Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 384 -

*Olivia*

As I'd come to expect any time a Valentino man took me on a surprise trip, there was a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne waiting for us in the car. Tallon popped it for us and handed out generous glasses. I took a small sip, wanting to feel a slight buzz but also aware that it was only about 10:00 in the morning. If I had any hopes of making it through the whole day without falling asleep, I couldn't get wine-drunk just yet.

"Alright, today we just have one rule: you bring up work, you have to take a shot," Tallon declared.

"A shot of what?" Gio asked. "If it's whiskey, I'll just bring up work to get one."

"Dammit, Giovani, why can't you just follow the rules for once?" Dahlia whined.

"Nah, I've never seen the point in following rules," Gio said, gently squeezing my thigh as he spoke.

"Well, luckily for the game, it's not whiskey, it's vodka-Russian vodka," Tallon said with an emphasis on the word "Russian."

"Aw, yuck! What the hell, Tallon?!"

I giggled at Gio's outburst and made a mental note to trick him into talking about work at some point. Seeing him do a shot of vodka would be totally worth having to take one myself.

The drive was gorgeous, full of rolling hills with little farms dotting the countryside. Before I knew it, we were driving into the renaissance-era architecture that Tuscany was so famous for. It was remarkable. Being from the United States, I couldn't stop marveling at how old the buildings in Europe were. It was damn near incomprehensible to me that many of the buildings we passed by had been built in the 1500s. In a way, it made me feel at peace thinking about how many people had lived their lives in this city. My problems seemed so small when I was confronted with how vast the human experience was.

We drove almost all the way through the city, finally pulling to a stop next to what appeared to be an empty field. Dahlia turned to Tallon, a question in her eyes. Before she could open her mouth, he held up his hand. "Just wait, you'll see."

We all sat in silence, wondering what exactly we were about to see. We didn't have to wait long. A massive hot air balloon suddenly came into view and lowered to the ground. The bright colors of the balloon looked slightly out of place next to the classic neutrals of the city buildings, but it was a beautiful sight nonetheless.

"Are we riding in that thing?" Giovani asked, sounding strange.

I turned to him and was shocked to see that his face was white as a sheet. Could it be that we had finally found something that scared Gio?

"Yes!" Tallon exclaimed, too excited to notice Giovani's distress.

I tucked my hand into Gio's and squeezed his fingers. We didn't have to go for a ride in it. Although I would hate to miss the beautiful views, I wanted this to be a fun day for the both of us. Forcing the love of my life to spend the next however many hours in terror didn't seem particularly fun.

"Wow, Tallon, this is amazing!" Dahlia gushed. "We haven't been in a hot air balloon in years!"

"I know. The last time was when Dad surprised Mom for her birthday. Since Olivia's never been to Tuscany, I thought this would be the best way for us to show her the city." He turned to look at me expectantly, obviously very proud of himself for coming up with such a sweet surprise.

There was no way I could let him down by refusing to go. I glanced at Gio, trying to silently communicate with him that it was okay if he didn't join us. He didn't turn toward me. Instead, he leaned forward to tap Tallon on the shoulder and said, "Well, buddy, if you're getting me in that thing, you better break out the fucking vodka right fucking now."

Dahlia burst into wild laughter. "Giovani! You have been in literal gun fights, and you're telling us that you're afraid of hot air balloons?"

Before Gio had to answer, Tallon handed back a ridiculously large bottle of vodka.

"Damn, how much did you think we'd manage to drink?!" I asked.

"I don't know, I got it for free," Tallon said sheepishly.

Dahlia looked at him with suspicion in her eyes. I got the feeling that none of us wanted to know where the hell he would've gotten a massive bottle of premium Russian vodka for free.

Giovani was too focused on his fear of the hot air balloon to notice Tallon's caginess around where exactly the vodka had come from. Gio pulled the top off and lifted the bottle to his lips, taking a massive swig. In spite of his insistence that he hated Russian vodka, he barely grimaced afterward, but I shuddered to watch. I could barely handle a vodka cranberry, let alone drink it straight like it was water. "Alright," Gio grunted, "Let's do this."

"Hell yeah!" Dahlia shouted, always ready for a party to start.

We got out of the car and headed toward the hot air balloon. The pilot had it anchored to the ground, but the fire in the middle of the basket was lifting it up by a few feet. Giovani linked his arm in mine and leaned over so he could whisper to me without the others overhearing, "I would go anywhere with you, carina."

