Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 750 : Our Perfect Everything

*Several Months Later*

*Caterina*

‘He should be home any moment now,’ I thought calmly to myself as I leisurely stirred the red sauce I had simmering on top of the stove.

I’d decided to give the chef the night off and make dinner myself tonight. I chose a simple menu—eggplant parmigiana with angel hair pasta and a tossed salad.

Now that I’d officially finished up with my classes, I was finally free to relax and take a proper breather. It was honestly strange having so much free time on my hands now. At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with myself now that my coursework no longer took up the majority of my time.

My finals had been difficult, I had to admit. But without any immediate threat looming over me or Elio, I was able to study and prep without any interruption.

And much to my surprise, that peacefulness managed to stick around longer than anticipated. Part of me thought that once word spread of Artem’s death, Junior would have tried to retaliate.

But now, there had been nothing that caught anyone’s immediate attention since that night. It should have bothered me that there hadn’t been anything going on. It should have made me feel anxious and downright suspicious.

But my inner voice was determined to allow myself to relax and enjoy this tranquil period.

With the trouble of Katz gone, life carried on the way that it should. Anna and Elijah’s relationship grew deeper, the two finally committed to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. With classes finally over, they were able to finally spend some real time together off campus.

I was so happy for Anna... happy and deeply grateful for having such an understanding best friend. I never did tell her about Artem Katz and his involvement with Junior, nor did I ever intend to.

I was lucky enough that she was willing to accept the truth of my family and Elio’s background. Some things were just better off not being said.

“Ignorance is bliss,” my mom had once said.

If I’d come to understand anything this past year, it was that exact ideal.

There was no need to fill Anna’s head with thoughts of death and tragedy, especially when her life had been taking such a positive upturn with Elijah.

The corner of my mouth curled into a knowing smile as I continued to stir the sauce at a slow pace while thinking of the early days of my relationship with Elio. The very night that he and I shared our first kiss would always hold a special place in my memory.

How foolish we both were for thinking that it was a mistake. To think we had ever considered going back to the way that we once were—constantly bickering and despising each other.

‘Oh, please,’ I thought dryly. ‘Like there was any real chance that he and I would’ve ever been able to go back to the way we were.’

I should’ve known that beneath all that anger I harbored for him, was secretly a bottomless pool of love and admiration. Maybe I was just too young to realize it at the time. I was thankful that it hadn’t taken me too much longer to figure it out.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” a deep voice purred from across the room. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Hundreds of chills rolled over my skin and sent heat rushing straight to my core.

Elio.

I didn’t need to turn my head to know who it was. But I did, nonetheless.

There he stood, dressed in a deliciously stunning suit with his hair slightly slicked back and his gaze transfixed firmly on me. His eyes were hooded with natural arousal, while his muscled form leaned on the doorframe of the kitchen.

Oh, yes. That was all mine. Not a single thing on the planet was ever going to pull me away from him.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” I brushed off.

I turned back toward my cooking and playfully ignored him. My smile grew deeper, making it much harder to hide.

“Nothing?” he questioned doubtfully. I could feel his smirk behind me. His tone was filled with bubbling humor. “Mm, now I find that very hard to believe. And I take it by your stirring that pot there that we’re alone?”

The heat between my legs doubled and I closed my eyes for a second, nearly dropping the spoon. “I gave her the night off,” I said.

His hands came to wrap around me, and I was quickly enveloped in his welcoming embrace. Elio pulled me until my back was pressed firmly against his chest. He lowered his head to rest his chin over my shoulder.

“Well then... that is an interesting development. And since when do you keep secrets from me?” he whispered alluringly.

I giggled in response to his taunting. “There is no secret. I was just thinking about us.”

“Oh? Well, now I’m even more intrigued,” he said, nipping at the curve of my neck.

Elio spread small, delicate kisses over the sensitive part behind my ear that drove me crazy every single time. And he knew this.

Elio knew every part of me. He knew all of my triggers and each of my weak points. Never once did he use them against me, but rather used them to deepen our connection and introduce me to a world of pleasure like I’d never known.

I could have easily let myself become wrapped up in him and walk away from my immediate task at hand.

I swiftly changed the subject before things got too carried away. “How was work today?” I asked him softly.

“Running smoothly as ever,” he answered happily.

Elio had finally found the time to hire someone for his restaurant once Leo managed to interview the five guys I’d narrowed down for them. The guy he’d chosen, Killian Vallas, turned out to be a perfect fit for the position. In just the short time that he started working, he had proven himself to be a quick learner and capable of taking initiative when the occasion called for it.

