Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 578 -

*Natalia*

The trip back to Florence was mostly a quiet one. Our time in Rome was so magical and going home to deal with the fallout of Tallon's arrest wasn't something either of us really wanted to do. We couldn't put it off any longer, though. We had

responsibilities to the rest of the family.

The flight seemed short, but that was probably because I kept drifting to sleep on Tallon's shoulder.

He didn't complain, even though I was sure it was uncomfortable for him. He let me doze until we had to buckle in for landing.

I was sad that our trip was over, but I knew that it wasn't the last vacation we were going to take together.

I decided to think of it as a practice run for our honeymoon. The thought filled me with such joy that I couldn't stop myself from grinning as we loaded into the car to head home.

I caught Tallon smiling at me as we got into the car.

"What?" I asked innocently.

He just shook his head and shrugged.

I wondered if his thoughts were along the same lines as mine. His phone was buzzing like crazy, and I didn't want to distract him from whatever conversation he was having. Now that we were back home, he was going to be swamped with work. There was no getting around that, so I just tried to brace myself for it.

We were barely inside the door when Tallon's phone started to ring. It was Vinny's ringtone. I tried not to eavesdrop as he answered it, but it was difficult not to overhear.

"Alright," he said softly. I couldn't hear anything from the other end of the call. Tallon lowered his head and took a few steps away from me. "Right now?" A long pause. "I understand. It is what it is. I'll be there in ten minutes."

My heart sank. He had to run off to work already. I was disappointed that our uninterrupted time together was over so soon. I understood, though. This was the way things were.

Tallon approached me with a contrite smile on his face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to go. Vinny needs my helping dealing with some business."

I frowned deeply at him. The last time Vinny had called him away suddenly, he'd ended up in police custody.

I didn't have to voice my concerns. He knew what I was thinking.

"It's alright," he assured me. "That's all behind us, I promise you." He pulled me into a hug, and I let myself melt into his arms.

"Come home safe," I said.

"I will, darling," he assured me. "But it's going to be a long one, I think. I'd like you to go out and replace something fun to do. Don't sit around waiting for me and worrying, alright?" I pulled out of his arms and nodded my agreement.

"I'll try," I promised.

Tallon kissed the top of my head quickly, then turned and hurried out of the room.

I watched him go and sighed as I was left alone in the hallway again.

He was right. If I stayed home, I would just worry about where he was and whether anything had gone wrong. I needed to get out, for at least a few hours, and keep myself busy. I pulled out my phone and sent Mia a text to see if she was free.

She didn't answer immediately, so I went upstairs and got cleaned up. After the long flight, a quick shower and fresh clothes were welcomed.

By the time I was ready, I had a response from Mia. She was free and hoping that I had something fun in mind. I smiled as I answered, inviting her to go shopping with me.

She responded right away that she would love to, and we agreed to meet at a popular shop downtown.

She was already waiting there when I arrived. She held a coffee out toward me, and I took it gratefully. The caffeine was very welcomed.

"When did you get back into town?" she asked.

"A few hours ago," I replied. "Tallon was called away on business immediately."

"Of course," she said with an eye roll. "They just never get a break, do they?"

"Hardly ever," I agreed.

I had to smile, though. It was so nice having someone to talk to who understood the unique challenges of being with someone in this lifestyle. It was something that most people wouldn't be able to fully appreciate. "Well, it just gives us a chance to hang out again," she said with a smile. "Was there anything specific that you were shopping for?"

"Not really," I said sheepishly. "I wanted to look at bridesmaid's dresses. I thought that you could help me pick something nice. I don't really know where to start."

"I was hoping it would be wedding shopping," she said in excitement. "Have you settled on a dress for yourself then?"

"No," I confessed. "I haven't had a chance to really look again. The arrest really put everything on hold."

"I'm sure it did," she said sympathetically.

"The good news is, Tallon is suddenly interested in helping with the wedding planning."

Her face lit up and she said in an excited tone, "That's fantastic! Oh, that's the way it should be. It's his day too, he should be just as involved as you are."

"I agree," I said brightly.

"Should we go back to the same bridal shop, or did you want to look somewhere else?" she asked.

"I guess start at the same one since it's close. We can go from there."

