Page 105 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“Hush!” Mom hissed, peering anxiously toward the front of the house. “Listen—go in the kitchen and get some water for the flowers. Go on! And when you come back out, you have to be over this little crisis you’re going through. Got it?”

I nodded and hurried off to the kitchen, almost breaking into a run as I heard footsteps drifting through the house. How I wished my brothers were here—nothing ever felt quite so serious when they were around. They would have at least helped distract me from the fact that I was about to give up my whole future for some woman that I didn’t even know.

As I pulled a pitcher from the kitchen cabinet, I heard my mother’s overly cheerful voice greeting our guests. They were just yards away. Mr. and Mrs. Marino—and their daughter, who if all went according to plan, would become the new Mrs. Romano…

I swallowed, gripping the pitcher so tightly, my hands ached.

Time was ticking, and the moment of truth had arrived.

I couldn’t stall in the kitchen forever.

So, taking a deep breath, I straightened my posture and headed out of the kitchen.

“There he is,” my father said jovially while simultaneously flashing me with his stern gaze before covering it with a broad smile.

My heart practically stopped in my chest, and the pitcher almost slipped from my hand.

“Giovanni, this is Mr. and Mrs. Marino,” Dad said. “And this is their daughter, Arianna.”

Arianna Marino.

Ari.

The woman from last night.

Oh fuck.

CHAPTER 9

Arianna

My heart sank somewhere down to my toes.

I couldn’t believe it.

It was him.

Of all people, it was him…

Ever since I was a little girl, I had imagined a million times what this moment would be like. I had always hoped that whoever my parents chose for me would be handsome and charming with a heart of gold. Every now and then, I would have nightmares about being matched with someone completely unacceptable, but I always brushed those worries aside, trusting my parents loved me enough to find me a suitable mate.

Had I not gone on my rebellious adventure the previous night, I would have been completely oblivious to the fact that the guy standing before me was an inconsiderate playboy who obviously wouldn’t make a suitable husband.

My eyes stung with tears that I prayed wouldn’t fall, and I struggled to breathe around the lump that had formed in my throat.

At this moment, I felt that literally anyone—anyone—would have been better than him.

Images from the previous night forcibly returned to my mind. Initially, he had seemed like a decent guy. That’s what had brought about such a wild streak within me, to begin with. He had been so handsome and charming—and the way he had saved me from that creep harassing me at the nightclub, I’d been under the impression that he did have a heart of gold. Mere hours ago, I would have assumed Giovanni Romano was precisely the kind of guy I would have hoped to get matched up with.

But that was before learning the truth—that Gio was just as much of a creep, and his only intention last night had been to get in my pants. Very literally, the instant he was done with me, he had practically kicked me out of his apartment.

Never in my life had I felt so used. So, cheap. So, dirty. Although I hadn’t expected anything special to continue between us, I had expected him to at least treat me with some decency. My blood boiled, recalling how he had laughed at me, threw my clothes at me, and urged me to get a cab and let myself out of his apartment—to get out of his life.

Now we were expected to become a permanent part of each other’s lives. I never knew fate could be so cruel.

“Arianna, honey? Are you all right?” my mother said.

I snapped back to my senses, realizing that everyone was looking at me. I cleared my throat and attempted to force a smile, even though my mouth so desperately wanted to curve downward into a grimace. “I’m fine,” I said, hoping no one noted how high and strained my voice sounded.

---