Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I looked at Alessandro, trying to figure out what Vinny was talking about.
“He didn’t know that you were aware of my meetings with the Russians,” Alessandro explained. “I was just telling him how I had met with you as soon as they approached me, and that we had agreed that I would string them along and see what information I could get.”
“Oh yeah, sorry, Vin. I just wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. That was also when we were trying to figure out who the mole was. I knew it wasn’t you, but I figured it would only confuse things if you also knew about what Alessandro was up to.”
“Well, I think that’s bullshit, but I forgive you,” Vinny said with a smile.
Our waiter brought us our appetizer, some sort of French-Italian fusion dish with plenty of tomatoes. I took a bite as a comfortable silence fell over us. I was grateful that things had calmed down ever since our truce with Ivan. It was nice to be able to spend time with the two of them and not have to fill it with conversations about work.
“How’s Natalia?” Alessandro asked. “I still feel guilty for telling you to just leave her in Ivan’s hands. I hope she likes that dress I bought her. I asked Dahlia to pick it out.”
“She’s forgiven you,” I assured him. “She gets it. She didn’t want me to trade myself either, so really you all were in agreement.”
“I’m just wondering when you’re going to make this official!” Vinny interjected.
“Damn, Vinny, they’ve only been together for a few months. Give the man some time,” Alessandro said.
I smiled and held my hand up to interrupt him. “Actually, I’ve been planning out my proposal.”
“No shit?!” Alessandro reached over and clapped me on the shoulder. “I cannot believe my little brother is going to settle down.”
“I knew it!” Vinny crowed, elbowing Alessandro. “Did I not tell you that as soon as everything settled down, he’d be proposing?”
Alessandro rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. We all knew he would ask eventually. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”
“I know it’s soon,” I admitted. “But I just know she’s the one for me. I mean, fuck, the idea of her ever moving out of the compound kills me.”
“I get it, man,” Alessandro said. “I think you should go for it. It’s obvious that she feels the same way about you. The fact that she was willing to turn her back on her entire family for you says a lot. She’s tough as hell, too. The perfect match for you. You need a tough woman to keep you in line.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I took another bite of our appetizer, thinking about what it would be like to marry Natalia. Alessandro was right; she was tough. She wouldn’t take shit from anybody, I was sure about that.
“So what’s your plan?” Vinny asked. “I know you’re the king of romantic gestures.”
“Yeah, give us a lesson on how to plan the perfect proposal,” Alessandro teased.
Ignoring their jokes, I leaned in and told them my plan. “I’m going to take her to Tuscany. Our family seems to have good luck with proposals there. I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do yet, but I know she’ll be surprised. I just hope she says yes. You’re right, Alessandro, it is really soon. And I know she’s young. She might not be ready to take such a big step forward.”
“Nah, I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” Vinny argued. “She’ll say yes. No doubt about it.”
Alessandro nodded his agreement. “She’s young but she’s not stupid. She knows that what you two have is special.”
“Either way,” I added, “I’ll stick with her. Even if she’s not ready to get married yet, I’ll stay by her side. She’s not going to be able to get rid of me that easily.”
Alessandro laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think she’s going to be trying to get rid of you. You’ll flash her that ‘I’m the baby of the family and get whatever I want’ grin and she’ll definitely say yes.”
“Hey! I resent that. I don’t always get whatever I want. Dahlia has definitely told me no a few times.”
They both threw their heads back and laughed. It was a long-running joke in our family that I was the family favorite. I could hardly deny it; growing up as the youngest had its perks. But I had my doubts about whether or not my ‘baby of the family’ charm as Alessandro put it would work on her.
She had already been through so much in life and was forced to make so many difficult decisions. I wanted to make sure that being engaged to me would be the easiest decision she had ever made.
Our waiter brought out the entrees and set them down neatly in front of us. Our conversation paused as we all took a few bites. I was grateful for the pause. I was excited to propose to Natalia, but if I was being honest with myself, the whole thing scared me shitless. I really had no clue what she was going to say, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if she said no.
All I knew was that I had to ask. I couldn’t stand to go any longer without at least trying to get a ring on her finger.
I wanted her to know that I wanted her to be mine forever.
*Tallon*
The whole matter was settled in my mind.
I was going to marry Natalia.
But, of course, I needed to make sure that everything was perfect.
Having spoken with Vinny, I was both shocked and happy to know that he was a hundred percent supportive of me wanting to marry Natalia. Not that it would have persuaded me otherwise if he wasn’t, but it was still nice to know that he had my back in this case.
These past couple of months have been nothing short of a blessing. Work has been running smoothly. The Russians had been keeping good on their word to play fairly when it came to business. And I had been lucky enough to come home each day to find Natalia tucked away somewhere in my house. For a time, it felt like I was living a fantasy. Everything was working to my advantage.
But in the back of my mind, I knew that all of that could easily vanish if this proposal didn’t go well.
The sun was still decently high in the sky as I was on my way back to the compound. The air felt cool against my skin, making me want nothing more than to curl up with Natalia as soon as I got home.
I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took it out to see a new message on my screen. It was Vinny telling me that everything was ready to go for the Tuscany trip I was going to surprise Natalia with. According to the message, everything–the flight, the house, and the staff–was clear to go.
A spark of excitement raced through me. The idea of a proposal seemed like nothing more than a dream for so long. And at one given point, there was a time when I didn’t even believe it would’ve been possible.
I leaned forward in my seat and told my driver to step on it. I didn’t want to waste any more time being away from Natalia. With the speed of the car finally picking up, I eased myself back in my seat and began mentally preparing myself for when the time finally came to pop the question.
This was actually going to happen.
By the time we reached the house, my nerves were jittering with child-like excitement that I hadn’t felt in years. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when I told her about the trip.
I was hoping that she would light up the same way she did when we went on our first one. With any luck, this one wouldn’t be rudely interrupted like the last one was.
I stepped through the main doors and began scanning for any sign of Natalia. I loved this little unknown game of hide and seek. Although it wasn’t done intentionally, I took a strange pleasure in trying to find her in different areas of the house.
Sometimes I’d find her in the kitchens. Other times she’d be hanging out in our shared bedroom, and then there were moments when I’d see her lounging in the living room. It didn’t matter where she was, I was just glad that she felt comfortable enough to move around and make herself feel at home.
After the horrific events that took place in her apartment building a few months back, it came as no surprise that she didn’t want to go back.
Nonetheless, I wandered through the halls until I saw her from the doorway to the living room. She was curled up on one of the armchairs, completely lost in another book.
Whether it was for school or for pleasure, I adored the way Natalia looked whenever she became consumed by something she was reading. She appeared so focused yet so angelic—it drove me nuts because I knew I could watch her for hours.
It almost gave me the idea of, perhaps, one day having a library placed somewhere in the house for her.
A second later, Natalia lifted her head from her book as though she sensed me watching her. A beautiful smile curved her lips, which made my body buzz to life. This was a look that I wanted to come home to every day.
“You’re home,” she greeted me softly.
I felt my chest contract when I heard her use that word–home. She would never know how elated this made me feel, knowing that she referred to the compound as being her home.
I sauntered further into the room with a tantalizing grin splayed across my face. I bent down to capture her lips in a heated, much-needed kiss. I snaked my hand up from her jaw to sink back into the thick locks of her hair, deepening the kiss and taking in her sweet taste.
