Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I chuckled, feeling quite satisfied with myself as I led her to our seats, pouring us both a small drink before we buckled up and readied for take-off. I held her hand during the liftoff with the excuse that she might get scared and despite my plan of her getting frightened and jumping into my lap, it didn’t happen.
She looked bored almost as she flipped through one of the magazines in front of us, drinking a gin and tonic like it was nothing and I swear to god, I fell in love a little bit more with her.
Landing was just as easy and soon enough, we were an hour outside of Positano and I finally got to introduce to her my baby.
“Wait a minute. Is that–” Natalia gasped upon seeing it as we descended from the jet. The bright cherry red coloring was as unmistakable as the car itself, and I puffed up my chest proudly, grinning like a loon as Natalia let go of my hand and rushed over to the car.
“The one and only,” I chuckled happily.
She circled my 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, the one featured in so many shows and movies. I’d seen it as a kid in a classic spy movie and I’d saved up for years to buy a crappy one about to be junked.
I couldn’t even count how much money I’d poured into the car to get her breathing again, but I was proud of her.
“Is it yours?” she asked with wide eyes.
I nodded, flipping my sunglasses over my eyes as I opened up the passenger side door for her, the keys already in my hand.
“We’ve got about an hour left before we reach the villa. Ready for the ride of your life?” I smirked.
“Can I drive?” she asked with puppy dog eyes, and I chuckled.
“Maybe later,” I reassured her and she huffed, taking her seat in the passenger side.
She trailed her fingers across the interior, the soft and plush leather, all custom. The car started below us, purring like a jungle cat ready to pounce and I caressed the wheel, happy to have it under my fingers again.
I didn’t get many chances to drive it anymore as it was safer to be driven by armored vehicles. But this weekend, I wasn’t the Don of the Valentinos.
I gazed at Natalia from the corner of my eye, smiling at her awed expression as the overhead protector slid down, exposing us to the bright warm light of the sun. She stretched her arms above her like a cat happy to be sunbathing, and I grinned.
Villa del Vita was the oldest villa in the city, and if I thought she was impressed with my convertible, she was even more in love with the Villa. The moment we pulled into the driveway, she gasped as if she had just seen the Mona Lisa step out of her painting.
It was quite picturesque with two spiral towers and a massive forefront covered in growing ivy. The trees and foliage around seemed to extend for miles in every direction and the balcony and bridge were directly over the ocean, bright and beautiful just like the woman beside me.
She stared at the villa open-mouthed, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, and I could only imagine what she must be feeling right now. I’d been born into the money and had seen more villas as beautiful as this one than I could count.
I knew I was a rich kid and I had privilege beyond anyone else’s wildest dreams. Even as an adult, the Don held a massive fortune and properties in the palm of his hands. But Natalia had none of that.
This had to be her first time seeing something this grand and glorious and to be honest, I was a bit nervous she might think it over the top. I was willing to spend a night with her in a motel if she wanted, but I also wanted to show her the world she’d never had the chance to see before.
I felt like spoiling her a little.
And by the awed look on her face as she gazed upon the villa, I had succeeded.
*Tallon*
The long staircase leading to the main building was as old as the city itself and I told her that, describing all of the little details I could to her curious mind. I led her inside, where the shiny marble floors caught her interest.
I was delighted when her first instinct was to take off her shoes and pretend to skate around the floors with a giggle. I had done the same thing when I was a kid.
Just for the hell of it, I kicked off my shoes, throwing them to the wind as I grabbed her hand like we were preparing for a waltz and twirling her around on our socked feet. My cheeks hurt from smiling and I felt like I couldn’t breathe from how hard we were laughing, especially when one of my spins sent me straight into a priceless vase.
We’d only stared at the broken pieces on the floor for a minute before running away laughing like madmen. I kept an eye on the clock as I took her on a sweeping tour of the ‘castle’ as she stubbornly called it.
