8. Chapter 7
Arianna
There was a knock at my door, but it opened before I could even acknowledge the person on the other side. Of course, it was Tucker. He rarely waited for an invitation, not that he needed one. “Let’s go out. I’ve got the rest of the day off.”
My eyes widened with excitement. I absolutely loved my life in Crestwood, but there was really only so much you could do. I missed getting to explore New York. “Can we go to the zoo?”
I hadn’t been there since the time our families went together right after signing the contract for our marriage. It had been the most magical time because my parents weren’t big believers in doing things like that.
His smile melted my heart. “Aboslutely. This time, I’ll even hold your hand as we walk through it.”
One hand flew to my chest while the other went to my forehead. “Well I’ll be. If I ain’t just the luckiest woman east of the Mississippi.”
Tucker rolled his eyes, but couldn’t contain his smile. “You and Aunt Silver really have to stop watching so many old movies.”
“I can think of much worse hobbies I could have.”
He pursed his lips, then nodded. “Touché. Get ready and we’ll leave in thirty.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
As soon as the door was shut, I jumped off the couch and headed to my closet.
I had the perfect yellow sundress for this occasion.
It had thin straps that were scrunched up, with a sweetheart neckline that was also outlined in scrunched material.
It had little pink flowers all over it and fell about mid thigh.
Since we’d be walking at the zoo, I wasn’t about to wear sandals or heels, but I needed a comfy pair of shoes that would complement the dress. Thankfully I had a pair of white slip-on sneakers that had a crocheted design.
If I was in Crestwood, I probably would have pulled on a big floppy hat to go with it, but I didn’t think my mother would approve of that fashion choice, so I just ran a straightener through my hair and touched up my makeup.
As I stepped out of my door, I checked my phone and saw I was right on time.
Tucker was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me, along with our security.
When I stepped off the last step, he put his arm out for me to take and leaned in to press a kiss to my temple. “You look nice.”
I smiled and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “You’re not so bad yourself.” He was wearing dark jeans and a white Henley. “So other than the zoo, what are our plans?”
“I’d love to get a New York pizza, and maybe some gelato at that place you like.”
Man, this man really knew the way to my heart. “Sold.”
While in Crestwood, Sean usually drove us around if we weren’t heading to school, but in New York, Tucker had a bodyguard that was specifically for driving him around while Sean rode shotgun. This allowed him to always be able to have Tucker’s security at the forefront of his mind.
My security guard, Vinny, didn’t come to Crestwood with me, but as soon as I stepped foot back on New York soil, he was up my ass like an enema. He rode in the back seat on the way to the zoo, and another car of security followed behind us.
It really was a bit overkill considering the accords between the families, but I knew you had to pick your battles, and this one wasn’t worth choosing.
True to his word, Tucker held my hand as we walked through the zoo. “Hippos!” I picked up the pace, dragging Tuck behind me. “I love hippos. They’re my favorite.”
His eyebrows scrunched. “I don’t think I knew that. Why hippos?”
I shrugged as I watched them. “They look so cute and unassuming, but they can be vicious. They’re some of the deadliest creatures in the wild.”
“Interesting. My favorite animal is the octopus.”
I side eyed him. “Because it has the word puss in it?”
He rolled his eyes, but that didn’t stop a smile from crossing his lips. “No. Because they’re extremely intelligent, can figure their way out of situations, and are very adaptable.”
Damn. That was a better answer than mine, but I’d stick with the hippos.
We took a picture in front of the hippos before moving on. When we came across the monkeys, I couldn’t help but take a selfie to send to Leyla. “She’s gonna be so jealous.”
Tucker chuckled. “Yeah, she will. She’s always loved monkeys.”
Her family sometimes called her monkey, so I figured she’d always liked them. That’s why I planned to buy her a stuffed one before leaving today.
After a few hours walking around and seeing the animals, we headed to the gift shop, getting something for each of his siblings, before heading out to eat supper.
Crestwood had a couple of good pizza places, but nothing beat an original New York style pizza. Tucker ordered an extra large pepperoni and extra cheese pizza then took a seat across from me at the table I’d grabbed by the window.
“How’s wedding planning been going with your mother?”
“Ugh.” I loved my mom, but she was difficult at the best of times.
Planning the wedding for her only daughter?
She’d become an utter nightmare. I felt certain at this point that this was her wedding, not mine.
“She vetoed my choice of flowers this morning and decided to go with white roses, baby pink peony’s, and gardenias. ”
“What flowers were you wanting?”
“Pink zinnias, hot pink gerbera daisies, and white orchids. She said, ‘Absolutely not. We’re going for classy, not trashy’.
” I rolled my eyes. I knew from the flowers she picked out that she wasn’t going to allow Leyla to wear a hot pink dress like I wanted, but a baby pink one to match the flowers.
“I don’t think those flowers sound trashy at all.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “Thank you!”
“I’m sorry she’s making this difficult for you. If you want me to say something, I will. This is our day, not her’s. You should have the wedding of your dreams.”
I loved that he was willing to put his neck on the line for this.
That he’d pick this battle to make me happy, but I wasn’t sure it was worth it.
“That’s alright. I’m sure whatever she picks will be gorgeous.
I’m just glad that she can’t pick the catering menu or cake because the two of us will be choosing those. ”
He grinned. “I don’t know. She does know how to pick out a delicious meal.” Our pizza arrived and we both dug in, burning our tongues in the process but not letting that stop us. “Maybe we should just cater pizza.”
I about spit out the drink I was taking. “She would go postal if we did that.” I thought about it for a second, before grinning. “If she doesn’t back off some, maybe I’ll threaten that.”
Tucker raised an eyebrow. “Do you think that’ll work?”
“No. She’ll just demand to be part of the tastings and probably completely take over that area as well.”
“Then maybe you should tell her my family will do that for the rehearsal dinner. We’ll host it at a bar if she doesn’t back off and let you make choices for your wedding day.
” He shrugged. “She can’t stop what my family does for the rehearsal dinner, and if my mom found out you didn’t have a say in your big day, she’d sure as fuck do it. ”
He was right. Ashley would one-hundred percent rent out a bar for our rehearsal dinner to piss off my mom if that’s what it came to.
God, I loved this family I was marrying into.