Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
He had said he didn’t have a lot going on, but then again he often had meetings and things that he couldn’t miss. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but it would be a lot more enjoyable if he could come with us.
“I don’t see why not,” he smiled indulgently, happy to give me the answer he knew I wanted to hear.
I couldn’t help it; I was so overjoyed I clapped my hands together like a five-year-old. Giovani chuckled at my little outburst.
The cooks handed out our plates at the end of Tallon’s proclamation, and we all ate in silence, trying to shovel the food down quickly so that we wouldn’t be late for the car. Far faster than a full English breakfast should be eaten, we all finished up and went to our rooms to get dressed.
My plans for a lazy day were ruined, but this was far better. I looked through my wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear. To Tallon, “nothing fancy” basically just meant “don’t wear a ballgown,” which unfortunately still left me with way too many options to decide from.
“You should wear that one,” Giovani said, pointing to a cream-colored sweater dress that was loose around the top but clung nicely to my waist and hips.
“Hmm, okay, but then I get to choose for you!” I said, picking out my favorite pair of his jeans and a black T-shirt that looked amazing on his back and biceps.
“You’re so lascivious, carina.” He chuckled and took what I had picked.
“I could say the same about you!” I told him, my back turned as I put on the dress he had picked for me.
We only had five minutes left, so I quickly gathered my hair into a ponytail and swiped some mascara on. It wasn’t my best work, but it would do.
“You look beautiful, baby,” Gio said quietly. I didn’t think I would ever get used to being with someone who worshiped me the way he did. The way he treated me often left me speechless, and right now was no exception. I turned to him and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
We left our room for the second time that morning, again hand in hand. We found Dahlia at the bottom of the stairs waiting for us. She looked gorgeous as usual in an understated black T-shirt dress. Somehow she had managed to put on a full face of makeup and fix her hair all in the time it had taken Giovani and me to get dressed.
“It’s about time! Tallon refused to tell me anything until you both got down here. I was afraid you’d both forgotten all about the surprise!”
“Me, forget about a surprise?! Never!” Giovani responded, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Dahlia rolled her eyes at him, then turned to me, “You look great, Olive! Giovani could take notes from you.”
“She’s the one who dressed me!” he sputtered.
“I think he looks good, Dolly!” I protested.
She just laughed and turned on her heel, expecting us to follow. Giovani tickled my side, and I yelped, then poked him back. I smiled, apparently playful Gio was sticking around today. I had been excited about the day trip already, but knowing that Giovani could come and that he was apparently in a great mood only made me even more excited.
We made it out to the car where Tallon was already waiting for us. Instead of our usual black SUV, it was some kind of big, boxy thing with a ridiculous yellow color that made me smile. I could tell it was one of those things that only wealthy people liked or knew about. I hoped the seats were comfortable.
Tallon was leaning up against the car as we approached, then opened the doors for us like a true gentleman. Our driver and a bodyguard sat in the front seats so that the four of us could sit in the back together. As usual, a vehicle full of armed guards would be riding along behind us.
Giovani helped me step into the car and followed behind me, leaving Dahlia and Tallon to sit in the middle row together. As soon as I was seated and belted in, Gio placed his hand suggestively on my thigh and played absently at the hem of my dress. I took a deep breath and bit my lip, trying and failing to keep myself from blushing. He smiled at the flush spreading across my cheeks, then leaned over to whisper in my ear, “I love it when you bite your lip like that.”
“So… um, where to, Tallon?” I choked out, wanting to remind Giovani that we weren’t the only ones in the vehicle.
Tallon smiled at me, then turned his head forward to face the driver. “Take us to Tuscany, please!”
*Olivia*
As I’d come to expect any time a Valentino man took me on a surprise trip, there was a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne waiting for us in the car. Tallon popped it for us and handed out generous glasses. I took a small sip, wanting to feel a slight buzz but also aware that it was only about 10:00 in the morning. If I had any hopes of making it through the whole day without falling asleep, I couldn’t get wine-drunk just yet.
“Alright, today we just have one rule: you bring up work, you have to take a shot,” Tallon declared.
“A shot of what?” Gio asked. “If it’s whiskey, I’ll just bring up work to get one.”
“Dammit, Giovani, why can’t you just follow the rules for once?” Dahlia whined.
