Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 599 -

*Tallon*

I wasn't going to lie. Having spent nearly the entire previous day ring shopping with Alessandro, it made me want to spend a nice, romantic night out in Florence with my own girl.

When I told Natalia this morning that I was planning on taking us out to a nice dinner, I watched her face light up with pure excitement. We hadn't even fully finished our coffee when she flew out of her seat and rushed up to our room. "Oh my God, what am I going to wear?" she shouted over her shoulder.

I couldn't keep myself from smiling like a complete idiot. I hadn't even gotten the chance to even tell her where I was taking us, and the woman was gone.

I playfully shook my head and finished up the rest of my breakfast. Between thinking about my wife and tonight's plans, my mind easily drifted to my brother. Lord only knew how he was holding up.

The glasses of bourbon he and I shared certainly helped ease his nerves the night before. But what about now? Between his troubling doubt and constant anxiety, I was worried that the poor man would give himself away before even getting a chance to properly propose.

'It will be fine,' I thought to myself.

I wasn't nervous. For the sake of Alessandro and his crippling nerves, I was deeply excited for him to finally claim the happiness that he so deserved.

The day passed with a gentle ease. With Vinny filling me in on whatever business was currently going on, I found that there wasn't much to be dealt with. It felt like a rare gift to not be losing my mind over some kind of external or internal threat after the last couple of weeks I'd had.

With that in mind, I was able to make my way up to my bedroom and begin getting ready for our night out. I noticed the long, dark blue dress that was hanging up on one of the closet doors. I smiled to myself, thinking that Natalia had chosen well. Of course, she looked gorgeous in every color, but seeing her in dark blue always left my blood sizzling for her.

To compliment her choice, I went ahead and chose a dark, charcoal gray colored dress shirt with a pair of black pants and leather shoes. The door to the bathroom opened and I immediately turned my head to see Natalia in nothing but a thick, white robe. She'd pinned up a part of her hair and curled the rest into loose tendrils that perfectly framed her face. Her makeup was flawless and complimented her natural beauty.

I felt myself harden in my pants at the mere sight of her.

"See something you like?" she asked playfully.

I picked up a pair of gold cufflinks and deepened my grin into a suggestive smirk.

"If you don't get that dress on, I'm going to tear that robe off of you and you can forget about going out tonight," I drawled.

Natalia's cheeks blushed an adorable shade of pink as she gasped. She quickly grabbed her dress off the hanger and rushed back into the bathroom. I chuckled under my breath and finished up getting ready.

By the time we were ready to leave, the sun had already sunk well below the horizon. The lights of the city were aglow, and the nightlife was only beginning.

I was feeling nostalgic. It seemed like ages since we were out and about in this city. I took us down an old, yet familiar street that gave us a gorgeous view of the clustered villas along the way. Natalia turned her head to glance at him. A wondrous expression took hold of her features.

She remembered this road and knew exactly where we were going.

"Are we "

I nodded my head and smiled. "Yes."

I'd made reservations at the very same restaurant where I'd proposed to Natalia. Like I said, I was feeling nostalgic.

***

Natalia and I were eagerly greeted by the hostess and brought immediately to our private table. With a gorgeous view overlooking the natural landscape of the mountains, we hastily put in our drink order and turned to admire it to its fullest. "Thank you for bringing me back here," Natalia said with a warm smile.

"It's my pleasure," I told her. "It's a shame we don't come here more often. The food is sublime, and the scenery is unbeatable."

She nodded in agreement.

Natalia folded her hands under her chin and smiled longingly out the large window next to our table.

"Maybe we can make it a habit to visit here at least once a year," she suggested. "It is, after all, a very special place to us."

The waiters returned with our wine and took our dinner order. I quickly turned back to face her and clinked my wine glass gently against hers.

"I think that's a perfect idea."

The evening carried on the same way the day had. The conversation was soft and light, and soon our dinner was brought out to us and we were immersed in the delicious flavors Florence had to offer.

A little more than halfway through our meal, I heard a muffled noise coming from across the table.

It sounded like it was coming from Natalia's handbag. She swiftly turned around to search for her phone and at that same moment, I heard my own phone begin to go off.

My brows drew together and I hastily slipped my device from the pocket of my jacket. I felt my heart slam in my chest when I saw that it was my brother who was trying to reach me. A hundred worrisome questions flew through my mind.

Did Alessandro propose to Mia? How did it go? Did she say yes? Oh, God. Did she end up saying no? Was this essentially a phone call to inform me that everything my brother planned had gone south and he was in need of copious amounts of liquor?

