2. 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.”
I turned to him as he opened the car door for me and placed a hand on his chest. “You’re too stressed right now.
How about we go out to eat after school and then maybe we can sneak in some alone time this afternoon.
Leyla’s going out with Bradley, the younger kids will still be at school, your dad will be at work, and your mom is helping your grandma today. ”
Just because I had to be a virgin on my wedding night so we couldn’t have sex and he couldn’t do anything that might break my hymen didn’t mean we hadn’t been intimate in other ways.
Not being able to have sex meant I’d perfected my skills in the blowjob department, and he was able to use his tongue to please me in ways I’d never imagined were possible.
This time, his growl wasn’t from frustration, but from excitement.
“Deal.” He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my lips before pulling back. “I’ve been really stressed lately, so I could definitely use some relief.”
As soon as he’d rounded the car and got in behind the wheel, we headed out of the drive and towards school.
“I don’t get why finals have stressed you out. You’re going to pass all your classes with flying colors, even if you bomb the finals. You’ve already been accepted into Crestwood University. Everything’s lining up exactly like you wanted.”
He scoffed. “If I don’t ace these finals, and Royce does, he’ll beat me for valedictorian.”
Of course it was his competition and hatred for Royce Astor that had him so worked up. Those two hated each other with a passion and I really had no idea why. Tuck wouldn’t talk about it, just said it went back to when they were kids.
“Well, you’ve been studying your ass off, so I’m sure you’re going to do great. You can go in there and knock them out of the park, then we’ll go to Maggie’s.” I’d love another blueberry pie milkshake before heading home to New York for the summer.
A smile graced his face and I was glad I was able to make some of the tension go away. Even though my father arranged this marriage, I did love Tucker. I was excited to be marrying him in a couple of months and looked forward to a life with him.
Tuck reached over and took my hand in his, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to the back of it as we pulled into the parking lot. “I love you, Ari.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that rose to my face, just like every time he told me that. “I love you too, Tuck.”
I lifted up my blueberry pie milkshake in toast. “To being done with finals and being free for the summer.”
Tucker chuckled as he lifted his banana pudding milkshake and tapped the glass against mine. “To getting married in two months and finally not having to worry about your father’s bullshit.”
We both knew we’d never be done with his bullshit. As long as Lucian Vitale was breathing, we’d be jumping to do whatever he said, whenever he said, the perfect little minions. There wasn’t another choice. He considered people his puppets or his enemies. There was no in between.
I took a bite of my mozzarella sticks and felt the relief that came with summer break, even if I knew it wouldn’t last long. Each summer I’d had to spend two weeks at my father’s estate, but this summer it would be two months.
But the change in Tucker from this morning reminded me that I should just enjoy the peace while I could. “You’re in a good mood so I’m guessing it went well.”
He nodded and wiped the grease that dribbled down his chin on the napkin. “Yeah. I aced it. I knew every single answer on there, almost like the test was created out of exactly what I’d been studying.”
It had been, but he didn’t need to know that.
As soon as he’d started stressing about finals, Potter, Tucker’s cousin, had decided to make sure Tuck could pass with flying colors. I got him a copy of the notes that Tucker had been studying, and Pott worked his tech magic to make sure the exam would be a cake walk for Tucker.
Tucker, however, could never know about that.
He had more integrity than a man marrying a mafia princess ever should.
It was one of the things I loved about him.
As his future wife, his Vita Mia, I decided a long time ago that I’d do the things behind the scenes that he wouldn’t have the stomach to do.
He could keep his hands clean, like Zephyr, his father, always had, but I’d make sure things were done no matter the cost.
My father had made sure I didn’t have a conscience from an early age, so I didn’t mind rigging the game in our favor whenever I could.
“That’s awesome, Amore. I’m so proud of you.”
His eyes lit up with the praise. He was used to being praised by his family, because unlike mine, they were affectionate and actually loved each other, but whenever I did it, it was like he actually heard it and took it to heart.
Tuck reached across the table, a move he did often, so I knew he wanted me to put my hands in his. I did, because I secretly loved how much affection he showed me. “I love you so much, Ari. I am the luckiest man in the world that I get to marry you in a couple of months.”
More like unluckiest because marrying me meant having to initiate into the Vitale family, but anytime I’d brought that up before, he’d told me there was nothing he wouldn’t do for those he loved, and that included me.
I dipped my head a little so I could look up at him through my lashes. “If you keep saying things like that, I’m going to start to think this thing between us is more than just an arrangement.”
“You know it’s more than an arrangement.
Even if it started with our fathers making this deal and we’d not had the chance to get to know each other and fall in love before our wedding, it still would have been more than just an arrangement to me.
The vows we’ll take on our wedding day aren’t just empty words to me.
I’m not the kind of man that says things he doesn’t mean, so even if we hadn’t met until we were at the altar, I would still mean every word.
Thankfully, though, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know you and I love you so fucking much. ”
I wanted to melt and tell him I felt the same way, but what he’d said earlier about preparing to be back in New York had me shifting in my seat uncomfortably. “You can’t say that kind of shit around my father.”
The corner of his mouth tipped in a smile.
“I decided to take your advice from this morning and am taking full advantage of this last week.” He pulled one of my hands to his lips to press a kiss to it, before repeating the motion with the other.
“Like the privacy we’ll have at my house if we head there now. ”