Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 547 -

*Tallon*

The whole matter was settled in my mind.

I was going to marry Natalia.

But, of course, I needed to make sure that everything was perfect.

Having spoken with Vinny, I was both shocked and happy to know that he was a hundred percent supportive of me wanting to marry Natalia. Not that it would have persuaded me otherwise if he wasn't, but it was still nice to know that he had my back in this case.

These past couple of months have been nothing short of a blessing. Work has been running smoothly. The Russians had been keeping good on their word to play fairly when it came to business. And I had been lucky enough to come home each day to replace Natalia tucked away somewhere in my house. For a time, it felt like I was living a fantasy. Everything was working to my advantage.

But in the back of my mind, I knew that all of that could easily vanish if this proposal didn't go well.

The sun was still decently high in the sky as I was on my way back to the compound. The air felt cool against my skin, making me want nothing more than to curl up with Natalia as soon as I got home.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I took it out to see a new message on my screen. It was Vinny telling me that everything was ready to go for the Tuscany trip I was going to surprise Natalia with. According to the message, everything-the flight, the house, and the staff-was clear to go.

A spark of excitement raced through me. The idea of a proposal seemed like nothing more than a dream for so long. And at one given point, there was a time when I didn't even believe it would've been possible.

I leaned forward in my seat and told my driver to step on it. I didn't want to waste any more time being away from Natalia. With the speed of the car finally picking up, I eased myself back in my seat and began mentally preparing myself for when the time finally came to pop the question.

This was actually going to happen.

By the time we reached the house, my nerves were jittering with child-like excitement that I hadn't felt in years. I couldn't wait to see the look on her face when I told her about the trip.

I was hoping that she would light up the same way she did when we went on our first one. With any luck, this one wouldn't be rudely interrupted like the last one was.

I stepped through the main doors and began scanning for any sign of Natalia. I loved this little unknown game of hide and seek. Although it wasn't done intentionally, I took a strange pleasure in trying to replace her in different areas of the house.

Sometimes I'd replace her in the kitchens. Other times she'd be hanging out in our shared bedroom, and then there were moments when I'd see her lounging in the living room. It didn't matter where she was, I was just glad that she felt comfortable enough to move around and make herself feel at home.

After the horrific events that took place in her apartment building a few months back, it came as no surprise that she didn't want to go back.

Nonetheless, I wandered through the halls until I saw her from the doorway to the living room. She was curled up on one of the armchairs, completely lost in another book.

Whether it was for school or for pleasure, I adored the way Natalia looked whenever she became consumed by something she was reading. She appeared so focused yet so angelic-it drove me nuts because I knew I could watch her for hours. It almost gave me the idea of, perhaps, one day having a library placed somewhere in the house for her.

A second later, Natalia lifted her head from her book as though she sensed me watching her. A beautiful smile curved her lips, which made my body buzz to life. This was a look that I wanted to come home to every day. "You're home," she greeted me softly.

I felt my chest contract when I heard her use that word-home. She would never know how elated this made me feel, knowing that she referred to the compound as being her home.

I sauntered further into the room with a tantalizing grin splayed across my face. I bent down to capture her lips in a heated, much-needed kiss. I snaked my hand up from her jaw to sink back into the thick locks of her hair, deepening the kiss and taking in her sweet taste.

God, I missed her.

I wasn't even gone for that long of a time, but I couldn't bring myself to pull away so easily. Even though work hadn't been too stressful lately, I never wanted to be away from her. I could have nipped and kissed along the edge of her jaw for hours if time allowed me.

However, we had a flight to catch in the next two hours and I needed to break the news to her.

Against my better desire, I slowly pulled back. I kept my hand curled in her hair while the other framed her face. I glanced down at her adoringly.

Our kiss left her breathless and slightly dazed from the spaced-out look on her face. Her lust-blown eyes had me wanting to throw her over my shoulder and take her up to the bedroom. I could have easily spent the next several hours worshiping her body and listing the ways she ruined me.

I grazed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip, wanting to lean down and kiss her once more.

"I have a surprise for you," I whispered.

The whites of her eyes grew wide with excitement.

