Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 675 -

*Elio*

The room was still dark when I opened my eyes the following morning. Part of me wanted to laze about in bed for another few hours just to relish the feel of having Cat's soft, warm body wrapped around my own. But we couldn't. Even though our flight wasn't scheduled to leave till the afternoon, I wanted to take Cat out shopping for a few new pieces of clothing for our trip. I didn't want either of us to have to worry about figuring out what to pack. The whole thing was rather short notice. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity of taking a trip back to Italy. And the thought of being able to bring Cat with me made me all the more excited.

It had been years since either of us had been there, and I figured that we both deserved a break.

I knew it was a bit cruel to have left Cat in total suspense yesterday, not giving her any sort of indication about what the surprise was. When I finally came out and told her, I watched as her bubbling anticipation morphed into something resembling uncertainty.

The hesitant look in her eyes caused my muscles to tighten with worry. Thank God, she gave me some sort of explanation about her reaction, otherwise I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

To hear that a lot of Cat's worry revolved around what happened to her father led me to feel a sharp pang of sympathy that quickly shifted into determination.

I was determined to erase this fear and worry from her mind about going back to Florence. Around the time we had finally settled into bed for the night, I decided that I wanted to make this one of the most memorable trips for us. As soon as my business with Alessandro was completed, I planned on doing nothing but spending all my time showing her all the magnificent sights.

I turned my head to see Cat still blissfully asleep. It was peaceful to see that all that worry and concern had temporarily left her features. The corners of my mouth started to curve upward into a loving smile. She looked so beautiful that it pained to wake her and ruin that.

I slowly reached out my hand to cup her cheek. "Cat," I whispered.

"Mm."

"Come on, we need to get up," I told her.

Her brows pulled together, making me smile.

She tried to bunch up the blankets to cover her face, but I swiftly stopped her from doing so.

"Mm, no," she mumbled. "Too early."

I lightly chuckled and pushed back her hair from her face.

"I know it's early, love. But we have to get up. We need to get ready for our trip."

Gradually, her eyes started to blink open.

"Elio? What's going on?"

I deepened my smile while pulling off the blankets. "I'm taking you shopping before our trip, and we need to get ready."

She rubbed her eyes open and gently shook her head in confusion.

"But-"

"Come on," I urged.

I circled my hands around her wrists and pulled her to her feet. My arms snaked around her waist to keep her from losing her balance. From there, I walked us into the bathroom and switched on the shower. Cat slowly began pulling at her tank top and tossing her clothing into the laundry bin.

The water was steaming and inviting as the two of us remained under the constraint stream for a few much-needed minutes. I then grabbed the loofah and body wash off the shelf and began lathering it up. I worked any strain and tension out of her muscles before moving on to shampoo.

Cat merely allowed me to take control of everything, and I was more than happy to get the job done. Toward the end, I just ended up holding her close to my chest and soaking up the intimacy that each of us needed.

I'd come to love the way Cat would let her body practically melt against my own whenever we held each other. It was a clear sign of unbreakable trust and devoted love that I became addicted to. Once we were dressed and finished our coffee, I drove us out to Rodeo Drive and ignored Cat's excessive glaring and short comments.

"Elio, really. We don't need to be doing this," she kept saying. "I've got plenty of clothes at home."

"And I am fully aware of that. However, this is something that I insist on doing," I stated firmly.

I pulled the car into the first available spot I saw and turned to face her.

"We're going to go shopping, I am going to buy as many clothes and other things as I see fit, and there is not a single thing you can do or say that's going to stop me," I said with a grateful smile. Cat's mouth fell open in shock over my audacious statement.

I quickly guided us into the nearest store before she had the opportunity to say something back. I prompted her over to an area filled with sundresses while I chose to roam toward the swimwear section. "Here, how about these?" she asked sheepishly.

I gazed over at the few dresses she selected and nodded with honest approval. She certainly had an eye for what would look beautiful on her. Aside from picking up a few swimsuits, I also decided on a light cover up and a few new pairs of sunglasses for her.

