Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“I know,” I groaned. I opened my eyes to find her staring at me with a slight frown. “I’m trying, but I just can’t stop dwelling on this Bianca mess.”
“Are you talking about the dress?” she asked. “Because we’re going to find one for you that’s at least a hundred times better.”
I smiled. “I know. It’s not just that she bought the dress. She approached Tallon about it when he was out with Vinny yesterday. He said that she was bragging about stealing the dress from me. It just makes my blood boil.”
“I can see why,” she said. “If one of Alessandro’s exes was acting like that I would… well, I probably shouldn’t say what I would do.”
I raised my eyebrows at her. I wouldn’t expect Mia to have a dark or violent side, but that’s definitely what she was implying. She noticed the look on my face and grinned.
“Do you want me to take care of Bianca for you?”
My eyes went wide, then I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Mia was laughing too, and for a few minutes it seemed like our laughter was feeding into each other’s. After a while, there were tears in my eyes and I struggled to control my laughter and breathe. When I looked at Mia, she was bent over and holding her ribs while she wheezed out laughter.
This only made me laugh harder.
It felt like an eternity passed before we were both able to calm ourselves down and breathe normally.
“I don’t like this girl messing with my friend,” she said. “I know that you don’t need any help taking care of yourself, but just know that if you need me, I’m here for you.”
I stared at her for a long time before muttering a soft, “Thank you.”
“Any time,” she said with a bright smile.
“So, how are things with Alessandro?” I asked. It was a clumsy segue, but she didn’t draw attention to it.
She smiled dreamily and leaned back, relaxing into the mud. “We’re great,” she said. “Things are going so well that I keep expecting to uncover some deep dark secret of his. He’s just too good to be true.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Wouldn’t the dark secret be that he’s a Valentino?” I asked. Most people would consider dating a member of the most well-known mafia family in the country to be dangerous. Mia didn’t seem bothered by it in the least. It made me wonder about her own background, but it seemed like too personal a question to ask her at this point.
“That doesn’t bother me,” she said dismissively. “But I guess you’re right.”
“I’m glad things are going so well. Is it getting very serious then?” I asked.
It really seemed like they were falling for each other very fast, but I didn’t hold that against them at all. I fell for Tallon so quickly, so I would have been a hypocrite to hold it against them.
“Well, it might just be my imagination, but I get the feeling he’s going to ask me to move in with him.” She had a hopeful look on her face as she said it.
“That is a big step,” I agreed. Honestly, I had assumed they were already living together. After all, she had moved to Florence for him. “What makes you think that?”
“He keeps making comments about my apartment being too far away and it being inconvenient for me to go home so late at night,” she explained. Her voice was so full of hope. If Alessandro wasn’t going to ask her to move in, I was going to kick his ass.
“I can see why you’d think that,” I said.
“It may be wishful thinking, but what’s wrong with that?” she added with a dreamy sigh. “Alessandro is the best guy I’ve ever been with.”
I smiled at her. I knew how she was feeling, and I liked this romantic side of her. It was a gentler and more innocent side than I had seen before.
“I feel the same way about Tallon,” I said.
“I’m glad that we get along,” she said as she sat forward to look me in the eye. “I don’t think there are many women out there that would be able to relate. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”
“I feel the same way,” I agreed.
It was exactly the reason that I kept inviting Mia out. Now that we were really getting to know each other, I knew that my gut feeling about her had been right.
We chatted happily for the rest of our spa time.
After we had showered and gotten dressed, my driver took Mia home. I could see Alessandro’s car parked out front as we pulled up.
I waggled my eyebrows at her, and she laughed as her cheeks turned a little pink.
“Wish me luck,” she said.
“You don’t need it,” I said. “But good luck.”
We waited until she was safely in the door before pulling away and heading home.
If things with Mia and Alessandro stayed on this trajectory, we were going to have another Valentino wedding on the horizon. Just the thought made me smile.
I wondered if Mia’s excitement about looking at wedding dresses was a sign that marriage was on her mind, too.
I kind of hoped that it was. Getting to be part of a wedding that I wasn’t planning sounded pretty nice.
When I arrived home, Tallon was there. I had expected him to be out at meetings all day, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him. I walked straight to him and greeted him with a kiss.
He smiled at me suggestively. “So, I take it you had fun?” he asked.
“Yes,” I answered with a wide smile. “The spa was wonderful, and I always have a good time hanging out with Mia. Thank you.”
“I’m very happy to hear it,” he said. He leaned down and placed a quick kiss to my lips that made me grin like a fool. “And I have good news. I was able to book tours of three of our venue options for tomorrow.”
“So soon?” I said in excitement. “How did you manage that?”
“Luck,” he said.
There was a twinkle in his eye that told me he had pulled some strings. I was so excited that I didn’t want to question it, though.
The sooner we chose a venue, the sooner we could secure our wedding date. Every decision we made and every step we took to make our wedding a reality filled me with so much joy.
We were really going to be married, and nothing in my life had ever meant more to me.
*Natalia*
The day to choose our venue had arrived quicker than either of us expected, and though I wasn’t quite ready to make a decision, Tallon kept reminding me it was crucial we booked it early since our wedding day wasn’t that far off.
We’d decided on one of Tallon’s choices, one of mine, and one we had chosen together, just to have a few options. But yet, as we stood in front of the first venue of our morning, the one Tallon had chosen, I wasn’t prepared for what he had described as “nice and simple.”
Of all the places I would’ve thought Tallon would suggest holding our wedding, I never thought it’d be a real-life castle.
There was simply no other way to describe the massive looming structure before us. Completely made of brick and stone, it rose high enough in the sky to cover the sun, casting us within shadows as we entered the Castella di Vincigliata.
The tour lady, dressed in a pencil skirt and a friendly smile, showed us inside, telling us all kinds of facts about the castle and its origin, how it was bought and transformed to become what it is today, but my eyes were simply on our surroundings.
Vines crept along the castle walls, the simple and open layout showing its history as she led us through the main room and to where the venue would be held–a raised garden protected on all sides, half of its pavement and walkway, and the other freshly mowed grass.
