Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 965 : Home Sweet Home

*Leo*

From the mild cold of Italy, stepping back into the dry heat of California felt like going from an ice box into a desert. Bianca and I took it pretty well as we finally got back to the compound here in LA.

As much as I loved Bianca’s family and loved being in Italy again, LA would always be my home. Where I grew up and the place I’d made a name for myself. There was nowhere else I considered home.

“Home sweet home,” Bianca said tiredly as we got got in sometime in the afternoon. She was already sweating just from the drive from the airstrip. I unlocked the door with a chuckle as Bianca pushed past me into the hall, sighing in relief.

“Air conditioning?” I asked with a raised eyebrow still loitering in the doorway.

“Air conditioning,” she confirmed with a blissful nod. I made sure to turn down the temperature on the thermostat as Bianca went to collapse on the couch and I made a routine check of the surroundings.

Everything was as usual though I did clock the few moved items, from the housekeeper most likely since I knew they’d been taking care of the place since I left all of a sudden. Once I was sure everything was secure, I headed back to my fiance who was carrying my child.

“All normal?” she asked as I plopped down on the couch next to her. She wrinkled her nose as she pushed me away. “Ew, it’s too hot for that. You stink.”

“Like you smell any better,” I playfully grabbed her around the waist, ignoring her shrieks of protesting laughter as I pulled her to my side anyway. Even if it was hot and we were both sweating like pigs, I still felt the best always having her in reach of me.

I laid my head on her shoulder as I propped up our legs. She relaxed into me as she turned on the TV, surfing before finding a mindless show to watch. It was oddly mundane, especially after all the craziness we’d had before we’d both left for Italy.

But it felt good to be home.

“Any idea when you go back to work?” Bianca asked, glancing over her shoulder at me.

“Probably tomorrow,” I shrugged. I’d already talked to Franky about it and though he wasn’t happy since he’d been covering me the entire time I was out due to my injury, he took the rest of the day to get settled back into a new routine before going back.

I figured that was the least he could do considering we got rid of Michael once and for all.

Things should be running much smoother now that he wouldn’t be a problem any longer.

I leaned my head back, sighing to relax as Bianca played with my fingers, especially focusing on the ring on my finger. I noticed her nervous habit and though I wanted to be patient, I knew she wouldn’t speak unless I made an opening for her.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, giving her a tired but amused smile.

She gave me a startled look, as if I’d read her mind but I didn’t need mind-reading powers. By now, I knew her thoughts by heart.

“I’m just...thinking about the future, mainly,” Bianca admitted then sighed. “We’re good now but there’s still a lot to think about. The baby is coming fast and I’m not sure we’re ready quite yet, to be honest. Or at least, I’m not ready. I still don’t know what I want to do with school. I’m thinking maybe online once he arrives but babies take a long time to grow up. I don’t want to push my degree to the back burner for that long.”

“Then don’t,” I said, resting my chin on her shoulder. “Sure, for a few months, you might have to do online classes just to make sure you and the baby are ready but after that, there are plenty of mothers who work or go to school while being a new mom. The baby won’t hold you back. I’m sure your family wouldn’t mind coming down to help you out at least once and a while or we can hire someone to help babysit or think about daycare. There are options, Bianca. Most importantly though, don’t forget that I’m here too. It’s my baby just as much as yours so I’ll be here every step of the way. We’ll get through this together.”

“You’re right,” She sighed, looking lighter as she gave me a relieved smile. “What about you? You said you were still thinking about finding a replacement, right?”

“Right,” I hesitated but seeing the look in her eyes, I knew there would be no hiding it. Honesty was always the best way to go when it came to her. “Alessandro is still looking into it. He said he might have a candidate but it’s not a guarantee yet. I promise you though I’m doing everything I can to hurry up the process. I don’t ever want to put you or the baby in danger ever again.”

“Leo,” She laughed, turning in my arms so she could kiss my jaw. “I believe you. All I care about is that you’re honest with me. That’s what’s most important, everything else is just...confetti.”

“Confetti?” I laughed at the absurdity.

“Sorry,” She said sheepishly, “Didn’t have a better metaphor.”

