Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I smiled and nuzzled closer to him. “Of course not,” I laughed. “How could I think about wedding planning without you?”
I hadn’t been able to think of anything but getting him back. The wedding was a far too positive topic for the state of mind I was in during his incarceration.
“Good,” he said in a satisfied tone. “I want to help with the rest of the planning. I want to be involved in all of it.”
I lifted my head and looked at him in surprise. “Really?”
“Yes,” he said emphatically. “I had a lot of time to think about it, and I want to be more involved. It wasn’t fair of me to put so much of the planning on you.”
I smiled and kissed him lightly. “I appreciate it,” I said. “I want it to be our day, not just mine.”
“I’m glad,” he said. “But before we jump back into the planning, I think we deserve a little vacation.”
“Vacation?” I asked in surprise.
There was so much work that needed to be done to reassure the family, deal with the media circus, and make sure that Antonio didn’t throw the rest of the family under the bus. Was this really an appropriate time to take a vacation?
“Yes,” he said. “I know that the timing seems wrong, but I think that we deserve a little escape, don’t you?”
“I do,” I said with a wide smile. Spending some time alone with Tallon, away from all the stress and work that was waiting for us outside of this room, sounded like a dream come true. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he answered with a smirk.
“I’ve had enough surprises,” I pouted. “Tell me where we’re going.”
“It’ll be worth the wait, I promise. Just trust me.”
“When are we leaving?”
“A few days,” he answered.
I sighed dramatically and lay my head on his chest. I would rather he just told me the plan, but he seemed genuinely excited about it, and I didn’t want to spoil that for him.
I wondered when he started planning a trip for us. He could certainly arrange something quickly, but I had a feeling from his demeanor that this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing.
He wrapped his arms around me, and I smiled.
Wherever we were going, I knew that I was going to have a great time.
*Tallon*
It was more than a bit extravagant to take the private jet for such a short trip, but I didn’t want to be trapped in a cramped car for hours on end. I wanted to be able to move freely and enjoy my time with Natalia.
She had asked me a million questions as she packed for the trip, trying her best to weasel some information out of me that would tell her where we were going.
She kept asking me questions that might give her some hint about our destination.
“Do I need my swimsuit?” she asked curiously. “Should I bring a jacket?” she added thoughtfully. “Will I need hiking boots? Should I pack my nice heels?”
Every time she asked, I told her to pack whatever she wanted and that if she needed something while we were gone, I would buy it for her.
Each time I refused to give her a straight answer she fixed me with an irritated pout.
It was cute, really.
“Relax,” I told her gently. “It’s a vacation. I promise, you’ll have everything that you need.”
“How am I supposed to relax if I don’t know where we’re going?” she asked.
She had tried to get me to tell her all morning. The entire drive to the airport, she’d made wild guesses about where we were going.
“Japan? Canada? Australia? South Africa?”
I just shook my head at every guess. “Be patient,” I chided.
She had shaken her head emphatically and continued to guess.
She seemed almost disappointed when she realized we were taking the private plane, because she wouldn’t be able to just check the flight number to find out our destination.
I hadn’t given anything away. Her frustrated sigh and the little pout that she had aimed at me almost made me crack, but I knew that her excitement and surprise would be worth it.
We’d had a crazy few days after my release. There was so much that had to be squared away before we could take a moment to ourselves.
I was incredibly grateful to Natalia that I only had a week’s worth of drama to unpack and deal with. If not for her, it would have been a lot worse. I was optimistic that things would be able to get back to some level of normal now.
While we were on this trip, Vinny and Alessandro would be meeting with the Russians. I was confident that they would understand the situation and it wouldn’t sink us into another war.
They would have demands, of course. They had lost several of their men. It wouldn’t be enough for me to assure them that the man responsible was in police custody and had been disavowed by the family.
Whatever they wanted in compensation, I would be happy to do it. Keeping the peace was of the utmost importance for all of us. The old war had done so much damage and I was determined to protect the family from going through anything like that again.
That was a matter for another day. For now, I was happy that I could focus solely on Natalia.
She kept looking out the window as though she would be able to guess where we were going based on the scenery. I poured her a glass of champagne and reached over her, pulling the window shade down.
She turned to me with an exaggerated expression of shock. She motioned to the closed window and waved her hand at it.
“No fair!” she complained. “I can’t even look out the window?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said simply. “Stop trying to peek.”
She accepted the glass from me and sat back heavily with a deep sigh. “I’m only excited,” she said innocently. She took a sip while she stared at me over the rim of her glass.
“I know you are, darling,” I said fondly. I patted her knee and smiled at her puppy eyes.
She smiled suddenly and I could tell that she wanted to laugh. It made me grin back. If she was actually sad, I would tell her everything and she knew it. She was just testing me.
I was more than happy to be the target of her little game. Seeing her relaxed and acting silly did my heart good.
When she visited me in the courtyard of the prison, her stress and fear was a palpable thing. It filled me with guilt and anger to see her that way. As much as I had needed to see her, it was difficult to put her in that situation.
This was the woman that I love, and she was suffering because of me. I had never felt anger quite like the anger I felt in those moments. It was lucky for Antonio that he had been caught and arrested.
If I’d had a chance to deal with his betrayal myself, it would have been a much less sympathetic encounter. His reasons for feeling the way he did were understandable, but his actions were unforgivable.
