Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 575 -

*Tallon*

It was more than a bit extravagant to take the private jet for such a short trip, but I didn't want to be trapped in a cramped car for hours on end. I wanted to be able to move freely and enjoy my time with Natalia. She had asked me a million questions as she packed for the trip, trying her best to weasel some information out of me that would tell her where we were going.

She kept asking me questions that might give her some hint about our destination.

"Do I need my swimsuit?" she asked curiously. "Should I bring a jacket?" she added thoughtfully. "Will I need hiking boots? Should I pack my nice heels?"

Every time she asked, I told her to pack whatever she wanted and that if she needed something while we were gone, I would buy it for her.

Each time I refused to give her a straight answer she fixed me with an irritated pout.

It was cute, really.

"Relax," I told her gently. "It's a vacation. I promise, you'll have everything that you need."

"How am I supposed to relax if I don't know where we're going?" she asked.

She had tried to get me to tell her all morning. The entire drive to the airport, she'd made wild guesses about where we were going.

"Japan? Canada? Australia? South Africa?"

I just shook my head at every guess. "Be patient," I chided.

She had shaken her head emphatically and continued to guess.

She seemed almost disappointed when she realized we were taking the private plane, because she wouldn't be able to just check the flight number to replace out our destination.

I hadn't given anything away. Her frustrated sigh and the little pout that she had aimed at me almost made me crack, but I knew that her excitement and surprise would be worth it.

We'd had a crazy few days after my release. There was so much that had to be squared away before we could take a moment to ourselves.

I was incredibly grateful to Natalia that I only had a week's worth of drama to unpack and deal with. If not for her, it would have been a lot worse. I was optimistic that things would be able to get back to some level of normal now. While we were on this trip, Vinny and Alessandro would be meeting with the Russians. I was confident that they would understand the situation and it wouldn't sink us into another war.

They would have demands, of course. They had lost several of their men. It wouldn't be enough for me to assure them that the man responsible was in police custody and had been disavowed by the family.

Whatever they wanted in compensation, I would be happy to do it. Keeping the peace was of the utmost importance for all of us. The old war had done so much damage and I was determined to protect the family from going through anything like that again.

That was a matter for another day. For now, I was happy that I could focus solely on Natalia.

She kept looking out the window as though she would be able to guess where we were going based on the scenery. I poured her a glass of champagne and reached over her, pulling the window shade down.

She turned to me with an exaggerated expression of shock. She motioned to the closed window and waved her hand at it.

"No fair!" she complained. "I can't even look out the window?"

"It's a surprise," I said simply. "Stop trying to peek."

She accepted the glass from me and sat back heavily with a deep sigh. "I'm only excited," she said innocently. She took a sip while she stared at me over the rim of her glass.

"I know you are, darling," I said fondly. I patted her knee and smiled at her puppy eyes.

She smiled suddenly and I could tell that she wanted to laugh. It made me grin back. If she was actually sad, I would tell her everything and she knew it. She was just testing me.

I was more than happy to be the target of her little game. Seeing her relaxed and acting silly did my heart good.

When she visited me in the courtyard of the prison, her stress and fear was a palpable thing. It filled me with guilt and anger to see her that way. As much as I had needed to see her, it was difficult to put her in that situation.

This was the woman that I love, and she was suffering because of me. I had never felt anger quite like the anger I felt in those moments. It was lucky for Antonio that he had been caught and arrested.

If I'd had a chance to deal with his betrayal myself, it would have been a much less sympathetic encounter. His reasons for feeling the way he did were understandable, but his actions were unforgivable.

On some level, he must have known that. He had been silent as a grave since his arrest. He made no attempts to defend himself or to throw anyone else under suspicion. As long as he stayed quiet, he would be safe from us. He must have realized that.

I was glad that it was over and soon that part of our lives would just be a bad memory.

Natalia had set me free. She had made the difficult calls that were necessary, and she had been relentless in her pursuit of the real killer.

She was incredible.

