Page 48 of The Arianna Arrangement

I let out a breath and sagged my head as Tucker pulled me into his arms. “I know. I was just trying to laugh instead of cry. I’m tired of crying.”

Tucker placed a kiss on my head. “Let’s go try to catch a nap before dinner. It’s been an emotional twenty-four hours and you need your rest. We wouldn’t want you too stressed out if you’re pregnant.”

Those were the magic words. “Oh my. I hadn’t even thought about that. Yes, honey, go nap. Do you want me to just have food delivered to your room so you don’t have to deal with the stress of dinner?”

“No. I’ll be fine.” I gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed off upstairs with Tucker. When we were up the stairs and in his wing, which I knew would already have devices in place to interrupt the camera feeds, I leaned in closer and whispered. “You’re a fucking genious.”

There was no way I was pregnant. We’d used condoms on the honeymoon and when we’d gotten on the plane to head off for our honeymoon, Rowdy, Sterling’s cousin and temporary security for the Givenchy’s, gave me a Plan B pill for if I wanted to use it.

I did.

But no one outside of the Givenchy family knew that, so they all thought it was possible I was pregnant. That would play to my favor for however long we had to be here. It would give me the excuse to hide in this bedroom for many hours each day.

“Let’s just hope Sandro isn’t as desperate for us to have an heir as your father was.”

I hopped onto the bed and climbed under the covers, getting comfortable since we wouldn’t have much time. “He won’t be. He’s going to have so much on his plate now with taking over. He’ll also need to marry and start having kids of his own so there’s a line of succession.”

Sandro was absolutely going to hate that. He’d fully intended to wait as long as he could and live the rich bachelor lifestyle. I would probably feel a little sad for him if I hadn’t just gotten married a couple of weeks before starting my senior year of high school.

Tucker climbed in behind me and pulled me back against him, resting his chin on the top of my head. “I’ll talk to him later and offer to hold off on having kids so that he can have one first so there’s not a possibility of his oldest being challenged for his place.”

“That only works if his first kid is a boy. With the luck we seem to have, he’ll have a girl and we’ll end up with a boy.”

Tucker chuckled. “It buys us time. That’s all we can ask for right now.”

Chapter 23

Tucker

“The autopsy report came back this afternoon.” Everyone’s attention turned to Sandro, who was sitting at the head of the table, where Lucian had sat the last time I was in here. Giulia now sat at the opposite end as she was no longer the wife of the Don but was to hold a place of respect until Sandro married. “It was ruled a stroke. No signs of foul play.”

That was a relief. Marco, who now sat in front of me and to Sandro’s right, nodded. “As we expected. Have the other families reached out?”

“Yes. There is a syndicate meeting tonight at The Crimson Room. I’m expected to attend as the head of the Vitale’s. Marco will go as my right hand man. I’d like you, Tucker, to be my third.” Elio’s head snapped towards me and his nostrils flared, but Sandro kept going. “I know it should be you, Elio, but with this new alliance between the Vitale’s and the Givenchy’s, I thought having him there, showing the Givenchy’s back me, would be good. He’s also a skilled negotiator, and that’s something I may need tonight.”

Elio sat back, no longer looking mad, but maybe a little hurt. “Why would you need someone to negotiate things?”

“I’m not delusional. Though I’m the rightful heir, I’m young. All the other Dons have at least twenty years on me. I’m also the only one without a clear line of succession. Adriano Accardi has a daughter that just graduated high school. I know father talked about possibly trying to build an alliance through joining our families, but I made her hate me so that I could stay single.”

Marco chuckled. “Yeah, she loathes you. I’m not sure that’s the best move right now. Couldn’t you just go for someone that would be easier? Literally any woman on the street.”

Sandro shook his head. “I need someone that brings a connection because otherwise, we’re an easy target.”

Elio looked at me and grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I vote for Leyla Givenchy.”

I felt my dad stiffen from a few seats away, but he wouldn’t say anything because it wasn’t his place. I, however, had no such issues. “Say her name again and I’ll slit your throat. Remember that I outrank you.”

Sandro smirked at me. “Those are two more reasons. One,” he looked at Elio, “he does outrank you technically. Two, you like to stir shit and we can’t afford that right now. Even though he’s not from our world, he knows how to handle himself like an heir and I need that energy at the table tonight.”

I gave Sandro a nod. As much as I didn’t want to go, I was part of this family now and I knew I needed to step up. “When do we leave?”

“Forty-five minutes, so eat up.”

“When we leave here, we need to move the girl.” The ride to the meeting had been in silence so far, but Marco was the first to break it, when we were only about a block away. “If Accardi takes the brothel while she’s still there, he’ll do what your father had intended to do.”

Sandro scrubbed a hand down his face. “I know. But what the fuck do we do with a fifteen-year-old girl that’s been branded and is now an orphan?”

We’d found out a couple of days before the wedding that when Lucian’s goons grabbed her, they killed the mom so she wouldn’t report her daughter missing.