Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 591 -

*Natalia*

It was hard to believe that the wedding was so close. I had feared that we would never get here. It seemed like things just kept popping up to derail us. That was all in the past, though. Almost everything was arranged for the wedding and there was nothing that was going to stand in my way now.

Tallon's family had started to arrive at the house a few days ago.

I was incredibly nervous about having everyone here, but I was also excited. I could see how much it meant to Tallon to be surrounded by family. He was smiling and laughing almost constantly. Part of that was anticipation about the wedding, but it was mostly having everyone nearby and safe.

He worried a lot about the family. It reassured him to have them close.

Several more relatives were supposed to arrive that day, and I was incredibly nervous about meeting them.

Tallon's cousin Giovani and his wife Olivia, along with their sixteen-year-old son Elio, were supposed to arrive that morning. Dahlia, Tallon's sister, was coming with them, and I hadn't met her yet. I was so nervous that she wasn't going to like

me.

I had been up for hours by the time Tallon came down for breakfast, making sure that everyone had everything they could possibly need. Tallon kept reassuring me that I didn't need to worry, and that his family would love me, but I couldn't stop worrying.

Tallon and some of his relatives were still in the dining room drinking coffee and chatting, but I felt like I couldn't sit still. I was pacing around the house. I knew that I was being silly, but I felt like I just couldn't relax.

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted my thoughts, and my heart started to pound.

They'd arrived.

I walked to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.

The loud and excited burst of sound that greeted me took me by surprise. The older man was at the front of the group, and he was the first one to step inside.

As soon as he had stepped aside, the women threw their arms out and headed straight for me.

Before I could react, I was being wrapped up in a warm embrace.

"Natalia, it's so good to see you!" I recognized Dahlia right away from the family resemblance.

"Oh, look at your hair!" Olivia said as she squeezed me tightly. "I'm so jealous!"

"Give her some space," Giovani said with a laugh. "Let the poor girl breathe."

More laughter erupted as I was released from the crushing hug.

Despite my surprise by the greeting, I was smiling broadly. The warmth and excitement they were feeling was contagious. I heard footsteps approaching and looked to see Tallon coming to greet them. "Tallon," Olivia said sternly. "How could you keep such a lovely woman from us, huh? You should have introduced us much sooner!"

"I know, Olivia," Tallon said as he bent to embrace her. "Life has been crazy lately."

She returned the hug, then swatted his arm. "Always an excuse," she said.

"I'm so excited," Dahlia said. "I love weddings! I can't wait to see the cake, and the flowers, oh... and your dress!" she squealed.

I laughed. "I can't wait either."

Olivia gave me a strange look. "You haven't seen your dress yet?" she asked. "Is it not back from the seamstress?"

I felt my face heat up. "Actually, I don't have one yet. It's a long story."

She smacked Tallon on the arm again and said something quietly that I didn't catch. Then she turned back to me and said, "Come on, get your jacket. We're going to get this sorted right away." My eyes went wide. "Oh no," I said. "You're guests, and you've just arrived, I couldn't-"

"You call your girlfriends to meet us there. We're going to get you a dress."

Her tone left no room for argument. I looked at Tallon, but he just shrugged.

"Dhalia, you're coming too," she said.

I pulled out my phone and texted Mia. It seemed like I didn't really have a say in the matter, and honestly, I welcomed the help in choosing a dress.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Dahlia held out her hand. "I'll give them the address," she said.

I reluctantly handed my phone over. She tapped out a message, then put my phone in her purse. I started to protest, but she grinned at me and said, "It's a surprise."

The trip into the city was a whirlwind of questions and laughter. I was shocked by how quickly I was growing to like Olivia and Dahlia. I wasn't normally so quick to warm up to people.

Mia was waiting outside of the bridal shop when we arrived and, after I introduced her as Alessandro's girlfriend, she was greeted with the same crushing hug that I was. I smiled at the surprised look on her face and shrugged at her.

When we entered the shop, an attendant approached me. Before she could get a word out, Olivia, Dahlia, and Mia had taken off in different directions and started searching through the dresses.

I smiled apologetically at the woman.

"I need a wedding dress, right away," I said. "They're very eager to help."

She laughed. "I'll get a fitting room ready for you," she said before walking away.

