Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
I smacked my forehead in disbelief. No wonder Alessandro had been upset. She’d been missing for over two hours, and he hadn’t known where she was.
And it sounded like she hadn’t known where she was either. Hell, when I ran away from Tallon after our fight, he’d sent the whole damn mafia to find me. She was lucky Alessandro hadn’t alerted his men.
“You know that’s ridiculous,” I told her.
“Blah blah blah, I promise I heard it all from him already,” she muttered. Her words came out annoyed, but a smile played at her lips. “He made me start carrying around a phone charger in my purse. Do you know how annoying that is?”
“You love that he worries about you,” I said.
It wasn’t a question. I could tell by how she was acting. She hadn’t meant to worry him, but she loved that he cared enough to worry. I got it, especially after growing up in a family that didn’t really give a shit about me one way or the other, it was intoxicating to have someone love me enough to worry about me.
“Is it that obvious?” she asked.
I laughed and nodded vigorously. She smacked my arm, then reached for a slice of pizza.
“Alright fine, I’m a lovesick fool and I can’t get enough. I live with the man, and I still can’t get enough of him,” she said before taking a dramatic bite.
“I know the feeling,” I reassured her.
Although it was amazing to be cared for the way Tallon cared for me and Alessandro cared for Mia, it was also intimidating. It made you constantly wonder if you were good enough for that kind of love, and it made you terrified of what might happen if you ever lost it.
“Have you guys talked about marriage at all?” I probed.
I had a feeling Alessandro would be asking her soon, but I hadn’t heard anything from him. I hoped Tallon would keep me in the loop, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the two men had decided to keep everything from me just in case I spoiled the surprise for Mia.
“No, but he’s the type who would want it to be a total surprise. I know he won’t say a word to me until he’s down on one knee.” She rolled her eyes, her grin making it obvious that that was exactly the way she wanted it to be.
“Aw, he’s such a romantic at heart,” I gushed.
Suddenly she turned to me, her eyes narrowed. “Do you know anything? Has he told you and Tallon about any plans?”
“No! I swear, he hasn’t told us a word. I wish he would, I want to know what his plan is!” I exclaimed.
She sat the pizza slice back down and settled back against the headboard. “I’ll be honest. I hope he asks soon. I really want to be his wife. Even when he’s upset with me, even when I have to carry a damn phone charger just to ensure he can reach me, even when he leaves his beard trimmings in the sink because he left in a rush… it doesn’t matter. I still love him and want to call him my husband.” She stared dreamily into space, no doubt imagining her wedding.
“That was ridiculously adorable,” I told her.
She threw her head back and laughed. “Well, that’s what love does to you, I guess. I’ve officially become adorable.”
“Well, I want you two to get married for my own reasons. Then you and I would finally be family,” I told her shyly.
Revealing to Mia just how much I loved her made me feel vulnerable, but in the best way. I truly saw her as a sister, and I wanted her to know that. Thankfully, she reached out and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
“I would love that,” she said, her arms still squeezing me.
When she pulled away, we both dabbed at our eyes, wiping away the few tears that had gathered there. We laughed at ourselves, but I knew we both felt incredibly lucky to be in each other’s lives.
“And here I thought I’d end up with in-laws as crazy as my own family,” I joked. “Instead, I’m afraid I might be the craziest of the bunch.”
She looked at me pointedly. “Trust me, it’s not you. It’s Alessandro. Did you not hear the part where he’s making me carry a phone charger in my purse? I was only late the one time!”
I laughed at her exasperation. “No, you don’t get sympathy from me. I’m in favor of the phone charger thing,” I teased. “I don’t want you lost in the city either.”
“Oh my god, I was not lost! I knew exactly where I was!”
“Somehow, I don’t think Alessandro quite bought that argument. And I’m not buying it either. You got lost. In the city, at night!”
“Fine, when you put it that way, I guess the phone charger makes sense,” she admitted, crossing her arms and pouting dramatically.
Her theatrics had me cracking up. She was such a perfect match for Alessandro. It was ridiculous. I was certain the two of them would be married soon, and I had a feeling that the four of us would grow old together, close friends for the rest of our lives.
When I’d first fallen in love with Tallon, it had been terrifying. I had been so certain that my heart would be broken as I tried to balance my growing love for him with my loyalty to my family. I’d had no clue just how lucky I was about to become.
Not only had he managed to help my family and create a peace treaty that had never existed between his family and mine, but he’d also given me the first real home I’d ever had. Not just a place to live, but a place where people loved me, and I loved them.
I reached out and grabbed the bag of gummy worms, handing one to Mia and taking one for myself.
“Cheers,” I said, holding out my gummy worm and tapping it against hers, “to us and to friendship.”
“Cheers,” she responded before taking a bite from her worm.
We settled into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the pleasant feeling of eating good food while in good company.
I hoped that this feeling of contentment would carry through the rest of my life.
*Tallon*
“Jesus Christ, if I’d known this was going to be such a fucking ordeal, I would have started this project months ago!” Alessandro cursed under his breath.
I couldn’t stop the chuckle from erupting from my chest. My brother jabbed his elbow back, striking me in the arm in response. Unfortunately, this only made me laugh even louder.
“It’s not funny, Tallon,” he gritted through his teeth.
Good God. It felt like ages since I’d seen the guy become so worked up over something. Normally this sort of reaction was geared toward an outside threat. But lately, my brother had become his own worst enemy… well, more or less, his anxiety had.
Ever since he told me that he was thinking about finally popping the question to Mia, the man was coming apart at the seams due to excessive worrying. I wasn’t entirely sure if he was worried that Mia would say no or if he was just concerned about screwing up the proposal all on his own.
Regardless, I gave him my full sympathy.
Looking back nearly a whole year, I could still recall the night I’d proposed to Natalia. I’d been a nervous wreck nearly the entire night until the waiters finally brought the dessert out and I pulled out the black velvet box from my pocket.
Once it was all over, my nerves were finally able to rest, and I could move forward with little worry. Now it was Alessandro’s turn to go through the motions.
This morning, before I left the house, Natalia told me that she and Mia would be out spending the afternoon together. The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect, because within the same hour, Alessandro reached out and texted me about going out to search for the perfect engagement ring.
I hadn’t breathed a single word of this to Natalia. Although, a part of me felt that Natalia may have already suspected that this proposal was going to happen. If my wife could be considered anything, it was perceptive.
After we returned from our honeymoon, the Natalia and Mia became even more inseparable than before. I was so glad she’d found someone to whom she could confide in other than myself. I loved my Natalia without any doubt, but I wanted her to have friends she could trust and spend time with. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her to grow up without any siblings.
As annoying as Alessandro and Dahlia were at times, I wouldn’t have wished for anything different.
When it came to Natalia spending a good portion of her time with Mia, I had zero complaints—and to think that soon we’d all be connected as family.
“Come on, man. This wasn’t meant to be a stressful event,” I told him.