“I love you,” I murmured, giving her a kiss.

“I know,” She winked cheekily as I pulled away, then she turned back to snuggle in my arms as she turned up the volume on the TV. “Now let me watch my show and cool off.”

“Really?” I looked at her in disbelief. “The show is more important to you than me?”

“Right now? Yes,” she reached up blindly to pat my cheek, missing a few times and nearly hitting me in the eye. She didn’t even look at me with her eyes glued to the screen. “Now shush. It’s the new episode.”

Turns out the new episode she mentioned lasted into a three-hour marathon. Which only ended with the death of her favorite character and a complete mental breakdown I had to comfort her through. It really only got solved when I put on her favorite comfort movie, ordered her favorite takeout, and bought her a pint of ice cream.

However, it did disgust me a bit to see her dip her pickles into her chocolate ice cream.

I didn’t dare show it though.

By the time the night was over, we were both exhausted and I had to carry my passed-out fiance up to our room, which to my surprise looked exactly like before she left. I tucked her into bed, before heading into a shower for myself.

After a shower, a new change of clothes, and brushing my teeth, I felt like a brand new person. I slid into the sheets, the blanket already being hogged over to her side of the bed. I did manage to get my own corner of it as I pulled her into my chest and she immediately curled up around me like a purring kitty cat.

But unfortunately for me, there wouldn’t be any rest for me tonight.

No sooner had I just shut my eyes than my phone plugged in on my nightstand started to vibrate, the screen lighting up in the darkness. I groaned, glaring over at it before fishing for it.

If it was Franky again, I swear I was going to–

But it wasn’t.

I hesitated to answer, staring at the screen for a few seconds as it vibrated on silent, and then looked over at Bianca as she peacefully slept away, completely unaware. I heaved a sigh and then slowly rolled out of bed.

The floorboards creaked under my feet as I snuck out of our room to the balcony. Dressed in only a loose t-shirt and boxers, the LA nights were just as cold as the days were hot and a shiver ran down my spine as I leaned against the railing and finally answered the phone.

“What is it, Al?” I asked cautiously, pretty sure he wouldn’t be calling me this soon after leaving Italy if it wasn’t bad news.

“I see you guys got back to LA pretty quick. How’s that injury?” Alessandro asked casually like I wasn’t answering his call at midnight.

“Fine. What do you want, Al?” I said curtly, not in the mood for going around in circles with how tired I was.

“Someone’s snappy,” Al snorted. “But fine. I found your guy.”

“My guy? What the fuck are you on about?”

“I mean the guy you wanted me to find for you. The one you kept pestering me about. Your replacement,” Alessandro snapped. “I found him.”

My whole body tensed like a live wire about to spark, I stared blankly at the walls surrounding the compound, running his sentence around in my mind again and again.

An odd feeling welled up in my chest, some kind of emotion I didn’t know how to name and all I could say to him in response was, “Oh.”

“Yeah. He’s a distant cousin of mine on Dad’s side. Three times removed or something like that, I’m not really sure. But he’s family like we wanted. I was hesitant to recommend him at first due to his...history but he’s really proven himself in the past year. He’s showing promise and he seemed excited by the thought of being the Don. Though he’ll need a lot of training before he can take over for you.”

“What history?” I latched onto it almost immediately.

“Nothing too bad from what I know. Some idiotic stuff like reckless driving and shit. Like I said though, he’s managed to pull himself together in the past year or so. I’m gonna send him over to live with you for a few weeks at least. Probably more to be honest. I think he has potential though so have him study under you and thoroughly vet him before you make a decision. I’m leaving the rest of this to you, Leo.”

“Right, okay, yeah,” I fumbled over my words, simply nodding and agreeing as I stared blankly into the distance until Alessandro eventually hung up, leaving me to get some sleep. But I didn’t return to bed.

No, I stared out at the sky and I thought.

A replacement.

It’s what I wanted. What I told Bianca I wanted.

So then why wasn’t I feeling like I thought I would? Why did I feel so goddamn miserable to hear that word? I should be relieved that this responsibility won’t be hanging over my head anymore. I should be happy that I could focus on Bianca and our baby now.

Instead, I felt empty.

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