I walked inside and started looking through the dresses as well. I figured I might as well grab what I wanted to try on. If I could replace a dress today, then there would be nothing left to prepare for the wedding. It would be a huge weight off my shoulders.

I looked at dozens of dresses, but nothing stood out to me. I was ready to give up when Mia appeared beside me.

"Come on," she said eagerly. "We have so many dresses for you to try!"

I let her take my hand and lead me back to the changing room. The shop attendant was waiting for me with at least fifteen dresses hanging around the small room.

I stared at them in surprise. I was expecting nothing but bridal gowns, but there was a lot of color to the dresses.

I smiled. Maybe I had been too rigid in the dresses I was considering. Something less traditional might be perfect.

The attendant helped me into all the white dresses first, and I dutifully marched out to model them for the girls. There were cheers and whistles to most of the dresses, which made me laugh and blush in turn.

Olivia, Dahlia, and Mia were snacking on cheese and crackers and sipping sparkling wine while they watched the show I was putting on.

I was relieved to see that they were having so much fun. I had been a little worried that the outing would be boring for them. It seemed like Mia had won them over just as quickly as she had won me over.

None of the bridal gowns stood out above the rest, so we moved on to the evening gowns.

The first few were too simple. We all agreed that they would blend in with the guests' dresses.

I was feeling discouraged. We were almost through all of the dresses, and we hadn't found any that felt right. The shop attendant handed me a long, silky black evening gown. I put it on and looked into the mirror. It was very flattering, and I knew that Tallon would replace it sexy.

I walked out to show the others.

"That's sexy," Dahlia said. "Very edgy and cool!"

"It's still a wedding. We don't want to jinx anything," Olivia pointed out.

"That's true," Mia said. "It's bad luck."

I sighed. "I guess you're right," I agreed.

There was only one dress left to try. I tried not to let on how disappointed I was when I went back into the dressing room.

It was a strapless, A-line evening gown with red embroidery along the top of the bodice and the bottom of the skirt. Once I had it on, the moment I looked into the mirror, I felt my eyes well with tears. I twirled around and couldn't keep my eyes off the mirror. The way it swayed around me was perfect. I could picture the way it would like on the dance floor, and a thrill of excitement passed through me.

I still had to show the others, but I was pretty sure this was the dress.

The colors were a subtle nod to Russia, but it wasn't a traditional choice at all.

The shop attendant could see the excitement on my face.

"I know that look," she said kindly. "Let's go show them."

I nodded enthusiastically and followed her out to the viewing area. Before I stepped into sight, the shop attendant stopped me.

She stepped out and said, "Can I have everyone close their eyes for a moment?"

"Oh, that's promising," Olivia said as she set her wine glass aside and put her hands over her eyes. Dahlia squealed in excitement and did the same.

"Oh, I already know I'm going to cry," Mia said in distress. She covered her eyes and lowered her head.

The attendant led me out and helped me step onto the raised platform in front of the couch where they were waiting. Then she motioned for me to wait and ran out of the room.

I straightened the dress and made sure that it looked perfect in the mirror. It fit me exactly, which meant if we bought it, I wouldn't even need to worry about getting alterations done.

The shop attendant returned and hopped onto the platform. She carefully placed a long white veil with red embroidered roses around the edges onto my head and pinned it in place with a small silver tiara inlaid with sparkling jewels. I looked into the mirror in awe. It was perfect.

"Open your eyes!" she said in excitement as she stepped away from me.

I heard the others inhale sharply as they looked at me.

"Red is certainly her color," the attendant said happily.

"You need red heels," Dahlia said automatically.

"And a good necklace," Olivia added, "something to match the tiara. Then, the look will be complete."

Mia jumped out of her seat and ran to me. She threw her arms around me and started to jump up and down in excitement. I put my arms around her shoulders and hopped with her.

"We found it!" she said. "It's so much better than the last one!"

"It's perfect," I agreed.

Mia released me and stepped back. She straightened the veil then looked at me with the brightest smile I'd ever seen on her face.

"I'm so excited for you," she said.

"Who picked this dress?" I asked curiously.

Dahlia jumped out of her seat in excitement. "I did!" she shouted.

Everyone laughed as she and Olivia stepped onto the platform and started to fawn over the dress and discuss where we could go to get accessories.

I couldn't take my eyes off the mirror. This was it. This was the dress I would wear to marry Tallon.

I was ready for the wedding.