Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1049 : Just Before Forever

*Bianca*

“I am but...” I pulled my hands from his.

“But what?” Leo frowned.

I motioned to my dress. “Should we risk it? You’ve seen me in my dress. What if that means nothing but bad luck for us?” I giggled.

Leo scoffed and grabbed my arms. He pulled me into a warm, comforting embrace.

“I don’t give a fuck about tradition. We make our own luck in this world. He smiled at me with a heart melting smile. “I only care about you, Bianca. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I swallowed hard, the weight of the words settling over me. “You sure know how to calm me down,” I whispered.

“Is something wrong?” his smile faded.

“No.” I shook my head. He didn’t look convinced. I sighed. “I was going crazy in that room. It was suffocating. All that waiting around.”

Leo chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean.” He squeezed me a little tighter.

“I just needed a little air,” I said, my voice a little too shaky. “I came out here and then you showed up, like a dream. I didn’t know how much I needed to see you.”

Leo nodded, his eyes softening. “So, are you having second thoughts about tradition?” He grinned widely.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on!”

“You can’t tell me you’re not feeling better now,” he challenged.

“No, I can’t. I wanted this to be special and to savor the look in your eyes when you saw me like this for the first time.”

“Like what?”

“Like a bride,” I said. My cheeks burned suddenly.

Leo smiled warmly and gently touched my cheek. “It’ll be like seeing you for the first time when you come down that aisle. I know it.”

I smiled at him and then paused. “Hey, how did you get here? Franky and Elio weren’t supposed to let you leave that room.”

“Well... I didn’t exactly give them a choice. And I didn’t use the door. There’s a trellis outside the window.

I smiled up at him. “You scaled down the walls of the chapel to come find me? You’re crazy!”

He chuckled at that, a deep, rich sound that resonated through my chest. “You think I wasn’t going to? I can’t stand being apart from you, Bianca. I needed to see you. I needed to make sure you’re okay.”

I placed a hand over his heart, feeling the steady beat under my palm. “I’m okay. Just a little nervous, that’s all.”

“Don’t be,” Leo said, his voice more serious now. “This is it, Bianca. This is where we’re meant to be. After everything, we’re here. Together. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The calmness in his voice soothed something inside me, but I still couldn’t shake the nerves. The magnitude of the day felt like it was pulling at me in every direction.

We stood there, in the silence, for a while, just looking at each other. It was a beautiful day, the sun starting to set over the horizon, casting a golden light across everything.

“It took us a lot to get here,” I murmured. “When we first met, did you ever think this is where we’d end up?”

“No, never. But before I met you, I never thought I was worthy of this kind of future. I never thought about what it would be like...”

I already knew that about Leo, but hearing it again made my heart ache all over for him.

“You were very different back then. Well, maybe not, but your focus wasn’t on protecting me or looking after me,” I reminded him.

He gently stroked my cheek. “Bianca, you showed me a whole new world. One where I was more than a Don, more than an abandoned child. You changed me.” He pressed his hand to my heart.

I looked up at him and tears brimmed in my eyes. I’d already cried too much! My makeup was probably ruined now.

“You were always this man, Leo. You just didn’t know it.”

He grinned. “Maybe you’re right. But I’m glad you waded into the chaos of my life and my mind to show me who I could be and help me become who I want to be. You’ve given me the world, Bianca.”

“It wasn’t easy, was it, getting here?” I asked. I chuckled as I thought about all the crazy ups and downs we went through, especially in the beginning.

More than once, I almost gave up on him and us.

I’m glad I never did.

“It might not have been easy, but easy is boring,” Leo laughed, “Give me some excitement any day.”

“Except today,” I said quickly. “No excitement, except from our wedding crazed families.”

“Agreed.” Leo nodded.

“Do you have any regrets?” I asked. “About our relationship?”

“No!” Leo’s voice hardened. “Do you think I do?”

“I just wonder if you ever think how things might be different if we met under different circumstances. Maybe we wouldn’t be standing here today.” I hugged my arms tighter around him.

My heart swelled in my chest. I didn’t think it was possible to love anyone as much as I loved him.

