Arranged Marriage: The Lost Bet

Chapter Twenty one

The sound of waves crashing outside woke Arianna from her peaceful slumber. She felt Lucas's strong arm wrapped around her and turned to wake him.

"Lucas, time to get up," she said, ruffling his hair.

He groaned and threw a pillow over his head. "Not yet; it's too early," he whined.

Arianna chuckled and snatched the pillow away. "Lucas Christopher Carter, get your sexy self out of bed right now!" she teased.

Lucas peeked at her with a smirk. "Did you just use my middle name?"

She laughed and kissed him. "I sure did. Now get up; we have a busy day ahead."

His smile faded into a scowl. "Ugh, what do I have to do now?" he groaned, throwing the pillow back over his head.

Arianna shook her head, still laughing. "Baby shopping. You promised!" she pouted, crossing her arms.

Lucas sighed and moved the pillow from his face. "I think I would remember promising to go shopping, Arianna. The answer is still no. Can't you just order everything online?" He pulled the covers over his chest.

"Arianna defended quickly. "You promised you'd do anything for me, and shopping is part of that promise."

Lucas scoffed, throwing his arm over his eyes. "Of course. Leave it to you to find a loophole and drag me into shopping." He paused, sighing deeply. "Fine. But if it's anything like Black Friday, mark my words, Arianna Maria: I will never go shopping with you again."

Arianna leaped onto him, giggling. "I promise I'll be good! I'm going to get dressed. Better look nice; you're taking us out to dinner!" she called from the bathroom.

Lucas turned toward the bathroom, surprised. "Us?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, Madison and Brandon are joining us for the day," Arianna mumbled while brushing her teeth.

"Awesome. Today's going to be a blast," Lucas replied sarcastically.

Arianna peeked out from the bathroom. "What did you say?" she asked sweetly.

Lucas forced a smile. "Oh, nothing. Just said today will be fun," he lied.

Arianna beamed. "Yes, it will be! Now get dressed; they'll be here in twenty minutes."

Rolling his eyes, Lucas went to the closet and grabbed dark jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt, and his black boots.

After he dressed, Arianna stepped out of the bathroom and gasped. "You are not wearing that shirt! Absolutely not—take it off!" she exclaimed, pointing back to the closet.

"What? Why the hell not?" Lucas asked, confused as he looked down at the shirt.

Arianna placed her hands on her hips and scowled. "Why? Because you can see your muscles and chest through it! Take it off or wear something over it," she insisted.

Lucas laughed and shook his head. "Ari, stop overreacting. It's just a damn shirt! I don't tell you what you can and can't wear," he said, instantly regretting his choice of words.

Arianna's eyes filled with tears. "Fine. Let other women flirt with you," she cried.

Lucas sighed, moving to take her in his arms. "Okay, I'm sorry, love. Please don't cry. I'll go change now, okay?" he said, kissing her forehead. He had known that women might have mood swings while pregnant, but he had never expected to find himself in a situation where someone would yell at him over a shirt.

He rummaged through the closet, trying to find something that would appease her. "How about this one?" he asked, holding up a darker, more fitted shirt that wouldn't show off his physique as much.