Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Surprise

Giovanni lifted me up and put me in the bathtub, seeing as my legs were numb from what we just did.

We took turns scrubbing each other before having a small dance party in front of the mirror while we were brushing our teeth.

He picked me up again and carried me back to the bed. He lotioned me and put me in my bra and underwear before putting on his own boxers and joining me in bed.

“I can get you Plan B tomorrow,” he said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

My hand stopped making little hearts on his chest and I looked up at him. “Why?” I asked, frowning.

“I came in you, Luna,” he said softly.

“I know. I was there,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Wait,” he said as I started to get up.

“What?” I asked, running my hands through my hair.

“Are you trying to tell me you want to have my kid?” he asked softly.

I chewed my lip nervously and slowly nodded my head.

A wide smile broke onto his face before he kissed me deeply. He lay back down, taking me with him, and let me put my head on his chest again.

“We have thirty minutes to sleep before we have to get ready,” he said, running his fingers through my hair.

By the time he finished his sentence, I was out.

***

“Luna, wake up,” Giovanni said, gently shaking me.

I slowly opened my eyes and swatted his hand. “What?” I asked softly.

“We need to get ready,” he said, smiling at me.

I nodded my head and sat up. His eyes immediately fell to my breasts and I smiled.

“I’m hungry,” he said, slowly licking his lips. He looked up into my eyes again and the lust was more than evident in them.

“Later. We need to get dressed,” I said before softly pecking his lips. I got out of the bed and immediately regretted it when my legs started to hurt.

I limped up to the computer table and picked up the dress. I grabbed my makeup bag before walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

“You ready?” Giovanni asked, knocking on the door.

I smiled at my reflection and opened the door.

His jaw dropped slightly as he took me in. I was wearing a red tight-fit ball gown that went down to my feet. I’d curled my now short hair and put on red lipstick with mascara.

“You look so beautiful,” he said, looking me in my eyes.

I smiled shyly at him and released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

He took my hand and sat me down on the bed before pulling out a box.

“What is that?” I asked, frowning.

He smirked at me and opened the box to show a pair of black red bottoms. He slid them onto my feet and gently kissed my lips.

“You need shoes,” he said, winking.

“You didn’t have to buy these for me, Giovanni,” I said softly.

“I wanted to,” he said, smiling. He took my hands and gently pulled me up.

“Is Leo dressed?” I asked as we walked out of the room.

“Yeah, he’s already at the table with everybody else,” he said softly.

My breath hitched in my throat and I slowly nodded my head.

“Are you okay?” He asked me to face him.

“Yes,” I lied smoothly.

“Luna, what is it?” he asked.

“I’m worried about their reactions,” I admitted softly.

He rolled his eyes and kissed me deeply. “Now I see where Leo gets it from. You have nothing to be worried about, baby. They ~miss~ you,” he said, smiling.

I took a deep breath and nodded my head.

He held his arm out and I looped mine through his.

“So he makes all of us show up just so he can stand us up?” Lorenzo said.

“Sorry, it’s my fault,” I said, catching everybody’s attention.

Nobody moved and I was scared that they weren’t breathing.

Bebe broke into sobs and I walked up to her and hugged her tightly. Her breath hitched like she didn’t expect to actually feel my touch. She stood up and smiled tearfully as she took me in.

“Do I have to break into tears to get a hug too?” Lorenzo asked from behind me.

Bebe glared at him and I laughed before turning my attention to him and hugging him. I hugged Dimitri next and stopped at Alessandro, who was looking at the table.

“You scared me,” he said softly.

“I’m sorry,” I said as my eyes filled with tears.

He shook his head and stood up abruptly. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

“I’m just glad you finally opened your eyes—these guys don’t get my jokes,” he whispered.

I laughed and wiped the stray tears off my cheeks. “Hey, Alex,” I said, walking up to him.

“Hey,” he mumbled.

“Can I hug you?” I asked as my voice wavered.

He nodded his head and slowly stood up. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into me.

“None of this was your fault, and I’m sorry I made you think it was,” I whispered, crying softly.

“You were right,” he said, sniffling.

“No, Alex, I wasn’t. You didn’t cause ~any~ of this. I need you to say it,” I said, pulling away from him. I wiped the tears from his cheeks and smiled sadly at him.

“I didn’t cause any of this,” he said, slowly nodding his head.

My smile brightened, and I hugged him again. I pulled away from him and wiped the tears from my cheeks. I sat down between Giovanni and Leo and gently kissed the top of Leo’s head.

