Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi

Весса.

"This place is beautiful," I said, looking around the fancy restaurant in Florence and letting out a happy sigh. Vines practically dripped from the ceiling, making it feel as though we were in a romantic movie. My life was similar enough to one, at this point!

Mariano and Neal sat together across the table from James and I, all smiles and warm energy as well. They sipped wine and nodded, agreeing with my observation about the atmosphere. I took a sip of water myself, always mindful of the baby. "This is the place where we met!" Mariano exclaimed with excitement. "When I first laid my eyes on Neal, I knew a prince had entered the establishment. A handsome one that made me swoon in my seat," he said. He winked at Neal, and the other man blushed.

I giggled, gushing, "You two are so cute! I'm so happy for you. It really does look like you connected, which is wonderful. Just like a storybook!" Mariano nodded, his grin only widening at the idea. This place had a restaurant attached to its bar, so that made perfect sense to me.

The waiters brought over some menus, which we looked through and discussed the food. I said, "Oh, the ravioli in a light cream sauce looks delightful." My stomach rumbled at the thought. It was full of spinach and ricotta, something I was in the mood for right now."

Mariano said, "They have very high-quality pasta here, so I recommend that one. Though I will always recommend their specials, too. They do such a good job with them." I nodded, thinking deeply about what I could get. James was relaxed as he looked over the menu, observing, "This is a very beautiful spot. A lovely place to meet. I am also glad the music isn't too loud so that we can properly chat." That was true; the classical music was at the perfect volume for discussion.

Neal said, "One of the many things I enjoy about places like this. Social gatherings are meant for chatter. No way to do that if the music is too loud!" Mariano nodded in agreement, reaching over to take a sip of his wine and look around the place with a content sigh.

The waiter approached our table, giving a dip of his head and a smile. Most of the people we ran into spoke Italian along with English, but I decided I wanted to learn the local language soon and get the kids started very early. That would be a journey but make our lives easier here. At this point, I decided Italy was the place to stay. There had been no more odd incidents, and James told me Giovani had accepted the position of the Don.

That meant Alessandro was safe here, as was James. We would slowly be able to start putting that mafia business behind us forever. Sure, it would always be something in the past, but no longer directly relevant to our lives. "The ravioli please," I said, pointing to the menu item I was interested in. James ordered some lasagna, something that sounded scrumptious; I would need to 'steal' a bite or two from his plate! I licked my lips, the scent of all the spices and cheeses in the area making me hungry.

The waiter took our order and left, leaving us to continue the conversation. As the topics shifted, James and I talked fondly about our honeymoon. I said, "We went snorkeling at one point. It was amazing! I saw so many sea animals." Mariano beamed at me. "Oh? That's amazing. I love marine wildlife. Wildlife in general, really. Reminds me of the sanctuary Neal and I visited for a date. He was fascinated by the tigers. Weren't you?" he said, looking over to his crush. Neal nodded, giving a light chuckle. "Such powerful animals, yes. But also beautiful. I was glad to see they were given a second chance after humanity did them horribly. Shame they can't be released into the wild," he said. "Thankfully sanctuaries like that work very hard to keep the animals comfortable," Mariano said. Our food was brought soon after, and he spoke between bites. "I find myself donating to the one we visit a lot." That reminded me of Guatemala, and after we discussed that sanctuary for a bit, I said, "Speaking of charities, I'm going to start one from afar for children in Guatemala. Originally, I suggested we move there, but that's no longer the plan." "Much to my relief," James muttered, causing me to jokingly elbow him. He chuckled, then explained, "I did not want to up and move to an entirely new country after what happened in the States. Settling in here has been a good decision." "I was skeptical at first," I said, taking another bite of my food and savoring the flavor. "But it worked out at the end here, just as James promised it would. For the charity, I still plan on doing a lot with it. I've done the research and am looking into how to help the locals out."

Mariano said, "That is very admirable that you did your research." He let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Some people don't and end up disrupting things for people there more than helping. Speaking with the locals is a wonderful idea to avoid that."