I noticed that Natalia was hesitant to answer her phone call as well. My honest guess was that it was Mia trying to call her. I watched my wife slowly press the answer button on her phone and hold it up to her ear.

I bit the inside of my cheek and answered the call on my own device. I slowly held it up to my ear and proceeded to speak.

"Tell me what happened."

There was a quick pause on the other end of the line but was soon filled with boisterous laughter. "She said yes!"

Whatever weight was pressing down on my shoulders instantly let up. I felt like I could officially breathe normal again for the sake of my brother's endeavors. He sounded exhilarated, and he wasn't the only one..... Across the table from me, Natalia squealed with pure excitement. Her smile was wide, and her eyes were blown with happiness.

"Oh my God!" she cried out. "I knew it! I'm so happy for the two of you!"

I chuckled into the phone. "I believe Mia has just told Natalia the good news."

Alessandro shared in my laughter. "Mia wants all of us to go out and celebrate, what do you think?"

I glanced over at my wife to see her nodding her head in agreement.

"Sounds like a great idea," I said back. "We're just about finished up with dinner ourselves, so how about we meet up somewhere for drinks?"

"Great! I'll send you the address," Alessandro said.

And with that, the call ended and a few seconds later I received the location of the bar my brother wanted to meet up at. I called over one of the waiters and requested the check.

Natalia was beaming with joy, practically bouncing in the passenger seat of the car as I drove through the city. It was nice to see that the place Alessandro had chosen was not overly crowded but had a decent amount of people around. I slipped my hand into Natalia's, and we stepped through the doors. We quickly spotted my brother and his fiancée sitting in a private looking booth. As my wife went off to greet them, I leaned my head over the bar top to tell one of the bartenders to send a bottle of their best champagne over to our table.

When I finally made it over, I clapped my brother on the back and hugged Mia tightly in congratulations. Both women easily became immersed in their own conversation as I turned my attention to Alessandro.

"So, I take it the night went well then," I assumed with a grin.

Alessandro blew out a long breath. "For fuck's sake, I thought I was going to pass out from how nervous I'd gotten," he said.

I nodded my head in sincere understanding.

"But, at some point, my anxiety stopped. It felt like a wave of numbness came over me, and I figured it was now or never. Part of me is still riding the natural high of knowing that she said yes."

I chuckled and nodded my head again. "Yeah, that's sort of how it went for me as well back then. I kept telling myself that everything was going to be fine. And in the end, I was right," I said smugly.

Our conversation gradually faded out, and Alessandro and I leaned into the separate conversation between Natalia and Mia.

Mia was glowing with happiness as Natalia complimented her on the beauty of the ring.

"It really is stunning, Mia," she said.

Mia gently shook her head in bafflement. "I just can't get over how you were right about the proposal."

My brows lifted into my hair as I felt the intense heat from my brother's steel gaze hit me head on.

"Tallon, did you tell Natalia that I was planning to propose?" he asked me.

Just as I parted my lips to defend myself, Natalia turned her head and spoke.

"Hey, give a girl some credit, will you?" she said humorously. "Alessandro, Tallon hadn't breathed a single word of this to anyone. I can assure you, that I merely guessed it would happen." Aless narrowed his eyes. "Well, that's one hell of a guess."

Natalia snorted in response. "Not really. You two are perfect for each other. Anyone with a working pair of eyes can see that."

Aless conceded the argument and smiled right as one of the bartenders came over to our table with a freshly opened bottle of champagne and a bucket of ice. As soon as each of us received a glass, we all joined them in the center of the table and toasted to the new engagement. The next few hours were filled with laughter and excitement for the future wedding our family was going to see.

A gracious warmth spread through my chest as my eyes locked on the loving embrace between my brother and his future wife.

By the time the night reached its end, Natalia and I were back home happily lying in bed together. My arm wrapped around her waist as she snuggled into me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked her quietly.

Natalia shifted her head up to look at me as her smile deepened. "Just thinking about how much has changed in the last year."

I couldn't keep from grinning as well. She was right. So much had changed. Business between the Russians has never gone smoother, our own engagement was rocky and unpredictable for a time, but in the end, our marriage couldn't be stronger.

"I wouldn't change a single thing," I told her. "Now Alessandro can finally experience that for himself, and I can finally bring my full attention back to you, my beautiful wife."

A deep blush touched her cheeks while a devious smile curved on her lips.

"Why, my handsome husband, what did you have in mind?"

I tightened my hold on her and pulled her into a searing kiss.