting my family? As crazy as you thought they’d be?”

“Oh, definitely crazier,” I laughed, nudging her shoulder playfully. “But now I can understand how they raised such a wonderful daughter. Your family is just as loving as you are.”

She beamed, then leaned forward to kiss me on the cheek.

“It’s not just my family, Leo. It’s ours now.”