Page 24 of The Arianna Arrangement

Tucker rolled his eyes, but we both knew he’d set it up for her and she’d come over all the damn time.

“The backyard is one of my favorite parts of this house. There are fountains you can turn on that shoot into the pool, and color changing LED lights in the pool that give it a resort feel.”

As soon as we walked out back, Leyla squealed. There was a huge pool that had an area you could put your sunloungers in while tanning, or little kids once we started having babies, that was separated from the rest. The main pool was a walk-in pool that you walked gradually into instead of going down stairs or a ladder.

“Think of the pool parties we can have here this year, Ari. Senior year is about to be lit.”

“Ummm… you have a pool at home and have never once had a pool party.” Ashley raised an eyebrow at her daughter, but Leyla just waved her off.

“There are adults there. No one wants to go to a party where your parents are home.”

“Yeah, no.” I don’t know how Leyla forgot that Tucker’s basically been an adult his whole life. “There will be no parties here. You wanna have a few friends over to hang out, sure. But ragers will not happen at my house.”

I didn’t want that either. After all, it would be my stuff getting broken and my home getting destroyed. But Ley was my ride or die so I couldn’t tell her no. That’s why I just shrugged my shoulders when she looked at me.

We toured three other houses that day, but none of them felt as right as the first one. We circled back to it, Zephyr meeting us there to make sure it met all of the security standards, then he made an offer and he and Tucker talked about getting the security set up while Leyla, Ashley, and I talked about decorating. Since I wouldn’t get to come back until after the honeymoon, they were going to be the ones getting it all set up and ready for us.

Thankfully, I could trust that they’d do as I asked. If it was my mom in charge, she would have completely disregarded my wants for her own.

Chapter 10

Arianna

There was a quick knock on my door, then it opened and Leyla walked in. I was so relieved to see my bestie.

“So, I hear your mom’s being a cunt and taking over wedding planning.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. She was always so blunt and I loved her lack of filter. “Yes. She’s completely disregarding everything I say I want and getting what she wants instead.”

Ley plopped down on my bed. “That sucks. I’m sorry, Ari.” She propped herself up on one arm. “If it makes things better, Tucker’s been telling my mom everything you wanted but couldn’t get and she’s trying to find a way to make it happen.”

God, I loved this family. “That does make it better. But I’m not sure it’s worth it.” There was a knock on the door, but it didn’t open, telling me it was Vinny. “Come in.”

Sure enough, Vinny’s head popped in the door. “Miss Vitale, your mother is in the foyer ready to leave.”

I gave him a nod. “Thanks, Vin.”

Leyla groaned and sat up. “I guess we’ll go get this nightmare over with. But I swear to God, Ari, if she tries to put me in an ugly dress I’m not biting my tongue.”

Ashley carried most of the conversation to the store. She asked my mom a ton of questions about how the wedding planning was going, getting her talking excitedly about everything she’d picked out. I didn’t mind because it meant she was ignoring me and Ley.

We looked up some dress ideas online, showing them to each other and agreeing on what we liked just before we arrived.

The store was closed except for us. Perks of being from an influential family. “Welcome in.” A brunette with pin straight hair wearing a royal blue sun dress walked towards me. “You must be Arianna. My name’s Monica.”

“Yes.” I took her extended hand in a handshake. “Nice to meet you.”

“Do you have an idea of what you’re looking for?”

My mom jumped in before I could say anything. “We want something very classy and elegant.”

Monica nodded. “Of course. Let me do some measurements and I’ll pull some dresses for you to try.” She led us back to a fitting area and I stood on the pedestal while the woman measured me. “Alright. I’ll be right back.”

I sat down and grabbed a cookie off the plate while we waited.

Leyla used her eyes to communicate with me before she spoke aloud. “I’m going to find the bathroom. Be right back.”

She was going to find Monica so she could show her the pictures we’d found in the car and hope she could find something similar.