I beamed at him, giving a nod. "Right. It will be a lot of work, but I have quite a bit of money that I feel will help improve their lives." I scrunched up my nose. "The thought of children like Alessandro or Dahlia suffering so much makes my heart break."

"You've always had a golden heart, Becca," Neal said. "Even during difficult times in your life." He said that with confidence, causing me to blush. I, however, shook my head, looking down at my food in embarrassment.

"Maybe not during the most difficult times," I admitted, sighing. "I was a real bitch a lot, but that's all over now. I'm happy to be settling in with my family and am so much less stressed lately. People no longer wanting to kill my family sure helps a lot!"

"That would help, yes," Neal chuckled. He said, "I'm glad all of that was squared away, and we can move on with our lives. I'm not finding myself in trouble at all lately either. Mariano and I want to settle in after a few more months of dating." "That would be a wonderful idea," I said, and James nodded in agreement. The date carried on, with talk of various wonderful plans for the future and good spots to visit together next time. "How is your sister?" I asked. Neal hesitated for just a moment before saying, "Allegra is doing well. She is with someone right now and very happy." I had a feeling he wanted to say more, but stopped himself. I didn't pry, and just nodded, hoping he was right. "I'm glad to hear she's doing alright," I said genuinely. I knew the Layla incident hurt her deeply. Some part of me hoped that Layla would someday apologize for what she did. I had a feeling she really was misled but didn't know for sure. Neal asked, "How are the kids? I think it's wonderful that you had them at your wedding." I smiled brightly, thinking about how happy Alessandro and Dahlia had been when I saw them last night playing around. "They are wonderful. So happy. I think they're excited for another sibling, another child in the family. Sophia and Madeline were planning a baby shower. James and I have been setting up a room for the new member of the family," I explained. James said, "We have a turtle souvenir from the islands we visited for when the baby is old enough." He chuckled. "And pictures to show them all, too. Someday, we want to bring them on vacation with us. They are very well-behaved!" "That is adorable!" Mariano said, prompting me to look toward him and realize I should show him pictures of our trip! I got out my phone and voiced that, which caught his attention. Then, I handed him my phone, which had pictures of the giant tortoises on it.

The excited man said, "Oh, these are wonderful pictures! Look at how large those tortoises are! You two look like you had a ball. That is so exciting. I think bringing the kids to a similar place someday is a great idea." Neal leaned over to catch a glimpse as well.

"What he said," Neal chuckled. "That looks like quite the experience." He leaned over to steal a kiss from Mariano, which had the man blushing. After letting out a happy sigh, Neal added, "We have to get ourselves to someplace similar someday."

"Yes, we must!" Mariano laughed. "I would adore seeing those tortoises in person after reading all about them." He handed my phone back to me and took a bite of his meal, humming out in satisfaction.

The four of us cheerfully chatted, leading me to realize things between Neal and me were slowly starting to mend. It felt very nice not having him think we were going to end up together. That had been a roller coaster I really wanted to avoid. My husband and I were very happy, and that was not going to change. Neal had come to accept that, and was even being genuinely friendly with James. Granted, James had changed too, for the better.

We all had. We'd dealt with so many trials and tribulations, be it from the mafia business or the Russian mobs. We came out on the other side, together, alive, and very happy, too. Though we lost people along the way, like Tally, they would live on in our memories.

I took a sip of my water, basking in the good vibes and happy voices of the people surrounding me. I widened my eyes, feeling a little kick in my belly. My heart pounded with excitement. Soon, we would have another member of the family. The fact that our family was growing happy and healthy brought me over the moon. Raising another baby would be a lot of hard work, but I was more than ready for the task. James was, too, I could tell by the love that dripped from his words when he talked about it.

Everything was wonderful, and I couldn't be happier. The double date carried on in a very pleasant way, with stories exchanged and tons of smiles and laughs to be had. The food was gourmet, and it melted in my mouth. All in all, I was so pleased to experience such an exceptional night with people I cared about.