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‘I am sure that you ate earlier, but I am hungry, so I will cook. Would you like something?’ He walked towards a small barbecue.

‘It’d be rude not to!’

Once the charcoal was ready, Romeo gave me a quick tour of his house, then brought a tray of seafood back up to the rooftop. There were huge prawns, plus different types of fish on a skewer that looked like salmon, tuna and something else. Then he brought out another tray.

‘Is that…?’ I grimaced as I looked at the suckered brown tentacles. ‘Octopus?’

‘Sì.’

‘Ugh,’ I winced.

‘Have you ever tried it?’ he asked.

‘No, but…’

‘It is delicious.’

‘I doubt it.’ My face crumpled.

When everything was cooked, Romeo piled it onto our plates. I devoured the fish and prawns, which tasted so fresh I could’ve sworn Romeo just plucked them from the sea, but I gave the octopus a wide berth.

‘Here.’ He lifted a forkful to my mouth. ‘Just try.’

I opened reluctantly as he slid it inside. And as I chewed, my eyes bulged.

‘Oh… It’s actually not bad!’

‘Told you!’

‘Let me try another bit. Just in case…’ I grinned.

For the next hour, Romeo told me all about the dates he’d set up for the couples and I filled him in on how I’d spent the rest of my day, which mostly involved packing, having dinner at the pool bar before a beach walk, then returning to the villa.

After we’d finished eating, he moved our chairs to the edge of the rooftop so that we could take in the views, then wrapped his arms around me.

I rested my head on his shoulder. Everything was so pretty. Romeo was lucky that he could come and watch the stars whenever he wanted.

‘Thank you for bringing me here,’ I said, as Romeo stroked my hair. ‘It really means a lot.’

‘Piacere,’ he said, then leant forward and kissed me slowly.

The kiss lasted for what must’ve been minutes but still didn’t seem long enough. I swear I could kiss this man for days.

‘Are you still hungry?’ Romeo asked as he gently pulled away.

‘I’m sure I have room for whatever you want me to eat…’ I smirked.

‘Get your mind out of the gutter, young lady!’ he grinned, stood up then held out his hand. ‘Come. I will take you for dessert.’

‘At this time?’ I looked at my watch. Bloody hell. I knew it was late but I didn’t realise it was after two in the morning. ‘What restaurant will be open at this time?’

‘You will see.’

Romeo led me out of his house and down the narrow cobbled streets. We stopped at a building with its hatch open. Wow. It was a bakery kitchen.

Trays of pastries lined the large metal worktops and as the scent of freshly baked goods flooded my nostrils, my mouth watered.

‘What would you like?’