I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have her. She surprised me at every turn.

"You're staring," Natalia said softly. "Is there something on my face?"

"I'm just basking in your beauty," I answered.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she scoffed. "That's too cheesy," she muttered.

"It's the truth," I argued. "I know we were only apart for a short time, but I missed being able to see you."

"I missed your face too," she said in a goofy tone.

I shook my head at her antics and took a sip of my own drink.

This was exactly what I had wanted when I planned this trip. There were no looming issues that we had to deal with and no deadly threats on the horizon. We had nothing to keep us from relaxing and no one to distract us from one another. Natalia sat forward and an excited glint came into her eyes. "You said that you want to help with the wedding planning," she said.

I nodded. "I do," I confirmed. "I've been far too hands-off until this point. I want to be by your side for the rest of the planning."

"I'm really happy you feel that way," she said with a wide, beautiful smile.

It made my heart soar to see that look on her face. If I had realized that being involved in the planning would make her smile like that, I would have done it from the beginning.

"We've already chosen the cake," I said thoughtfully. "I already have my suit. I think that your dress is the most important thing that hasn't been chosen."

"There's a lot left to do," she corrected. "But my dress is at the top of the list."

"You know how I feel about it," I said. "You could wear a potato sack and you'd be radiant."

"I appreciate the sentiment," she said. "But I don't think that would go over very well."

I chuckled. "No, I suppose not. Besides, you deserve the finest dress possible. I know that you've been looking at those off the rack things, but if you want something made just for you, I will make that happen."

She smiled. "I know," she assured me. "I have a much better idea of what I want now, but I'm not in love with any of the dresses I've seen yet."

"Tell me what you've liked," I said.

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew that I'd made the right call.

Natalia scooted closer to me and pulled her phone out. She turned the screen so that we could both see it and started pulling up pictures.

I don't know how long we sat there looking at dress after dress. It must have been hours.

Far from being bored by the topic, I reveled in hearing her excitement. She pointed out what she liked about each dress and told me what she wasn't sure about.

I looked at each dress and pictured her in it. I teased her about getting something sexy, but she only giggled and quickly flipped past the more revealing dresses.

I pretended to reach for the phone and tried to go back, but she pulled out of my reach.

The teasing and laughter filled my heart with joy.

We discussed the options that she had tried on and what she thought looked best on her. I wished that I had gone with her instead of Mia, but it was bad luck for me to see her dress before the wedding. I wasn't willing to risk any more bad

omens.

I was surprised when the captain's voice cut through the silence, informing us that we would be descending soon.

Natalia looked at me expectantly. "Will you tell me where we are now?" she asked excitedly.

I reached across her and lifted the window shade.

She looked out immediately and I heard a soft, amazed inhale from her.

The aerial view wasn't nearly as impressive as the city itself, so I wasn't sure if she actually recognized where we were. She turned back to me after a few seconds and stared in surprise.

"Is that Rome?" she asked.

I felt my eyebrows raise with impressed surprise. "It is," I confirmed.

She turned back to the window, and I looked out with her. An expanse of old roads lined with beautiful stone buildings lay below us. The domes of the architecture shone in the sunlight and made the entire city seem somehow ethereal.

It was a magical city, in its own way. That was why I had chosen it. Well, that and the fact that it wasn't too far away. I wanted to take some time to be alone with Natalia, but I couldn't afford to go too far right now. The family was still in upheaval, and I needed to be close by in case something went awry.

Still, Rome was a wonderful choice for our little getaway.

There was beautiful architecture, history, and art for us to explore. There was good food to enjoy. We could relax in our villa the entire time if that's what she wanted to do, but I made sure that there were options. Natalia deserved the world, and I was determined to give it to her. I wanted to give her every reason possible to smile. I wanted to see her enjoying herself. It was the least I could do after what she had done for me.

I was going to make this trip as perfect as possible. Making Natalia happy was all that mattered to me right now, and I wasn't going to miss any opportunity to do just that.