And just when the clock struck four and the sun began to set, I knew it was time for the grand welcoming I’d prepared. I showed Natalia to our room, a little anxious to see her reaction when I mentioned we would be staying together, but she was unfazed like she had already expected it.
Warm and giddy, I led her to the bed where laid out were two white boxes, each stamped with Dahlia’s signature on the top–a special order from her favorite brother, she’d said. She’d even told me she’d done something special that I would either hate her or love her for.
“Our clothes for my surprise, milady.” I offered her the box without looking, trusting in Dahlia’s vision as I handed it off.
She pursed her lips, shaking the box like it was a Christmas present and she could guess what it was, but the fabric wasn’t the noisiest.
Eventually, I scooted her into the bathroom, allowing her some privacy to change as I did the same. The suit was exactly what I expected of Dahlia. It was a deep blue silk with matching pants and a silver tie.
Looking closer, there was an almost impossible-to-see embroidery on the fabric in a deeper blue that gave so much more depth than I thought possible. The silver trim added just the right touch as well.
I was surprised at how easily it fit despite Dahlia not having come to visit in years. She knew me better than I knew myself apparently and I gazed into the mirror, satisfied with how I looked. I was just starting to wonder why Dahlia had given a hesitant message when Natalia stepped out of the bathroom.
If there was a way for my breath to be stolen straight from my lungs, this moment would be it.
Like a goddess who’d stepped out of the sea, she wore a dress of the deepest ocean blue that hugged every curve of her body, flaring out at the end in a seafoam silver like she had been adorned by the very waves herself.
Her hair fell in curls on one side of her bare shoulders, her dress the perfect shade of gorgeous as her eyes.
“Wow,” I muttered in wonder, taken aback by how wonderful she looked, but in reality, it wasn’t the dress that had me so awestruck. The dress was just a feature, a bonus to her beauty. Yet, it exaggerated those features I loved so much, accentuated all of her, and any man would have his jaw on the floor looking at her now.
Dahlia had outdone herself this time.
My lips split into a wide grin, unable to take my eyes off of her as she stepped into the bedroom with a shy smile. “You look gorgeous, Natalia.”
She beamed like a star on a cloudless night.
“So what’s the big surprise?” she asked coyly as she offered out her hand to wrap around my arm. As we fell into place beside one another, I noticed exactly what Dahlia had been referring to.
The blue of my coat and the silver of my tie were the exact match of her dress. We fit together like one puzzle piece in two halves.
‘Dammit Dahlia,’ I cursed, realizing now exactly what she had sent to us–a couples outfit.
It wasn’t that I was embarrassed to be seen in a couples outfit with Natalia–far from it. I just didn’t want this to be too early, to ruin the perfect night I’d set up by making it awkward.
But Natalia glanced me up and down, then at her dress and she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand as she broke into loud bursts of true, joyful laughter. I grinned at her clear joy, putting off my worries as I led her down to the car.
The night sky had just turned a dull shade of violet and pink, the sun falling over the distant mountains as I helped Natalia into my convertible, taking the driver’s seat. As I readied the car, Natalia leaned over to turn on the radio, beaming when she recognized the song playing.
She sang along quietly, leaning her hand just outside the window as we took off down the streets of the city. Positano was a tourist destination for a reason, and the views were breathtaking as we drove over the mountainous backroads to the main city.
Over the hills, the city was a gleaming beacon of lights, nearly everything lit up and sparkling across the various canals and rivers. Natalia sighed at the scene, a beautiful smile crossing her features.
I smirked to myself–score two for Tallon.
We pulled up to the restaurant, only a simple plain sign in the front that declared itself as iI Tridente, which admittedly didn’t look like much from the ground, but lucky for me, we weren’t going to be eating on the ground. The classic stone structure was easy to miss if you didn’t know what you were looking for, and Natalia only raised an eyebrow at me as we entered the plain-looking building.
I only smirked at the waiter standing at the entrance, who bowed when he spotted us.
“Welcome, sir and ma’am. This way please.” He gestured his arm toward the winding staircase in front of us.