When Elio told me of Killian’s perfect fit in the business, I felt a strong sense of pride in my powers of deduction and intuition.

Nevertheless, it was a peaceful feeling to know that there were no current problems within Elio’s inner circle of work. Peaceful work meant a very peaceful Elio.

And nothing, absolutely nothing, made my day brighter than to have a relaxed Elio come home from work. There was no mistake about it; the man was utterly ruthless when he needed to be. But I hated to see him stressed and at his wits end with frustration.

Relaxed was so much better.

“Dinner’s just about ready,” I hummed.

Elio pulled back and went to take out a few plates and silverware. He’d brought everything over to the table while I finished tossing the salad.

I made up our plates and the two of us fell into a comfortable silence. Among my various blissful thoughts of my friends and family, there were, unfortunately, certain things that couldn’t be perfect.

Alessandro was still keeping eyes on Junior.

According to Elio, there hadn’t been any word as of late about the sneaky bastard. But what we all suspected was that Junior was planning on remaining hidden now that Artem was dealt with.

Part of me wished that I could have seen the look on Junior’s face when word came through that his little paid assassin was no longer. After that, Junior had become silent, and not much could have been said about his movements. I hoped he would finally give up on trying to hurt our family.

If anything, hiring The Ghost made him appear even more of a coward than before. Then again, none of it should have really surprised me. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, something told me that Junior was always going to be a threat.

But as long as Elio and I were at each other’s sides, we could face anything.

During the rest of our meal, Elio went into further depths about work. Apparently, he and Leo were trying to nail down a particularly difficult client who was very picky about his development. We discussed tactics for getting him onboard.

Ever since Elio and Leo had let me crash in on one of their meetings with their client, I’d taken on a whole new appreciation and respect for what they did as real estate developers.

I loved that he felt he could discuss things like this with me. But what truly impressed me, and always captured my most undivided attention, was when he brought up his ‘secondary’ work over dinner.

“Franky’s currently in the process of hiring two new guys to refill the positions in shipping,” he said.

I took a sip of my iced tea and raised my eyebrows. “Has he found anyone yet?”

“He’s reached out to Alessandro, inquiring if there were any men who were looking for a change of scenery and were willing to move out here,” he told me.

The topic always made my stomach flip, but it was something that I knew I needed to ask. I wondered if there would ever come a day when my nerves wouldn’t tense when I asked the question.

“Speaking of Alessandro... has there been any word?”

Elio merely shook his head. I supposed the good thing was that he didn’t appear stressed or worried. In fact, the man looked calm and well satisfied.

As we finished up with dinner, Elio insisted that I go sit in the living room while he’d take care of the dishes.

“You need to rest. I’ll take care of this,” he told me insistently.

His eyes had always seemed to linger on my stomach recently—really since my pregnancy started to truly show. It wasn’t as though Elio began treating me like I was something fragile, but he pampered me more—more bubble baths, more trips to the spa, more comfy clothes.

Anything I talked about possibly wanting, he’d go out of his way to make sure I had it. I couldn’t help but feel so lucky despite everything that had happened.

Elio came to join me on the couch in the living room, where I’d already selected a movie for us to watch. He’d slipped his arms around me and pressed a sweet kiss to my head while noticeably rubbing small circles over the slight bump of my belly.

This was exactly the perfect way to end a long day. I couldn’t wait for many, many more just like it.

The baby was doing just fine. According to my doctor, everything was developing as it should, and there were no issues thus far.

Elio had insisted on attending every doctor’s appointment with me. And after each one, he’d always walk out with the same wondrous look in his eyes and the same heartfelt words... especially the ultrasound visit, when we finally learned the baby’s sex.

“I love you.” I said those words to him now.

“I love you, too,” he said. He touched my belly again. “And you, little one.”

He reached into his pocket, turning toward me on the couch, and pulled out a tiny box. My breath caught in my throat, and suddenly the movie was the last thing on my mind.

Elio looked at me tenderly. “There was just one thing missing from our family. I was thinking that maybe I needed to have something more to say at this moment, but after all we’ve been through together and been to each other, I think extra words don’t matter so much.”

He opened the box, and the beautiful diamond ring sparkled in the dim light. “Will you marry me, my beautiful Caterina?”

“Yes!” I squealed, jumping into his arms before he had the chance to even put the ring on my finger.

I had tears in my eyes, but it was okay. They were tears filled with both devotion and unyielding love... love for him, love for us.

Love for our son.

And the unbreakable love for our family.