The maids walked in and placed the food on the tables before uncovering it. Bebe held her hand out, and I smiled as we all held hands and said a prayer.

We began to eat while laughing and telling jokes.

“Was it like sleeping, Mom?” Leo asked, catching my attention.

“Was what like sleeping?” I asked, turning to face him.

“Um, Daddy said a funny word,” he said, scrunching up his nose.

~“Che parola divertente?”~ I asked, glaring at Giovanni. (What funny word?)

“Coma,” he said, holding his hands up in defense.

“Yeah, that word,” Leo said, nodding his head.

“Yes, it was,” I said softly.

“Since when do you speak Italian?” Alex asked.

“Since I left the first time,” I said, smiling at him.

“а ты говоришь по русски?” Giovanni’s dad asked. (Do you speak Russian?)

“Я могу говорить по русски, да,” I said, nodding my head. (I can speak Russian, yes.)

“Jeez, how many languages do you speak? Show-off,” Alex said playfully, rolling his eyes at me.

“Only eight,” I said, shrugging.

His jaw dropped, and we all laughed at him. Giovanni started to cough, and he clutched his chest.

“Gio?” I asked, wide-eyed.

He shook his head and tried to stand up, only to fall to his knees.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, dropping to my knees in front of him as tears filled my eyes.

He opened his hands to reveal a small white ring box, and my breath hitched in my throat.

“I love you so much, Luna, you have no idea.

“You changed me from being a heartless kid who was ready to accept death to a man who wants nothing more but to spend the rest of his life being loved by you.

“When I kissed you on our first date at the diner, I knew you were the one for me, and when you saw me kissing Brittney the next day, the look on your face tore my heart into pieces.

“From that day, I promised myself that I would do everything I possibly could to make sure I never saw that look on your face again.

“I had so many ideas about how to do this, but I wanted it to be meaningful, so I chose the place where I knew I loved you, the place you stuck up for yourself, and a place in front of our family.

“I love you and Leo so much and I want to be your family. So, ahem, so will you do me the honor of marrying me and becoming Mrs. Russo?” he asked, fighting back tears.

I slowly released a breath as I tried to find a way to respond.

“So-so you’re not dying?” I mumbled, wringing my hands nervously.

Everybody laughed quietly while Giovanni shook his head while smiling.

“Are you going to answer?” Bebe asked, smiling brightly.

“Oh yeah, sure,” I said, nodding my head.

“Now?” Alex teased as I continued to stare between Giovanni and the ring.

“Sorry, I-I just—”

“Ask her again,” Bebe whispered, smiling at Giovanni.

“Will you marry me?” he asked nervously.

“Yes,” I said, smiling brightly.

He released a breath like he didn’t think I would actually say yes and slid the ring onto my finger. He took my face in hands and kissed me passionately.

“I love you so much,” he said against my lips.

“I love you more,” I said, smiling. He stood up, taking me with him, and we were ambushed with hugs.

“I have a daughter,” Bebe said, squeezing me.

“Mom, does that mean we’ll stay here with Dad?” Leo asked.

I smiled and nodded my head before picking him up.

“Yes. We’re staying with Dad,” I said, smiling at Giovanni who was getting the talk from Alex.

Leo smiled brightly and kissed my cheek. I put him down and he ran off with Oreo closely behind him.

Giovanni walked up to me and took my hand in his before taking me back to his room. We changed and got into bed.

I laid my head on his chest and looked at the ring. It was a beautiful twenty-seven carat eternity ring with a blue diamond set in the middle.

“I can get you a bigger one if you want,” he said, running his fingers through my hair.

“I love it, Giovanni,” I said softly. I gently kissed his lips and smiled at him.

“Do you want to invite your parents?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head.

“You don’t have to,” he said softly.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know how I feel,” I said, rubbing my face.

“And that’s okay,” Giovanni said before kissing me softly.

“I want to see Johnathan,” I said as we pulled away from each other.

“No,” he said, shutting it down.

“Please? You can come with me. I need to do this,” I said, running my fingers through my hair.

He closed his eyes tightly and cursed under his breath. “Okay, but I’m staying with you the ~entire~ time,” he said, making me smile.

“Thank you,” I said, pecking his lips.

“When do you want to go?” he asked.

“Tomorrow,” I said as my eyelids started to get heavy.

“Okay. Sleep, ~bella~,” he said, gently kissing the top of my head.

I mumbled an “okay” before falling completely asleep.