Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
Fifteen minutes later, we were driving through the gates of the compound in Tallon’s car. The windows were tinted so nobody could see in, but Dahlia begged Tallon to roll them down so we could feel the breeze.
He obliged for a few minutes, then rolled them back up, citing safety concerns. Although he kept his tone of voice light, I could tell that he was genuinely worried. I wondered how much of it was due to actual threats and how much of it was just paranoia after Dahlia’s kidnapping.
We drove for about twenty minutes, just reminiscing and laughing about our favorite childhood memories. I was settled in the backseat, taking in the gorgeous view of the city. I didn’t think I would ever be able to fully understand just how I had managed to get lucky enough to live here.
“I know what we need. Let me take you to my favorite gelato shop. It’s just one street over,” Tallon said.
Dahlia and I both cheered. We would never get tired of authentic gelato.
At the gelato shop, I was overwhelmed with the flavor options. Since I had already had chocolate for breakfast, I decided on a scoop of lemon. The sweet woman who ran the shop said that I had made a great choice, and I felt pleased, as if I had passed some sort of test. I knew it was silly, but I loved receiving praise of any kind, even over something as small as choosing the right ice cream flavor.
Once we all had our gelato, we walked down the sidewalk to do some window shopping. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. There was the slightest breeze that tugged at the bottom of my dress and made the ends of my hair flutter around me, but the sun was shining warmly on my face.
It was the type of weather that made anything feel possible, and paired with the fact that I was literally walking around Italy with two of my best friends, I didn’t think the day could get any better.
We wandered in and out of a few of the shops. Every so often, something would catch our eye, and we’d drag the other two over to it. Dahlia was particularly enchanted by a display of dainty jewelry, each of the gems so tiny they just looked like small pinpricks of light as the bracelets and necklaces were moved around.
With a smile, Tallon bought us matching bracelets from the display. They were made of dainty yellow gold chains with rainbow gems spotting them. I absolutely loved it. As soon as he paid, we put them on each other and admired them in the sunlight.
“Thank you so much, Tallon. You didn’t have to do that,” I gushed.
“I wanted to. You both have been through a lot since you’ve been here, but I want you to remember the beautiful days too. Now, you’ll never forget this day,” he said simply. His cheeks turned slightly pink as we both squeezed him into a bear hug.
“Oh, Tallon, you are such a softy,” Dahlia laughed.
After a few hours of wandering, we decided to have a picnic in the park. We went to the local alimentari and picked out cheese, homemade bread, and a bundle of grapes. The park had a hill overlooking a small pond, so we decided to set up there. Tallon said it was a good place to sit because he could keep an eye out all around us. He happened to have a large blanket in his trunk that we could sit on. I raised my eyebrows at him when he pulled it out.
“What exactly do you use that for, mister?” I asked jokingly, definitely NOT wanting to know the answer.
“For stargazing of course,” he answered.
I couldn’t tell if it was one of his jokes or if he was being serious.
We settled onto the blanket and Dahlia began doling out chunks of cheese. We had forgotten to get a knife or even napkins, so we were stuck tearing it off in chunks and popping it into our mouths. I was certain there was no way we would be able to eat all the cheese we had bought, but Dahlia kept insisting on grabbing more and more, and neither Tallon nor I could seem to tell her “no” right now, not when we were still so happy just to have her back. She could eat what she wanted to, but we were both afraid she’d get a stomach ache if she overdid it on the rich cheese.
It reminded me of when we were kids and used to sneak snacks out of the kitchen when it was too close to dinnertime. We would raid the pantry and then run out to the garden to hide behind the rose bushes and enjoy our miniature feast. Of course, our mothers always knew exactly what we had done when just an hour later we refused to eat dinner, but they never seemed to care too much.
“Remember that time we were sliding down the bannister at the house, and when Dad caught us, we thought he was going to yell at us but instead he slid down the bannister too?” Dahlia said.
I laughed. It was one of my favorite memories of James from our childhood. I had been a little bit scared of him growing up, but when he did that, I realized that the serious way he carried himself was just a facade.
“I can’t believe he didn’t break his neck,” Tallon said around a mouthful of cheese.
“I can’t believe we didn’t break our necks!” I responded.
“A little danger makes life more fun,” Dahlia said.
Tallon and I both shuddered.
“I’m just glad we’ve all made it in one piece,” I said. “I’m so happy that we’ve stayed close all these years.”
“Me too,” Dahlia sighed. “I love you both.”
“I love you both too,” I responded.
We both turned to Tallon, waiting for him to say it back to us, but he was staring off into the distance, a concerned look on his face.
“Earth to Tallon.” Dahlia poked him in the shoulder and he turned to her.
“Um… what?” he said.
“Well, we were just professing our love for each other and for you.”
“Oh, right.” he smiled. “I love you both too, even if you can be pains in my ass.”
“We are not pains!” Dahlia said indignantly before shoving him.
I laughed at them both. It was just like old times.
Finally, we were so stuffed with cheese we weren’t sure if we’d be able to walk back to the car. Dahlia kept begging Tallon to carry her, but he refused. At first she insisted that her bullet wound was acting up, but when she realized we were going to leave her behind, she made a “miraculous” recovery and somehow beat us back to the car.
We had been driving for about five minutes in amicable silence when Tallon said, “Did either of you see that guy who was watching us?”
My blood felt like ice in my veins. I hadn’t noticed anything like that. I cursed myself for being so unaware of my surroundings. How was I going to keep myself safe if I didn’t notice these things?
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Me neither,” said Dahlia
“That’s alright,” he said. “It’s not your fault, I was watching out for you both. But when we get back, I’m going to have to give Gabriele a call.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence, a feeling of dread stifling all conversation. When we got back to the compound, Tallon left to call Gabriele. Dahlia and I stood there looking at each other uncomfortably.
“Olive,” she murmured, as if worried that whoever was watching us this afternoon could somehow hear us now. “I feel really scared.”
I reached for her and pulled her into a gentle hug. I kicked myself for being so selfish and only thinking of my feelings. I could only imagine what would happen if someone took me, but Dahlia had actually lived it.
“Should we leave Italy?” I asked her, desperately hoping she would say no, but preparing myself for her to say yes.
I didn’t want to leave Gio, but I needed to keep my friend safe.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t want to let them have power over me. But at the same time, I don’t ever want to go through something like that again.”
I nodded and started to lead her to her room. We both needed some rest, but just before we got to her room, we heard yelling.
My heart sped up as I recognized Giovani’s voice and then heard a loud thump.
*Giovani*
I pulled my black car into my usual parking spot and turned to look at Alessandro. He was staring straight ahead, his back stiff with some sort of emotion that I hadn’t yet identified. We had spent the day checking out the shipping yard and looking for intel in the city, but we hadn’t found much.
I would have preferred to make the trip alone, but I had hoped that bringing along Alessandro would help smooth things over between us and show him that I was willing to give him a little more trust if he was willing to act like a man instead of a little boy.
But instead of playing along and making nice, he had been as cold as a block of ice the entire day. It was starting to piss me off, and I had decided that I was going to do something about his shitty-ass attitude.
