Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“I’m not sure,” I swished the fabric against my knees, a smile on my face as I thought of what Tallon might look like if he saw me in this dress, walking toward him. “Tallon’s quite a simple guy, but I think he’d love any dress regardless of the style.”
“Tallon?” Bianca jolted, her smile fading as she faced me fully. “Tallon Valentino?”
A bad feeling welled up in the pit of my stomach and I nodded, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden. “Yeah, he’s my fiance.”
“Well, how about that?” she huffed, crossing her arms with a small smirk. “I didn’t think he’d ever get married but apparently, I’m wrong.”
“How do you know him?” I asked cautiously, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Valentino?” She turned to me with a gleam in her eye. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”
*Natalia*
I walked back into the dressing room in shock and got back into my regular clothes. Alina seemed to catch on that I wanted to get out of there, so we left shortly after, avoiding Bianca.
The trip home was quiet and peaceful. I was exhausted, so I zoned out while looking out the window.
The scenery outside of the window was probably beautiful, but I wasn’t really seeing it. I just stared out the window as my thoughts wandered elsewhere.
I tried to forget about Bianca and took to daydreaming about my wedding day, picturing myself in a beautiful dress with my hair done perfectly and Tallon looking at me with that lovestruck expression of his that made my heart flutter in my chest.
Then I remembered the look in Bianca’s eyes when she said Tallon’s name… and the daydream was shattered.
No matter how many times I told myself to forget her and tried to picture Tallon and me dancing or to imagine what his suit might look like, I just kept thinking about Bianca. The jealousy twisting in my chest made me feel awful.
It wasn’t like me to dwell on something like this. It must have been the nerves about the upcoming wedding getting to me. I was afraid of something going wrong, so I was getting worked up over something small.
That was a logical explanation… it didn’t make me feel any better though.
I knew that I shouldn’t let the interaction with Bianca bother me, but it had overshadowed all of the pleasant parts of the event. Even though I wasn’t quite as excited about the bridal show as Alina, I was excited about possibly finding the perfect dress and finally being able to picture myself as a bride.
But now I couldn’t shake the dark cloud that had fallen over me.
I was being silly. Even if Bianca still had feelings for Tallon, that didn’t mean that he had lingering feelings for her.
He had never given me any reason to doubt his affection. I loved him and I know that he loved me, so there was no reason to worry. Right?
Despite my attempts to think positively, I was in a bad mood when I got home.
When I got back to the house, I paused before going in. I took a few deep breaths and thought about all of the positives of the event. I was so excited to marry Tallon, and our wedding plans were really starting to come together.
I tried to keep a pleasant expression on my face as I entered the house. I didn’t want to give Tallon the impression that I wasn’t excited about the wedding.
It was starting to get late, but Tallon was still in his home office. I knocked lightly on the door frame and he stood and walked to the door to greet me.
Of course, Tallon could tell immediately that something was wrong.
“Welcome home, darling.” He bent to kiss my forehead and when he stood back, I could see the worried crease in his brow.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not really,” I said. “I just ran into someone unexpected while I was at the bridal show.”
“Who would that be?” he asked.
His tone was concerned, and I knew that there was no point in avoiding the topic. He would worry if I didn’t tell him, and I would keep dwelling on it if I didn’t ask.
“Bianca,” I said. “Your ex-girlfriend.”
Confusion crossed his features for a moment before he nodded. “Ah, her,” he muttered. “Was she working there or something?”
I shook my head. “No, she’s getting married,” I explained.
“Good for her,” he said dismissively. “Did she say something that upset you?”
I shook my head. “You’ve never mentioned her before,” I pointed out.
He looked surprised at my words. “Why would I have?” he asked. “We were barely together. We dated for maybe four months and that was–” he looked thoughtful for a moment. “I guess it was eight years ago now.”
“I never would have guessed that,” I said. “The way she talked about you, I would have thought it was much more recent.”
A sour look settled over his face. “I ended things quickly because she was far too clingy.”
I nodded thoughtfully. She must have been far more into him than he was into her for her to talk about Tallon the way she did after so many years.
“Did she say something that upset you?” he asked again.
I shook my head emphatically. I didn’t want him to get worked up about this or feel like he needed to defend me in some way.. “No, I’m probably being silly….”
“But…?” he prompted.
I sighed at him. “You know me too well. It’s annoying sometimes,” I griped.
“Best get used to it, sweetheart,” he said. “Now tell me, what’s gotten under your skin?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “There was just something about her that unsettled me. I feel like she’s going to cause problems. I can’t explain why.”
“I promise you, I won’t let that happen,” he said seriously.
He pulled me into his arms and I wrapped my arms around him and leaned heavily into his embrace. Being in his arms made everything else feel unimportant. I tried to hold on to that feeling.
“I just don’t want anything to ruin our day,” I muttered.
“I will be marrying you, so it will be the best day of my life no matter what else happens,” he said firmly. “And I will make sure that it’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of and more.”
I smiled against his chest. “I know that you will,” I said. “It’s going to be a dream come true.”
I pulled out of the hug and looked up at him. I was a little embarrassed that I had gotten so upset.
“Bianca is nothing to me, and I will not allow her or anyone else to detract from your big day, sweetheart.” He waited for me to nod my understanding, then smiled. “That aside, how did it go? Did you find a dress that you like?”
I thought briefly about the dress that had matched Bianca’s that I’d left behind, but I decided to shake the thought of her aside and focus on our wedding.
“I have an idea of the style I like. But the models were… not like me. It would have been more helpful to see dresses on women who have a similar build; it would make it much easier to pick out a dress that’s flattering for me.” Just talking about picking a dress got me excited about the wedding again. “I think it will be easier when I go shopping because I have a general idea of what I want now.”
