Our grandfather guided us to a leather couch and said, “In my world, people marry for money and power, not love.”
“You want Alex to get married?” Aiden frowned. “Seriously? She’s never even had a boyfriend.”
“A long time ago, I made a deal,” Pops said, sitting across from us, a somber expression crossing his face. “I agreed to marry my daughter to a man named Arlo Salvatore. However, your mother, the disappointment she is, ran off with your father. It caused a rift between the Wellingtons and the Salvatores. So, I disowned your mother and banished her from Devil’s Creek.”
“Gross,” my twin brother bit out. “My sister isn’t marrying some old dude.”
Pops chuckled. “Oh, no. I don’t want Alex to marry Arlo. He was married once and is now a widower with four sons. In your bedroom, Alex, I noticed you have Evangeline Franco paintings.”
“I painted those,” I said with pride. “I’ve been emulating Evangeline for years. She inspired a lot of my work.”
“You have a natural gift.” Pops grinned, fisting a glass of scotch. “Would you like to marry one of Evangeline Franco’s sons?”
Shocked by his proposal, I stared and blinked a few times. “Evangeline died in a car accident. I didn’t know she had any children.”
“She had two sons with Arlo Salvatore, Marcello and Luca. Arlo also has two adopted sons, Damian and Bastian.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Why would they want to marry me? I’m a nobody.”
“That’s not true. You are a Wellington.”
Aiden shifted nervously beside me. “Alex is too young. I don’t like this at all. I knew this was too good to be true.”
I gripped his hand. “Aid, please. Stop.”
I wanted to say, Shut up before he sends us back.
“Alex,” my grandfather said, “you don’t have to decide now. Arlo had originally suggested you marry Luca because he’s the oldest. But I demanded you have the choice since it’s one you will have to live with for the rest of your life.”
“Um.” I played with the fraying seam of my shirt and bit my lip. “Do I at least get to meet them first?”
“Yes, we are going to the Salvatore Estate next Saturday. The boys also attend Astor Prep, where you will finish your senior year with them. You have plenty of time. I’m not rushing you. But you must marry one of them.”
“Knew it,” Aiden muttered, angry with himself for trusting an adult.
But I didn’t care.
Marrying into a rich and powerful family sounded more like a dream than a nightmare. At least, I thought so before I met the Princes of Devil’s Creek.