By the time we were ready to check out, I had to practically race to the counter in order to escape Cat's feeble attempt to try to pay for these things herself. I kissed her temple and took her by the hand, dragging us to the next shop. "I'm very happy about your selections," I told her.

Cat shook her head and kept her eyes forward. "I still feel like it's too much."

I let out a long sigh and squeezed her hand.

"But I insist, and I can honestly promise you that I can well afford all of it."

Cat dropped the conversation after that, and we peacefully went on to look at a few other places. By the time we finished shopping, it was time to head back to the apartment to pack.

Cat was becoming a little frazzled when it came down to timing, but I easily assured her that everything was right on schedule.

By eleven-thirty, Leo called me, letting me know that he was ready to drive us over to the airstrip. Cat looked like a pure mixture of anxious excitement. We grabbed our luggage and headed down to the car. Traffic was little to no issue. And as soon as everything was transported onto the private jet, Caterina and I were told to take our seats while we readied to take off.

We were in the air in no time, and I immediately called over one of the attendants to bring out a bottle of champagne. The nice woman poured out two flutes, where I happily toasted to the beginning of our trip. Cat smiled and took a tentative sip as her gaze wandered toward the window.

Around halfway through our flight, I brought out one of my tablets and decided to check in on a few work emails and made sure that all my messages were up to date. Meanwhile, Cat was reading through a small stack of magazines and occasionally marking a few pages that caught her attention.

I was pleased to replace her finally relaxing now that we were truly on our way to Florence.

"Has there been any new word about Junior?" she asked suddenly.

The muscles in my stomach instinctively twitched at the sound of hearing the bastard's name. The last thing I wanted was for this trip to turn into something stressful for the two of us. I wanted Cat to relax and enjoy our time together before her new semester started. But I was also told on numerous occasions to always keep her in the loop of what was going on.

I cleared my throat. "We've placed a tracker on his driver's car. That way at least we have some kind of eyes on him, even though we've yet to get closer."

Our biggest risk when it came to Junior was rushing into something and having it ultimately blow up in our faces. The last thing I wanted to do was have him catch on to us and disappear like his father.

"Believe me," I said. "I'm about as ready as you are to see this all be finished. But we have to wait for the right time."

"I think you're right." Cat nodded her head and returned to her magazine.

The silence lasted for all of ten minutes before she tossed the catalog away and turned to look out the window again. The expression on her face was enough to tell me that there were things weighing on her mind.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing." She shrugged. "I was just wondering about the people that Alessandro said we needed to meet. Who are they exactly?"

"They're mainly just connections of his. I guess that since I'm becoming more involved, he wanted to make sure that we're familiar with the people who work for him going forward," I explained. "I promise that when we go to meet everyone, you don't have to talk much."

Cat turned her head to look back at me. She raised her brows and spoke with intention. "I don't intend to keep quiet and mesh into the background."

She sat back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest.

"Is that what you expected me to do?" she questioned.

"Absolutely not."

I strategically placed my tablet off to the side and crossed my ankle over my knee. I leveled my gaze with hers.

"I'm actually glad to hear that you have no intention of keeping quiet. Since we're in this together, then I'm more than happy to see you step forward and want to make yourself known to everyone," I clarified with a smile. "You're strong, smart, and confident, Cat. These are just some of the things that I love most about you. And I think that everyone needs to see that when we go to officially meet them later."

My gaze deepened with desire as I watched her face flush from my compliments. But they were more than just mere compliments. They were facts.

When it came time for everyone else to meet with us, I needed them to respect Caterina as well as myself. I would not settle for anything less.

The tension between us started to defuse, and I felt my body temperature begin to rise the longer I stared at her. It constantly amazed me just how beautiful she was and how casually she went about her business.

It drove me nuts. I could spend hours just looking at her and not even give a single care about much less.

I suddenly found myself leaning forward in my seat, wanting to reach out and touch her.

A lustful smile took hold of my lips.

"What is it?" she asked with a giggle.

"Do you want to be a member of the mile-high club?"