Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 554 -

*Tallon*

My morning with Natalia had been nearly ideal. If not for the looming dread of Bianca's reappearance, it would have been perfect.

Natalia hadn't brought her up again, and I hoped that I had been successful in reassuring her. She had no idea how right she was when she said that Bianca was going to cause trouble. Being with that woman was one of the worst mistakes of my life.

Saying that she had been clingy was an understatement. She was frighteningly obsessed with me, and within the first few weeks of our dating, she had started to talk about marriage.

I thought that it was innocent teasing and jokes at first, but I was wrong. I had strong suspicions that she had been obsessed with me before we met, but there had never been any proof of that. I just didn't see how she could have developed such a deep attachment in only a few weeks.

I hadn't spoken to Bianca in eight years, not since I threatened to file a restraining order against her.

I didn't want to scare Natalia by getting into all of this, but I was very concerned about Bianca's sudden reappearance.

The timing could not be worse.

Natalia and I were beginning our lives together. This was a chance for both of us to create a new normal for ourselves and I wanted it to start smoothly. For a mistake from my past to creep up now was infuriating.

I wouldn't allow anything to interfere with my marriage to Natalia, and God help anyone who made her day less than perfect.

All that I could do for now was hope that she really had moved on and was focused on planning her own wedding. If this was some kind of game of hers, it was not going to end well for her.

I tried to put the thought out of my mind as Natalia and I drove to the cake shop. She was so excited for us to work on the wedding plans together. I didn't want anything to distract my attention from her. "I'm glad you were able to come for the tasting," Natalia said.

Her voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to her and smiled. I love the excitement on her face.

"I wouldn't miss it," I said. "I'm glad that you asked me to come."

"Well I can't do all of the planning by myself," she teased. "It's your wedding too."

I smiled. Every time I thought about watching Natalia walk down the aisle, my heart stuttered. I never thought that I would replace a woman who made me this happy.

"I want it to be everything you've ever dreamed of," I said.

I already had what I wanted. Natalia was going to be my wife. It was important to me that the day be as perfect for her as possible.

"I know," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You keep reminding me."

"Have I been repeating myself?" I asked.

I knew that I had been. Natalia needed reassurance and I didn't mind providing it, even if it made me sound like a broken record.

The bakery that we pulled up to was a small, neat-looking building with a simple sign above the door. If I hadn't known their reputation, I wouldn't have even considered stopping there.

The fact that Natalia had managed to schedule a private tasting for us was lucky. I had a feeling that dropping her soon-to-be surname was a big part of that.

I stepped out of the car and offered her my hand. She took it firmly and stepped onto the sidewalk.

She looked up at the sign and a wide smile spread across her features. She took a deep breath as if to calm herself, then we walked into the shop together.

The smell inside of the brightly lit, comfortable space was incredible, with the scent of fresh-baked cookies wafting in the air. It assured me that Natalia had made the right choice of bakery. I was suddenly much more enthusiastic about the tasting.

Natalia led me toward the counter and stopped a few feet away. There were a few people in line ahead of us.

I glanced at the woman at the back of the line and froze.

My blood pressure spiked when my eyes fell on the unmistakable form of Bianca standing in front of us.

I turned away from her, pretending that I hadn't noticed her. I could see from the look in Natalia's eyes that she had already seen her, too. It was rare to see Natalia look so angry, but If looks could kill, Bianca would have dropped dead where she stood.

I took Natalia's hand, drawing her attention to me.

"Before we start tasting, what do you think you're going to like?"

She looked up at me in confusion and I saw her eyes flick back toward Bianca. "I don't know. I have pretty simple tastes when it comes to sweets."

"That could change after you try a few different flavors," I said. "I'm just curious. If we didn't have a chance to do a tasting, what would you have chosen?" "Probably vanilla," she said.

I nodded. "That does seem a bit too simple," I said thoughtfully.

She scrunched up her nose and frowned at me. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the expression. She looked very cute.

"It's classic," she argued. "We want something that everyone will enjoy."

"That's a good point," I said. "If we go too niche, then we run the risk of people disliking it."

She smiled victoriously and I squeezed her hand lightly.

This was what we were there for. It didn't matter if Bianca was there. I wasn't going to allow her to ruin this experience for Natalia. "That's why I need your input though," she said earnestly. "I don't want to pick something too dull. It would be embarrassing."

