Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“I’m sure that it’s very stressful,” she said. “I have a cousin who runs a bridal shop, an aunt who runs a boutique that does wedding parties, and a friend in a salon who does weddings, so I’ve heard some wild stories.”
“Oh god, I haven’t even thought about hiring someone to do my hair or makeup yet,” I gasped. I wondered how something that important had slipped my mind.
She smiled kindly. “There’s still plenty of time to figure that out. You need your dress picked out first, the rest is done to compliment that.”
“That makes sense,” I said. “I haven’t picked a dress yet, but I’m going to look tomorrow.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” she said in an excited tone.
“Yeah,” I sighed, wishing Alina wasn’t so busy. “I just wish I wasn’t going alone.”
“What do you mean?” she asked in confusion.
“My friend is too busy to go with me tomorrow. It stinks because I really feel like I’m in over my head, and I would love a second opinion to help me make the decision, you know?”
“I’ll come with you,” she offered.
“No, I couldn’t impose. I’m sure you’ve already got plans–”
“I really want to come with you,” she insisted. “It’s such an important part of the process, and you shouldn’t have to do it alone. If you’re okay with me tagging along, I would love to come dress shopping with you.”
She sounded so sincere, and there was a hopeful look in her eyes as she waited for me to decide. I didn’t want her to feel obligated to come with me since we’d just met, but it seemed like she really wanted to come along.
I smiled and decided it would be fun. “That sounds great,” I said. “Thank you so much. I’ll feel much better having someone with me just in case anything weird happens.”
“Weird?” she asked. “Like what?”
I sighed. Mia was so easy to talk to, and the thing with Bianca could have very well come up while we were shopping if I was right about her following me around. I figured I might as well give her fair warning.
“There’s this weird ex of Tallon’s that keeps popping up the last few days. I ran into her at the bridal expo, and she was at the bakery when we went for our cake tasting. It’s probably a coincidence, but it feels weird to me.”
“Gross,” she said softly. “That would make me so uncomfortable. Even if it is a coincidence, that would be just so awkward.”
“It really is,” I said. “So just in case I run into her again tomorrow, it will be nice to have someone else with me.”
Mia’s expression shifted to one of determination. “Just let her say something off in front of me,” she said.
Alessandro laughed. “You don’t want to get on Mia’s bad side,” he said. “I’ve seen her reduce a woman to tears with a sentence. She’s sweet as an angel as long as you’re kind, but treat her rudely and she’ll put you in your place.”
Tallon looked at Mia thoughtfully and smiled. “She sounds perfect for you,” he said. “You need someone who can keep you in line.”
“I want to argue, but you’re right,” Alessandro said.
A waiter arrived at the table with our wine and drew our attention to him. I realized with some embarrassment that I hadn’t even glanced at the menu yet, and I saw Mia scramble to open her menu at the same time that I did. It made me smile.
I could see myself becoming good friends with Mia.
It would be nice to have someone else to talk to about the unique challenges of being a member of the family. If Mia and Alessandro were going to be together for a long time, and it seemed that they would, then maybe I could help her to acclimate to this weird new life.
I needed more female friends to talk to and go out with, so the idea of having another woman to do things with was thrilling.
I felt a lot more confident about dress shopping tomorrow, too. The fact that Mia had some experience with wedding planning, even if it was just from stories she’d heard from her family and friends, was reassuring. It may not have been direct, but it was more experience than I had.
Besides, Mia was gorgeous and glamorous. If I could trust anyone to steer me in the right direction when it came to choosing a dress, then it would be her.
My nerves about tomorrow were replaced by excitement. Not only was I going to find the dress that I would marry Tallon in, but I might just make another good friend along the way.
*Natalia*
The next morning, my driver took me to pick up a couple of coffees from my favorite cafe and then to pick up Mia. When she got into the car, she was dressed in a very expensive-looking sundress without a hair out of place.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “Thank you again for bringing me along.”
“Thank you for offering,” I replied. I handed her a coffee and she took it gratefully. “I feel so much better about this now that I’m not going it alone.”
“So, do you have some idea of what you want?” she asked. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled in satisfaction.
“The dresses that I liked the most at the bridal show were mermaid and sheath cuts,” I explained.
“Oh,” she said with a smirk. “You’re going to be a total bombshell in a dress like that.”
I laughed and waved my hand dismissively. “I just think that those dresses look really elegant, you know? They’re modern, but not too edgy.”
“How much cleavage are you comfortable showing?”
I hadn’t thought about that aspect of it. I looked down at my chest and frowned. “I don’t want it to be too much, but I think it should be a little sexy, right?”
“Okay,” she said thoughtfully. “How about the fabric?”
“I am so unprepared!” I said in distress.
“No!” Mia said. “Lots of women walk in with no idea what they want. There are so many options. You just want to have a good place to start.”
“I don’t want to waste anyone’s time,” I said.
Mia scoffed. “Are you joking? I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than finding the perfect dress.”
I nodded. She was right. I told myself that I had plenty of time to try again if I didn’t find anything today. I took a sip of my own coffee and sighed. This was major though. I knew that if I found a dress that I really liked enough to buy, that would make the upcoming wedding feel incredibly real. It was much more tangible than a cake flavor, after all.
The car pulled up in front of the bridal shop and Mia and I stepped onto the sidewalk. I looked up at the sign and took a deep breath to steel myself before going in.
“You’ve got jitters, huh?” Mia asked. “That’s normal.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “That actually makes me feel better.”
Not much about my life was normal, so it was nice to know that this was par for the course.
Mia opened the door for me and we went in. There was a nicely dressed young woman standing near the entrance who greeted us and brought us to a nook off to the side with plush seating. She instructed us to wait while she got our stylist for us.
It was less than five minutes later that a tall, slim woman with blonde hair and sharp green eyes approached us. She smiled broadly and offered me her hand. I stood and shook her hand firmly.
“I’m Angelica,” she said in a breathy voice. “I take it you’re Natalia?”
“I am,” I said. “And this is my friend Mia.”