"What kind of surprise?" she asked me.

I didn't mean to make my smile as devious as I'm sure it looked. But I couldn't help myself from getting lost in her light-hearted expression of pure wonderment. It filled me with so much joy, knowing that I possessed the ability to give her these kinds of experiences.

"We're going on a trip for a couple of days."

As expected, Natalia's face lit up with elation which made it difficult to keep a straight face.

"A trip where?" She lightly nudged me. "Tell me."

My smile deepened into a playful smirk. "Ah, sorry, no can do."

I started to pull back and watched her face fall into slight puzzlement. She narrowed her eyes on me. "Why won't you tell me where we're going?"

"Because that's part of the surprise," I told her. "What fun would that be if I were to just tell you?"

Natalia puffed out a breath and rolled her eyes up.

"Tallon, if you don't tell where we're going, then how am I gonna know what to pack?" she questioned.

I wanted to string her along in this little game for at least another hour. When I glanced down at my wristwatch, I knew that I would not have that luxury this time.

"Well, will you at least tell me when we're expected to leave?"

I gave her a curt nod. "Of course. We are set to fly out of here... in about two hours."

Natalia's mouth flew open, her eyes widened in unfathomable disbelief. I could easily tell that her heart must have skipped at least two beats as she stuttered over her words. "W-what?!"

She quickly shut the book she was reading and tossed it away. She scrambled to replace her balance while running through a list of questions.

"Two hours? Two hours!" She threw her hands out around herself to collect her bearings. "How the hell am I supposed to pack a bag for a trip that starts in 'two hours,' a trip where you refuse to even tell me where we're going?"

I know I shouldn't take any pleasure in her distress, but she was so cute when her mind was in complete disarray. She was jumpy and spry on her feet, still trying to figure out what she could possibly throw in a suitcase so that we wouldn't miss our flight. I suppressed a chuckle.

I couldn't bear to watch her lose her sanity any further.

Just as she was about to fly out of the room, I snaked my arm around her waist and swung her back into my arms.

"Tallon! Please, I need to go and figure out what I need to pack before we "

"Sweetheart, please calm down," I said, trying to soothe her.

She vigorously shook her head and continued to try and get out of my arms. "I can't calm down, I need to pack!"

I couldn't hold my laughter back any longer. I threw my head back and chuckled till my sides were starting to hurt. Natalia stopped trying to get away and instead went stiff in my hands. For a moment, I was thankful that we weren't facing each other because I was fairly certain that she would be glaring at me.

"Tallon." Her voice grew stern. "Tell me where you're taking me."

I tightened my hold on her and lowered my face to her neck. Placing a lingering kiss over the sensitive part below her ear, I spoke softly.

"I refuse to tell you where we're going," I hushed. "And before you break out into a complete panic once again, you must know that everything has already been taken care of."

Natalia twisted herself around to better face me. Her expression of worry and fret graciously melted to something resembling bashful excitement. Natalia wrapped her arm around my neck and pushed herself up on the tips of her toes to reach

me.

"You are mischievous sometimes, you know that?" she said with a smile.

I rolled my brows and proceeded to swing her around the room, spreading kisses all over. She giggled and hummed in eager anticipation till it was time to leave.

By the time it came ready to head to the airstrip, I made sure we both had our phones and everything needed.

I couldn't wait for her to replace out where I was taking her. The flight from Venice to Tuscany was a little over an hour, but went as smoothly as possible. We were set to arrive in about ten minutes.

Natalia stayed glued to the window on her right side for the entire flight. Her gorgeous eyes searched our surroundings until it came time for our descent.

A small gasp escaped her lips. "Oh my God, Tallon," she breathed. "Tuscany... you brought me to Tuscany."

I took a glance out the window to see the gorgeous foliage that greeted us and instantly felt a familiar sense of warmth. I was so glad to see that Natalia felt the same way I did about visiting. Her features were alight with enthusiasm.

I wanted to make that wondrous expression become permanent on her face. So many things were new to her and that only made me want to do it all. I wanted to fill her schedule with trips like this where the two of us would travel and experience new things together.

I couldn't wait to ask her to marry me.