Page 4 of The Arianna Arrangement

“Deal.” My dad’s posture relaxed again. “Now, I think the only thing left is for us to go over the expectations for the boys.”

“Yes.” Don Vitale turned to face his son for the first time during this discussion. “I expect you to be on your best behavior. I’ve heard your complaints about the situation, but I expect you to move past them. Your sister is fulfilling her duty to the family, much like you will as you become more involved in the family and eventually take my place. You are to be respectful to Tucker, and he to you.” His attention turned to me.

My father cleared his throat. “We have agreed that you two need to work out your relationship on your own, but we will tolerate no threats or actions towards each other. However, we also understand that both of our families are a little hotheaded,” Don Vitale chuckled, “and with the testosterone flood you both will have for the next few years, we will not take offense or go to war over fists flying.”

Alessandro perked up until his father stared him down. “But there will be consequences for whoever throws the first punch.” He turned his attention back to me, letting me know he meant that for both of us, before focusing back on his son. “You are both the futures of your family legacies. Diplomacy is a skill you will both need, and there’s no one better to practice that on than your future brother. Any questions?”

Alessandro shook his head and the attention turned to me. “No, sir.”

“Excellent.” Don Vitale clapped his hands and turned towards his computer. “I will update this real quick, then we can sign and head to dinner.”

Within a few minutes, the papers were printed. One copy was handed to my dad to look over, and when he agreed, they both signed each copy.

There was a knock on the door, and then Arianna entered. “Perfect timing, Dolcezza.” I was really glad I didn’t decide on that nickname. How weird would that have been? “Time for you two to do your part.” Apollo had told me this was coming, and I’m so glad I wasn’t being caught off guard. A sterile package with a needle was passed to my dad. “I’ll let you do the honors, Zephyr.”

My father nodded as he opened the package and took my hand in his. He pricked my thumb and squeezed, getting a good sized drop of blood to form. When he was satisfied, he pressed my thumb onto the paper.

Arianna’s prick and thumbprint followed, and when we left that room, our fates were sealed with blood.

Chapter 1

Arianna

Nine Years Later…

The banging on the door is what woke me up from a very peaceful sleep.

“I swear to God, Arianna. We need to leave in less than five minutes. If you’re still asleep—”

Leyla groaned next to me. “Chill the fuck out, Tuck.” She got out of bed and opened the door, just enough for her face to see through, not enough for him to see me in bed still. “She’s been up for a few minutes and is in the bathroom.” Her hand moved where he couldn’t see it, telling me to get my ass in the bathroom like she’d said. “You really need to get laid.”

I could hear the growl from him as I slipped into her bathroom and ran the brush through my hair as quickly as I could and then brushed my teeth.

There really wasn’t a whole hell of a lot I could really do to fix myself up considering I didn’t live here. My room was in their grandparents house and I’d only come over last night to hang with my bestie and soon-to-be sister-in-law.

The thing is, we may have smoked a little too much weed and I couldn’t drive home. Since Tucker’s had a massive stick up his ass the past couple of weeks, I couldn’t exactly tell him I was high and ask him to take me home, either. So Ley and I decided to pretend we fell asleep watching movies.

Thank God for keeping a spare change of clothes, toothbrush, and deodorant here.

When I walked out of the bathroom, in fresh clothes and a couple sprays of her perfume, she was still standing guard at the door. Leyla was my ride or die bitch and I was thankful as fuck that I had her.

I’d only been nine when my father arranged my marriage to Tucker. Realistically, Sandro and I still had no idea why he’d picked the Givenchy family, but I had to say, I lucked out. Not only was Tucker just a year older than me, but he was kind and gentle and everything I could have never hoped for in a man my father would pick for me. Leyla, his little sister and my bestie, was just icing on the cake.

“I’m ready. God.” I winked at Leyla as I walked past her and out the door. “You’re so over dramatic sometimes.”

Tucker’s jaw ticked as he looked me up and down, taking in my sweats, t-shirt, and messy bun. I mean, I don’t know what he expected on such short notice, but it was finals today at school, so it wasn’t like anyone would be dressed to impress.

“We’re going to be at your father’s house for the summer in a week. You need to really get your shit together. He won’t let things fly there like we do in Crestwood.”

He wasn’t wrong, but it still pissed me off. “That’s why I’m taking full advantage of this last week. If things go his way, when I get back here after our honeymoon, I’ll be pregnant so I need to enjoy the little bit of time I have left.”

Tucker kept promising me that he’d make sure I could at least graduate high school before I had to have a baby, but I knew my father. He wanted us to have a kid to seal the alliance so he’d go to every length he could to make sure that happened.

Sandro had already warned us that he was going to have a blood test done when I had my hymen check so that he could make sure I wasn’t on birth control or any other kinds of hormones that would stop me from giving him the heir he was desperately waiting for.

Every one of Tucker’s movements showed just how tense he was. “Leyla’s right. You need to get laid.”

Tuck let out a loud sigh. “Not you, too.”