“Nah, I’ve never seen the point in following rules,” Gio said, gently squeezing my thigh as he spoke.
“Well, luckily for the game, it’s not whiskey, it’s vodka–Russian vodka,” Tallon said with an emphasis on the word “Russian.”
“Aw, yuck! What the hell, Tallon?!”
I giggled at Gio’s outburst and made a mental note to trick him into talking about work at some point. Seeing him do a shot of vodka would be totally worth having to take one myself.
The drive was gorgeous, full of rolling hills with little farms dotting the countryside. Before I knew it, we were driving into the renaissance-era architecture that Tuscany was so famous for. It was remarkable. Being from the United States, I couldn’t stop marveling at how old the buildings in Europe were. It was damn near incomprehensible to me that many of the buildings we passed by had been built in the 1500s. In a way, it made me feel at peace thinking about how many people had lived their lives in this city. My problems seemed so small when I was confronted with how vast the human experience was.
We drove almost all the way through the city, finally pulling to a stop next to what appeared to be an empty field. Dahlia turned to Tallon, a question in her eyes. Before she could open her mouth, he held up his hand.
“Just wait, you’ll see.”
We all sat in silence, wondering what exactly we were about to see. We didn’t have to wait long. A massive hot air balloon suddenly came into view and lowered to the ground. The bright colors of the balloon looked slightly out of place next to the classic neutrals of the city buildings, but it was a beautiful sight nonetheless.
“Are we riding in that thing?” Giovani asked, sounding strange.
I turned to him and was shocked to see that his face was white as a sheet. Could it be that we had finally found something that scared Gio?
“Yes!” Tallon exclaimed, too excited to notice Giovani’s distress.
I tucked my hand into Gio’s and squeezed his fingers. We didn’t have to go for a ride in it. Although I would hate to miss the beautiful views, I wanted this to be a fun day for the both of us. Forcing the love of my life to spend the next however many hours in terror didn’t seem particularly fun.
“Wow, Tallon, this is amazing!” Dahlia gushed. “We haven’t been in a hot air balloon in years!”
“I know. The last time was when Dad surprised Mom for her birthday. Since Olivia’s never been to Tuscany, I thought this would be the best way for us to show her the city.” He turned to look at me expectantly, obviously very proud of himself for coming up with such a sweet surprise.
There was no way I could let him down by refusing to go. I glanced at Gio, trying to silently communicate with him that it was okay if he didn’t join us. He didn’t turn toward me. Instead, he leaned forward to tap Tallon on the shoulder and said, “Well, buddy, if you’re getting me in that thing, you better break out the fucking vodka right fucking now.”
Dahlia burst into wild laughter. “Giovani! You have been in literal gun fights, and you’re telling us that you’re afraid of hot air balloons?”
Before Gio had to answer, Tallon handed back a ridiculously large bottle of vodka.
“Damn, how much did you think we’d manage to drink?!” I asked.
“I don’t know, I got it for free,” Tallon said sheepishly.
Dahlia looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. I got the feeling that none of us wanted to know where the hell he would’ve gotten a massive bottle of premium Russian vodka for free.
Giovani was too focused on his fear of the hot air balloon to notice Tallon’s caginess around where exactly the vodka had come from. Gio pulled the top off and lifted the bottle to his lips, taking a massive swig. In spite of his insistence that he hated Russian vodka, he barely grimaced afterward, but I shuddered to watch. I could barely handle a vodka cranberry, let alone drink it straight like it was water.
“Alright,” Gio grunted, “Let’s do this.”
“Hell yeah!” Dahlia shouted, always ready for a party to start.
We got out of the car and headed toward the hot air balloon. The pilot had it anchored to the ground, but the fire in the middle of the basket was lifting it up by a few feet. Giovani linked his arm in mine and leaned over so he could whisper to me without the others overhearing, “I would go anywhere with you, carina.”
I smiled and turned to kiss him, not caring who might see us. I could taste the vodka on his lips, but it only fueled my desire for him. Tasting the alcohol on him reminded me of all the amazing nights we’d had staying up late and drinking outside when everyone else had gone to bed. It reminded me of how much we’d opened up to each other in those moments, telling each other long stories about our childhoods and families. And of course, it reminded me of how I’d always start to fall asleep, so he’d carry me to our bed and wake me up just enough to make love before we fell asleep, curled in each other’s arms.