“Then I’m glad we met how we did. Even with the chaos that followed.”

“Me too.”

We fell into an easy silence, clinging to each other in the warm, setting sun.

In the back of my mind, I wondered if we were going to be late for our own wedding, but as long as Leo held me like this, I didn’t care. I’d rather stay here with him.

Leo broke the quiet first, his voice soft but earnest. “Do you still love me, Bianca? As much as the day you first told me?”

The question took me by surprise. I had to stop and think for a moment, my heart racing a little faster.

“No,” I said, my voice steady now. “I love you more than that day. I love you more every day.”

Leo’s smile widened, and I could see the relief in his eyes. “I love you more, too.”

He looked at me like I was everything, like I was the reason he was standing there. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have him, how much we had already been through together.

We had built an amazing life together with our children. We had to work hard for it, but that made it so much sweeter now that we were here.

“Every part of my heart, Bianca,” Leo said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Every piece belongs to you. There isn’t a single ounce of it you haven’t claimed.”

I felt the air between us thicken with everything we hadn’t said before, with all the things we had shared and yet, still didn’t have words for.

“Then we’ve got it all,” I said, tipping my head up. “We’ve got each other.”

The moment was right. The world felt like it had faded away until there was only him and me. Leo leaned in, his lips brushing against mine, and I almost closed my eyes to lose myself in the kiss.

But before I could, a voice called out, breaking the spell.

“Leo! Bianca!”

We pulled apart quickly, both of us startled, and I turned to see Taylor and Amara standing a few feet away, their faces a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

“Come on,” Amara said, her hands on her hips. “You two can make out later. It’s time for the ceremony.”

“Just a few more minutes,” Leo argued. He reached for me again.

“No!” Taylor grabbed his arm and pulled Leo away.

“Buzzkill,” he sulked and bowed his head.

I swear he was practically pouting. It was kind of adorable to see him like that.

Taylor half dragged him out of the garden. The whole time, Leo looked like a scolded child who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“You’re lucky we even let you get away with that much. Sneaking out and seeing the bride before the wedding,” Taylor added, shaking his head.

“Can’t you just—” Leo began, but Amara cut him off, joining Taylor as they pulled him back toward the chapel.

“Come on, Don. Time to do your job.”

I smiled, my heart light with joy, watching Leo begrudgingly follow them. They were right. The moment was over, and it was time to start the next Chapter of our lives.

“Oh, Leo,” I whispered to myself.

That was the man I planned to marry. The father of my children. My future.

I took a deep breath, watching them disappear through the chapel doors before turning to face the garden one last time.

When I first came to LA, I didn’t have a plan. It was all on a whim.

I wanted to get out of Italy so badly and see the world. At least, see something other than Italy. Before I ended up in LA I didn’t even know where I wanted to go. Getting out was all that mattered.

An escape. That’s what I called it. An escape from my life back home. A chance to try new things and find myself.

I laughed a little and shook my hands. I think I found a lot more than myself in the end.

LA became my home because I thought the beaches in California were nice. No one told me I could live in LA my whole life without ever seeing a beach.

But I was determined to find out if the beaches in California were different from the beaches in Italy. Long Beach, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, I explored them all.

I had been a stranger to this city and for a long time, I didn’t think it would ever feel like home, even with the nice beaches.

But then I met Leo and got involved with him and the Valentinos. Now, LA felt more like home than anywhere else.

No, that wasn’t true. Leo felt like home. Wherever he was, and our children, I would be at home.

I looked out at the waves again. In the twilight sky, they were dark blue, endlessly lapping against the shore.

A chilly ocean breeze rushed at me and I rubbed my arms to stave off goose flesh.

Music started in the chapel and the dull roar of chatter died down immediately. Leo must have taken his place at the altar.

I smiled to myself and thought about how it was time to go to him, to go home.

“Well, let’s get married,” I whispered to myself. I picked my skirts up so they wouldn’t drag on the ground and made my way back to the chapel, my heart thudding in my chest as I stepped inside, ready to take the final step into the future we had built.