She nodded and we walked to the bridal shop together. We chatted about what she had been up to since the last time we met up for dinner. She told me about all the sweet dates that Alessandro had taken her on, and from the tone of her voice and the look on her face, it was clear just how in love she was. I was so happy for her, and for Alessandro.

It suddenly occurred to me that Mia was now one of my best friends, and that if I was going to have bridesmaids, then I would need a maid of honor. It only made sense that it should be her.

I didn't mention it to her, because I wasn't absolutely certain that I did want a bridal party. Once I'd talked to Tallon and made up my mind, then I would ask her.

We entered the shop together and I paused and looked around. I hadn't really thought about this place much since everything went sideways.

A woman approached us with a wide smile on her face. "Hello, do you have an appointment?" she asked.

"No," I answered. "We were just hoping to look at some bridesmaid's dresses."

"Well, they're on the far end of the shop," she said. She turned and pointed out a corner of the store where various colorful clothes were visible. "Just let us know if you have any questions. If you do decide that you want to make an appointment, we'd be more than happy to get something on the books for you."

"Thank you," I said. Mia and I walked over to the section she had pointed out and started to look through the many rows of dresses.

There were fabric samples hanging on the ends of clothing racks that showed all the available colors that each brand offered.

Mia was digging through the dresses with obvious interest, but I got distracted by the color samples. Most weddings had color themes, but I hadn't been able to settle on one yet. We'd gone with all white and gold for the cake to keep it as neutral as possible without being boring, that way it would match whatever colors I finally settled on.

My eye was drawn to a beautiful, subdued, dusty blue color. I closed my eyes and pictured it beside a pure white with gold accents. I smiled. I would have to ask Tallon, but I think that I had chosen the wedding colors.

I don't know how much time passed after that. It seemed like we looked at fifty dresses. Mia would hold them up in front of her or even slide the sleeves over her arms and twirl around to model them for me. Our laughter earned us a few stares, but neither of us cared.

We didn't fall in love with any dresses, but we did replace a material that we both really liked-chiffon. The way it flowed was just incredibly beautiful and I loved how it looked.

As we made our way towards the front door, the girl behind the counter called out to us. "Did you replace everything you wanted?"

I paused. I did want to replace out about the dress I'd like the last time we were here. It couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"Actually, I was wondering about a specific dress," I said. "I tried it on a while back and was interested in it, but I hadn't made up my mind yet. It was the last floor model remaining, I just wanted to know if you still have it."

"Do you remember the name of the design?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, but Angelica was the one I had the appointment with, if that helps."

The girl pushed the button on the small microphone pinned to her lapel then spoke into it. "Angelica to the front desk for customer service please," she said clearly.

"Thank you," I said.

It was less than two minutes later that Angelica appeared. She smiled widely when she saw me and held her hand out in greeting.

I shook her hand.

"How can I help you?" she asked. "Did you want to schedule another appointment?"

"Actually, I just wanted to replace out if that dress is still available."

Her smile became strained, and she shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, but no."

My heart sank. I thought it was probably gone, but it was still disappointing to hear it confirmed. "I see," I said. "I should have guessed."

"It actually sold that same day," she said. "Right after you left, another customer said that she saw you trying it on and just fell in love with it. She was so relieved when you didn't buy it. She paid in full right then and there." Irritation was clear in my voice when I said, "Thank you. That's all I wanted." She looked a bit nervous, but she nodded.

"Please, let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

I just nodded back, then turned on my heels and hurried to the exit. Mia followed close after me.

"Are you alright?" she asked as we walked down the sidewalk.

"It was Bianca," I said angrily. "I know it was. She swooped in and took that dress. I don't know how she's doing it, but she's showing up everywhere and stealing my wedding plans."

"I believe you," Mia said. "But I don't know how she could possibly be doing that."

"I'm going to replace out," I answered with a growl.

Bianca had picked the wrong person to mess with. The dress wasn't even the thing I was really angry about, I hadn't been in love with it. It was the fact that she was trying to steal something meaningful from me. She thought she was ruining my wedding.

Whatever she was trying to do didn't really matter.

All I knew was that she'd better back off before I really lost my temper.