Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I sent Natalia a smirk, keeping an eye on her skeptical expression.
He led us to the top of the building and opened the doors leading us to the rooftop. Natalia gasped. The entire city could be seen for miles from this one view and under the night sky, it seemed like a thousand stars had descended upon the city, dancing before us in a rhythm of life.
“Like it?” I whispered into her ear.
“Yes,” she breathed, giving me a soft look. “Thank you, so much. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“Not even this view can compare to your beauty,” I grinned, bringing her hand up to my lips for a gentle kiss.
“That was corny,” she laughed, with a soft dust of pink on her cheeks.
“But it worked,” I smirked, victoriously and she rolled her eyes fondly. The waiter directed us to our table, letting us get settled and as we ordered drinks to start, Natalia glanced around at the empty rooftop with a questioning look.
“Did you–” Realization dawned on her and she sent me a shocked look. “Did you rent out the entire restaurant?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged.
“Of course you did.” She shook her head. “That was unnecessary, you know. I would have been perfectly fine in a crowded restaurant.”
“Sure,” I agreed easily, sending her a wicked smirk. “But I’m kinda selfish and I wanted you all to myself.”
“Flirt!”
“Guilty.”
The candlelight on the tables set up a romantic glow and we talked as we waited for our food. The drinks were sublime, as I knew they would be, and while I took sips of my Chianti, Natalia was on her third by the time our food had arrived.
While the basil Scialatielli pasta was amazing, I was only a little surprised to see Natalia order the Classic Club sandwich with extra crispy bacon. She devoured it and even across from her, I could hear the crunch of her burnt bacon with every bite.
“The poor pig that had to be butchered and then burnt for that sandwich,” I teased her, sipping my wine.
“His sacrifice was not in vain,” she shot back with a grin. “He was delicious. Besides, if it’s not black, it’s not done yet.”
“Please tell me that’s not how you make your smores, because I am about to riot.”
“If it’s not black–” she repeated, sending me a wicked grin.
“Don’t even say it,” I gasped in horror, placing a hand over my poor weak heart. “You heathen!”
She burst into giggles, plucking the cherry from her cocktail and pulling off the stem. I swallowed when she stuck the stem into her mouth, playing with it for only a few seconds before she stuck out her tongue.
It was in a perfect loop.
“Guilty as charged.” She winked.
“Fucking hell,” I breathed and she laughed, open and free with no sign of the guard I’d seen from her. Our conversations came easily and smoothly, and I hung on to every word, allowing myself to relax.
I wasn’t even drunk but I felt like I was as our conversation delved deeper from the surface and straight into our hearts. She confessed about her mother and how she wanted to pay her back for everything she’d done for her and I’d told her about my siblings, and how I felt like Alessandro still resented me for being chosen as the successor to our family.
I kept out the mafia, choosing my words carefully, but as the night continued, our tongues got looser. Natalia kept downing drink after drink and soon, I wasn’t even keeping count. While I was still sober, she’d quickly delved into a state of non-coherence.
It wasn’t until Natalia looked me straight in the eyes with a totally serious look and said, “Let’s rob a bank,” that I realized maybe it was time for the night to end.
“Okay, okay,” I agreed easily, grinning as I helped to gather her from the rooftop and head down the stairs. After she tripped on the fourth stair for the fourth time, I simply lifted her into my arms, carrying her down the rest of the stairs and to the car.
“Ooh! Princess! I’m a princess!” She giggled happily to herself, completely out of her mind at this point and I laughed along, settling her into the car. She struggled a bit, wanting to get out, and kept suggesting increasingly alarming things.
“Let’s get tattoos on our butts!”
“Uh-huh,” I nodded, buckling her up.
“I wanna fly! Can we fly?”
“You mean in an airplane?”
“No,” She whined, “I wanna be a bird! Get me wings and let’s fly!”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” I kissed her forehead, rounding the car to settle into the driver’s seat. I thanked the waiter before leaving, though he kept chuckling into his hand as she threw her arms out and nearly punched me in the jaw.
“Good night,” I told the waiter, settling her hands at her sides. Luckily, the minute the car started, all of her drunk energy was zapped out of her. She fell asleep within five minutes, leaning on my shoulder as she kept murmuring nonsense.
When we got back to the villa, Natalia was so out of it that I couldn’t get her to wake up. I carefully pulled her from the seat, carrying my sleeping princess into the villa. I glanced down at her with a grin, having had one of the best nights of my life thanks to her.
And despite my after-dinner plans having been ruined due to her drunken state, I wouldn’t have changed anything. I couldn’t lay a hand on her, not when she was this drunk. I respected her and myself too much for that.
But as I took her up the stairs, carrying her across the villa’s threshold like a newlywed husband carrying his bride, a sudden realization fell over me.
I glanced at Natalia in my arms, my heart soft and warm as I gazed upon her. Softly, I murmured the words I’d been longing to say all night.
“I love you.”
Natalia stirred, frowning as she shifted and for a heart-stopping moment I thought she had woken up, had somehow heard me but all she did was murmur, “Macaroni,” and fall still once more.
I laughed to myself, laying a kiss on her forehead.
Now I only had to tell her when she was awake.
*Natalia*
I woke up slowly, and then all at once, anxiety making my heart race and my eyes fly open. I couldn’t even relish the fact that the comforting weight of Tallon’s arm was draped over my waist, because all I could think about was how drunk I had gotten the night before.
I couldn’t remember our whole conversation, but I did remember Tallon opening up to me about his family. Oh fuck–I hoped I hadn’t said anything about my own family. I laid still, trying to settle my breathing and calm my heart before I woke him up too.
I must have been moving around even more than I had realized because before I knew it, Tallon was kissing my neck softly. My heart began to race for a different reason entirely as he wrapped his arm more firmly around my waist and pulled me close to him, close enough that I could feel every part of his body pressed up against me.
He was wearing silk pajama pants, but his chest was bare. I looked down and realized that I was still in my gorgeous dress from the night before. I was perplexed to see the wrinkles in the fabric that only a professional would be able to get out, and I wondered how I had managed to get so drunk that I couldn’t even put pajamas on, but then I realized that the fact I was still wearing the same clothes meant that Tallon had done nothing more than get me safely into bed.
It was overwhelming to think of how much he cared about me, that he didn’t even want to undress me unless he knew for sure that was what I wanted.
I lost my train of thought as his hand roamed over my curves, stopping every now and then and giving me a reassuring squeeze. I rolled over to face him and saw that he still had his eyes closed. He had a blissed-out smile on his face that I couldn’t help but smile back at.
“Hey, you,” I whispered.
He slowly opened his eyes. I loved how young and innocent he looked as he was first waking up. After last night, I knew how much his family struggles weighed on his heart. It made me happy to see him so relaxed. And then it made me guilty to think about how my actions were putting more stress into his life.
