Page 45 of The Arianna Arrangement

I stepped down the ladder into the water and waited for Ari to do the same. On the last step, she just couldn’t help herself and yelled back to the men on board. “Humans are animals.”

Even over the splash Ari made, I could hear Christian laughing and I knew Sean would have a scowl on his face.

My family had gone to the beach a few times over my lifetime, but never had I had an opportunity like this. Taking in the sights of the ship inside the water, the colorful fish swimming in and around it was like something you would see in a movie.

When I looked over to Ari, I could see the smile on her face and excitement in her eyes as she took it all in.

We swam around down there until both of us had wrinkled fingers and toes. I seriously don’t think I’d ever seen my wife smile as much as she did on the boat ride back to the dock as we snacked on some of the crackers, chips, and dried fruit.

Walking back to the room hand in hand, her eyes looked up at me, wide and full of joy. “What’s the plan for our last night in paradise, dear husband?”

“Fuck, baby, hearing you call me your husband still almost knocks my feet out from under me.” I pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her lips. “How did I get this lucky?”

She just smiled as she unlocked the door and led us into our room. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“We’re going to a fancy dinner, then coming back here and I’m going to worship my wife like the goddess she is.”

“Hmmmm. That sounds excellent. How much time do I have to get ready?”

I looked at my watch and grimaced. We’d taken longer on the tour than I expected. “An hour.”

She rose to her toes and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Then I better get to it.”

The boardwalk that led to the table set up on the beach was lined in candles, setting the vibe from the beginning. The table was covered in flowers and there were a couple of candles. The sun was setting so it wasn’t dark yet, but the mood was definitely romantic and I’d have to thank Gunner for getting this all set up for us.

“This is gorgeous, Tuck.”

It made my heart soar when she looked at me like that. “I’m glad you like it.”

A server came out with salads and rolls and her stomach grumbled in hunger. “I guess we didn’t really eat much today.”

“Not near enough. I’ll have to make sure to do better. Don’t want my wife withering away on me.”

She chuckled. “I’m far from withering away, but I quite like my curves, so I definitely need to keep up my calorie intake.”

We both looked out over the ocean as we ate. “I know we’ve been using condoms here, but I really do want to go on birth control when we get back to Crestwood.”

Her words didn’t surprise me and I couldn’t deny I was glad. I wanted to get rid of any barriers between us, but I also definitely wasn’t ready to have kids yet. “My mom already made an appointment for you to see our doctor. I mean, I think technically she booked it under Leyla’s name, but told the doc it would be you. She just didn’t want your dad to be able to figure it out.”

“God, I love your mom. She really is the best.”

I shrugged but couldn’t hide the smile. “She’s alright.” That was a lie. My mom was the best. “What are you looking forward to most in senior year?”

“Graduation. I hate school.”

It had never been something Ari put a lot of effort into so that didn’t surprise me. “You don’t want to go to college?” We hadn’t really talked about it before. My family wouldn’t be upset at all if she wanted to get a degree and her dad now had no say in what she did.

Ari laughed. “Not a chance in hell. The only thing college is good for is parties, but being married kinda makes those off limits.”

I shrugged. “We could still go to parties.”

“It’s not the same. But that’s okay.” She reached across the table and took my hand in hers. “I don’t regret marrying you and missing out on that. I know that we’re going to have a great life together and I’ll be able to live vicariously through Leyla and her party stories.”

Ugh. I did not want to think about Leyla partying, but that was definitely something my sister would be doing when she went to college.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it. This was the last night of our honeymoon and I didn’t want to waste it on the phone with others. They could all wait.

Well, I thought they could until Sean approached the table with his phone held out to me. “Alessandro is on the phone for you. Said it’s urgent.”