I smiled and turned to kiss him, not caring who might see us. I could taste the vodka on his lips, but it only fueled my desire for him. Tasting the alcohol on him reminded me of all the amazing nights we'd had staying up late and drinking outside when everyone else had gone to bed. It reminded me of how much we'd opened up to each other in those moments, telling each other long stories about our childhoods and families. And of course, it reminded me of how I'd always start to fall asleep, so he'd carry me to our bed and wake me up just enough to make love before we fell asleep, curled in each other's arms.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard someone clear their throat loudly, and I jumped away from our kiss, my cheeks burning. Dahlia and Tallon were both staring at us, Dahlia with a knowing smirk on her face, but Tallon looking pretty grossed

out.

"Sorry, Tallon, the vodka made me do it," Gio said with a shrug, then he winked at me.

We all got into the hot air balloon, and Gio wrapped his arms around me before saying, "I am not letting you fall out of this death trap."

"I don't think it's a death trap," I laughed. "And I wasn't planning on jumping over the side."

He nodded but didn't take his hands off of me. He was covering up his fear well, but I found it adorable that he wanted to keep me safe even in a situation that wasn't especially dangerous.

The views from the balloon were phenomenal. Our pilot pointed out the most famous buildings that she thought we might like, and Dahlia took a million pictures of everyone and the landscape while Tallon made quips about teaching Renaissance-era Italian peasants about selfies. Giovani stayed fairly quiet, just keeping his arms wrapped around me and making sure that I could see everything our pilot talked about. It was the perfect afternoon, one of the best we'd had in a long time.

By the time we landed, the air was getting chillier, and the sun was low in the sky. Tallon hurried us back to the car so that we could make our dinner reservation in time. He had booked out an entire place so that we could eat in peace without worrying about who was coming in and going.

When we arrived at the restaurant, I understood why Tallon had been so insistent that we get there at a certain time. The dining area was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows so that when the sun began to set, the entire restaurant was washed in glorious pinks and oranges.

"Tallon, this is amazing," I said as soon as we were seated.

"It's honestly better than I was expecting," he responded. "I'd heard of this place, but I hadn't seen any pictures. Now I know why. A picture could never do this any justice."

Giovani nodded his agreement, but Dahlia picked up her phone and immediately began to attempt to capture the light. She sat her phone down when the head chef made his way to our table with a massive tray of vegetables and cheese. "Good evening." He spoke with an English accent. "I have prepared for you a delicious meal all made with local foods. We work with our farmers to harvest ingredients only when they are ready so that our meals are as fresh and flavorful as possible. We will time out your dinner so that dessert comes out right when the sun sinks below the horizon. Let me start you off with an antipasto platter paired with a prosecco made at the vineyard just down the road. On the platter, you will see a colorful array of fall vegetables paired with an assortment of cheeses. Please ask your server if you would like to know more about any of the food that we will prepare for you today. And enjoy!"

The chef moved out of the way so that our server could pour our prosecco. The bubbles glinted in the colors of the evening sun, and it struck me, all of a sudden, how wild it was that this was just how we were spending our weekend. We weren't celebrating anything. It wasn't anybody's birthday. This was just the type of luxury that the Valentino family was used to. And if I was being honest with myself, it was the type of luxury that I was growing used to as well. After our prosecco was poured, Dahlia raised her glass to toast, "To the perfect day with the people I love."

Her words left me a little teary as I considered everything that the four of us had gone through together. There was nobody that I would rather have by my side through it all. We clinked our glasses and drank, with everyone exclaiming over how perfect the wine was.

The evening passed by in a blur of delicious food and wine that paired perfectly with each course. Just as the chef had promised, our desserts arrived right when the light from the sun fully disappeared. The restaurant was lit only by candlelight so that we were still able to see the stars in the sky through the massive windows.

Gio's hand rarely left my thigh as the evening progressed. In fact, the more wine he drank, the more suggestive he became, until I was sure that Dahlia or Tallon was going to say something. I didn't mind; the wine and the beautiful environment were getting me hot and bothered as well. By the time we had finished our dessert, I was more than ready to get home so that I could devour something other than food.

I fell asleep on the ride home and woke to Gio pressing his lips to my hand.

"Let's get you to bed," he murmured before scooping me up and carrying me out of the car.

"Good night, you two!" Dahlia called out before disappearing into her room.

"Thank you, Tallon, I didn't know how much we needed this," Gio said over the top of my head.

"Thank you, Tallon," I repeated, my voice muffled against Gio's chest. I was too tired to look up. Giovani carried me to our bed, then set me down gingerly.

"I have been waiting to get you alone all day," he said in a low voice.

Desire flared in my heart. Suddenly, I was wide awake and ready for my man.