Page 53 of The Arianna Arrangement

I had no idea what this was about, but I wasn’t nervous. Had it been my father, I would have been terrified. I would have been convinced that he knew that we were plotting to go against his orders.

I stood and headed towards my husband, Valentina, not far behind. Just before we left the safety of our room, I turned to her. “Remember, this is the only place not monitored. And maybe we should keep our newfound relationship a secret. You know, give Sandro hell a little longer.” With a wink, I turned and took Tucker's outstretched hand.

The door to my father’s office was open, Sandro behind the desk. I guess that technically, this was now his office.

That was so weird.

“Shut the door behind you.”

I stopped in my tracks, popping out a hip and tilting my head. “Would a please kill you?”

His jaw clenched. He was in full on mafia don mode. “Possibly.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” I shut the door and plastered a fake smile on my face. I loved my brother, but he was an ass at times. Especially when he had to be “on”.

“Thank you. Your care for my life is touching, truly.” He gestured for us to have a seat in the chairs across from him, and for Valentina to sit in the chair on his side of the desk. “We need to discuss the line of succession. While my child should obviously be the heir to the Vitale family, I’m worried that if you two have a baby first, the line could be called into question in the future.”

I rolled my eyes. “Our children will be heirs to the Givenchy family, not the Vitale’s. Trust me, neither one of us wants our children in this world.”

“That may be, but it doesn’t mean that they won’t try to take the throne on their own one day. That’s why I’m telling you to not have kids until I can establish an heir and a spare.”

First my father wanted me to have kids immediately, even before Sandro was engaged. Now, Sandro is basically demanding that we don’t have kids until his line of succession is established? Something was definitely off.

Knowing that Sandro was going to keep me in the dark pissed me off. “You can’t order us to do shit, Alessandro. We’re not part of the Vitale Family organization.”

Tucker took my hand in his. “We will agree to not try to have any children until we feel ready. In an ideal world, we’d wait a couple of years to enjoy our marriage, but when we feel ready, we will have children, whether you have or not. You never know how long it can take to get pregnant, so we’re not willing to wait indefinitely.”

I tilted my head up and raised a brow. “I mean, I could be pregnant right now. You witnessed the consummation and verified Tucker’s ability to do his part.” My free hand rested on my stomach. “I won’t abort a baby because you’re insecure in your position.”

Tucker squeezed my hand, trying to rein me in, but I was in burn shit to the ground mode. I hated being left out of the loop, and more than that, I hated how much it hurt that Sandro was keeping things from me.

“If you’re so concerned about this, maybe you should try to knock up your fiancée before the wedding day. Or get married at the courthouse tomorrow.” Even if my brother was being an ass, I was going to honor the truce I’d made with Valentina.

His jaw clenched. “You know that I can’t get married at the courthouse, Arianna. I’m the don of this family. My wedding must be a big affair and witnessed by all five families.”

“You haven’t negotiated your contract yet, so I suggest trying to negotiate so that you can start working on your line of succession now.” I mean, that would suck for Valentina, but it’s surely better than risking a failed hymen check and bloody bedsheets.

Sandro pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know they won’t allow that. If I took her virginity and then for some reason the wedding fell through, it would ruin her for others.”

Bingo. This was how I baited him into not getting a hymen check. “Wow, Sandro. I thought you were better than that. You really believe that all she’s worth is that small piece of tissue inside her vagina? When did you become like them?”

Jaw clenched, his words came out as a growl. “I’m not like them, Arianna, and you damn well know it.”

“Do I? Because you just said the same thing I heard father say over and over again. If I had sex with my fiancé before my wedding and he backed out, I would be ruined. It’s such fucking bullshit and I thought you knew that but I guess I was wrong.”

I stood, and poor Tucker, followed my lead, probably confused as hell.

“Arianna, sit.” My brother’s words were harsh and cold.

My husband whipped around to face my brother, his face a mask of fury. “You do not get to order my wife around. You may be the head of the Vitale family, but I will not tolerate disrespect to mine.”

Sandro let out a deep sigh. “Please. I would like for us to finish the conversation and not leave here pissed off with each other.”

I sat, Tucker again following my lead. “Only because you said please.”

Valentina bit the inside of her cheek to keep the smile from slipping free.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you. You have no idea the stress I’m under right now and I really just need a few things to go my way. Including you all not having kids for a while.”