I smiled and lifted her hand up, then kissed her fingers. "We'll get what we enjoy. It doesn't matter if it's something simple." Her cheeks colored slightly and she nodded her agreement. "It's our day," she said.

"Tallon?"

I cringed at the sound of Bianca saying my name. I saw the anger return to Natalia's eyes, and it filled me with anger as well.

I turned and looked at Bianca with as neutral a facial expression as I could manage. She was smiling brightly at me as she hurried toward me with small, bounding steps. She looked like an overexcited toddler.

"Oh, it is you!" she said. "It's so good to see you!"

"Hello, Bianca," I said coolly.

"I hoped I'd run into you," she said. She turned her eyes to Natalia and waved a greeting. "After running into Natalia yesterday, I just couldn't stop thinking about you. It's so strange that we're both planning our weddings at the same time, isn't it?" She looked up at me and smiled expectantly.

I raised an eyebrow at her. Did she really expect me to engage with her like this? Her slight at Natalia was subtle but insulting. I pulled Natalia close to my side and put my arm around her waist. I could feel how stiff her posture had gotten. She was obviously on edge.

"I'm happier than I've ever been," I said simply.

The smile remained frozen on her lips, but I saw anger fill her dark eyes.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said.

"I don't have time to chat," I said. "I assume you're here working on your own wedding plans, so I'm sure you understand."

"I do," she answered. "It's so sweet that you're here. Natalia sure is lucky. My guy couldn't make it, so I'm flying solo."

"Don't talk about her like she isn't standing right here," I ordered.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Bianca said quickly. "Sorry."

"Mr. Valentino?"

I turned toward the counter to replace a pretty young woman with red hair smiling nervously at me.

Natalia and I walked past Bianca without another look and approached the young woman.

I could feel Bianca's gaze burning into my back as we walked away, but I didn't pay her any attention. If she thought that showing up here was going to take any of my attention away from Natalia, then she was dead wrong. I couldn't wait to be as far away from her as possible.

"Sorry for the wait sir," the red haired woman said kindly. "We're ready for your tasting."

"There's nothing to apologize for," I assured her. "We've just arrived."

She looked relieved. "Wonderful. Please, follow me into the back."

I motioned for Natalia to go ahead of me and we both followed the woman around the counter and through a tall, wooden door.

Through the door, there was a long table covered by a white linen cloth. Arranged on the table were dozens of small plates with thin slices of cake on them and small silver forks at the ready. There was a pitcher of water at one end of the table and a few glasses standing by.

An older woman dressed in a smart white pantsuit was standing with her arms clasped behind her back. She smiled widely at us as we approached.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in greeting. She held her hand out and I shook it firmly. She then shook Natalia's hand. "We're honored you're interested in letting us provide the cake for your big day."

"I've heard a lot of good things," Natalia said. "I'm excited to see what our options are."

"Well, I'd hate to keep you in suspense," the woman said kindly. She led us to the far end of the table and poured us each a glass of water from the pitcher. "We'll go down the table in order," she explained. "And I'll take notes as we go, to make it easier for you to remember each option."

"That's very helpful," Natalia said.

"Some people get a little overwhelmed by the process and by the time we get to the end, they can't remember what they thought of the first few options," she explained.

"I can see how that might happen," Natalia said as she glanced down the length of the table. "What do we have first?"

"The first flavor we have for you to try is chocolate raspberry truffle," the woman said.

"That sounds amazing," Natalia said happily. "I'm not sure if we want to go with a berry flavor. It seems like the kind of thing that some people wouldn't enjoy."

"That's true," the woman agreed. "Taking your guests' tastes into account is important, but that is why some couples will have different flavors for different tiers. Have you given much thought to how big you'd like your cake?"

I zoned out while the two of them discussed the merits of a classic three-tiered wedding cake.

Bianca's presence at the cake shop had thrown me off, as much as I didn't want to admit it. Natalia had good instincts, and her feeling that Bianca was going to be a problem seemed to be correct.

I wasn't going to allow that to happen, though. If this was some kind of scheme on Bianca's part, I was going to quash it before it went any further.

And if this was a bizarre coincidence, then I was going to make it clear to Bianca that we were not friends, and her presence in and around my life is not going to be tolerated.